Kragujevac (Serbian Cyrillic: ??????????, listen (help·info)) is a city in Serbia, the largest city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River. Despite its late foundation (1476), Kragujevac is the city of many firsts. Being the first capital of modern Serbia (1818- 1839), the first constitution in the Balkans was proclaimed in this city in 1835. Further on, the first full- fledged university in the newly independent Serbia was founded in 1838, preceded by the first grammar school (Gimnazija), Printworks (both in 1833), professional National theatre (1835) and the Military academy (1837).

Kragujevac was first mentioned in the medieval period as related to the public square built in a settlement, while the first written mention of the city was in the Turkish Tapu-Defter in 1476. Over 200 archaeological sites in Šumadija confirm that the region's first human settlements occurred 40,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic era. Kragujevac's history runs deeper than that of Serbia's capital city, Belgrade. Kragujevac experienced a lot of historical turbulence, not always without severe casualties. First mentioned in Turkish documents from the 15th century as a "village of Kragujevdza" (the name is derived from the bird griffin - "kraguj" in Serbian); The city is located at crossroads. Given this location, the city has been devastated many times and has suffered great losses of life in a number of wars throughout history. It began to prosper after Serbia's liberation from Turkish rule in 1818, when Prince Miloš Obrenovic proclaimed it the capital of the new Serbian State. The first Serbian constitution was proclaimed here in 1835 and the first idea of independent electoral democracy. The first law on the printing press was passed in Kragujevac in 1870. Kragujevac, the capital, was developing and cherishing modern, progressive, free ideas and resembled many European capitals of that time. Apart from contemporary political influence, Kragujevac became the cultural and educational center of Serbia. Important institutions built during that time include Serbia's first secondary school (Gimnazija), first pharmacy, and first printing press. Kragujevac gave rise to many international scholars, professors, academics, scientists, artists and statesmen. The turning point in the overall development of Kragujevac was in 1851 when the Cannon Foundry began production, beginning a new era in the city’s economic development. The main industry of the 19th and 20th century was military production. Kragujevac became one of Serbia’s largest exporters in 1886, when the main Belgrade – Niš railway connected through Kragujevac. New centuries brought new wars. During World War I, Kragujevac again became the capital of Serbia (1914-1915), and the seat of many state institutions - even the Supreme Army Command was housed within the Court House building. During the war, Kragujevac lost 15% of its population.