| Native Name Lang: | sr |
| Official Name: | Paraćin |
| Settlement Type: | Town and municipality |
| Coordinates: | 43.8667°N 46°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Serbia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Šumadija and Western Serbia |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pomoravlje |
| Parts Type: | Settlements |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 35 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Vladimir Milićević |
| Leader Party: | SNS |
| Area Blank1 Title: | Municipality |
| Area Blank1 Km2: | 542 |
| Elevation M: | 132 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 census |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Town |
| Population Blank1: | 25104 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Municipality |
| Population Blank2: | 54267 |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 35250 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | +381(0)35 |
| Blank Name: | Car plates |
| Blank Info: | PN |
Paraćin (Serbian: Параћин, pronounced as /pâratɕin/) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. Located in the Velika Morava river valley, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac, the town had a population of 25,104 in 2011. It also has a civilian airport.
There is a Neolithic archaeological site in the village of Drenovac. Basarabi pottery from the 8th Century BC depicting a domestic rooster was discovered near the town.[1] The Roman fort at Momčilov Grad produced a great number of coins of Byzantine Emperor Justinian (525–565).[2]
The medieval town of Petrus was granted by Emperor Dušan to the local župan Vukoslav. Petrus was the center of the, one of the spiritual centers of Medieval Serbia. It comprised 14 monasteries and churches, all from the 14th century, along the rivers Crnica and Grza. As of 2017, several of the monasteries are being restored while there are plans to restore the town of Petrus, too, and to establish a touristic complex which would encompass both the town and the monasteries.
Paraćin was mentioned for the first time in 1375. That year, Prince Lazar of Serbia issued a charter to the Monastery of Great Lavra by which he granted to the monastery villages in the Petruš region, and Trg Parakinov brod ("Town of Parakin's river crossing"). It is believed that the name of the town originated from Parakin, name of a ferryman who ferried the people across the Crnica river, on which the town is located. In time, the name evolved into Paraćin.
In the 19th century, with the construction of the railway and its further branching, and already being located on the most important road route, Tsarigrad Road, Paraćin became a major traffic hub. The industry followed the traffic, so Paraćin was one of the largest industrial centers of Serbia in the 19th and 20th century, and the most densely populated town in country in the late 19th century.
From 1929 to 1941, Paraćin was part of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
In 1987, a Kosovo Albanian conscript named Aziz Kelmendi went on a shooting rampage at the Yugoslav People's Army barracks in Paraćin, killing four of his fellow soldiers and wounding five others before taking his own life. The attack led to an increase in ethnic tensions between Serbs and Albanians in Yugoslavia.[3]
Nickname for an inhabitant of Paraćin is Džigeran, derived from the colloquial Serbian word for liver, džigerica, and originating from the 19th century. There are couple of jovial stories how it came about and both stem from the popular local rivalry between the towns of Paraćin and Jagodina. According to one story, Serbian ruler Prince Miloš Obrenović, visited Paraćin. The hosts didn't know what to prepare for the prince, so the townsfolk from the neighboring Jagodina told them to prepare liver, as the prince adores it. Actually, it was quite the opposite, so when prince tasted the liver, which he couldn't stand, he said: Oh liver, are you meat? Oh, people of Paraćin, are you humans? Another story goes that a train hit a turkey in Jagodina (turkey is town's symbol) and dragged it all the way to Paraćin, with only liver remaining on the locomotive.
Apart from the town of Paraćin, the municipality includes the following settlements, along with number of residents (2002 census):
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The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[4]
| Activity | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 127 | |
| Mining and quarrying | 17 | |
| Manufacturing | 2,664 | |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 65 | |
| Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 164 | |
| Construction | 554 | |
| Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 2,421 | |
| Transportation and storage | 870 | |
| Accommodation and food services | 350 | |
| Information and communication | 102 | |
| Financial and insurance activities | 162 | |
| Real estate activities | 35 | |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 385 | |
| Administrative and support service activities | 254 | |
| Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 468 | |
| Education | 762 | |
| Human health and social work activities | 804 | |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 158 | |
| Other service activities | 189 | |
| Individual agricultural workers | 507 | |
| Total | 11,058 |
The town has a Home Museum, a library and a "Pitagora" gallery.
The Sisevac excursion place is the most popular excursion sites in the municipality. Located in the small village with only 15 inhabitants in 2011,[5] it is located in the structural basin on the Kučaj mountains, at an altitude of 360m (1,180feet). Sisevac is surrounded by forests and is the location of the Crnica river spring. Due to the favorable microclimate and the natural springs of the mineral water, it was known as the weather spa already in the 14th century.
Another excursion site is Grza, through which the river of the same name runs through. Popular attraction is the village of Gornja Mutnica and the river Suvara. Though it runs through the village only for a length of 500m (1,600feet), there are 30 bridges over it.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Serbia.
Paraćin is twinned with:
Eleftherio-Kordelio, Greece Perdika, Greece
Murska Sobota, Slovenia
Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina