Жагодина: Тарихы мен ежелгі мәдениеттер ошағы

Jagodina (, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica River, in the geographical region of Šumadija. The city itself has a population of 34,892 inhabitants, while its administrative area comprises 64,644 inhabitants.

The town was first mentioned in 1399 as "Jagodna", derived from the Serbian word for 'strawberry' Jagoda. From 1946 to 1992 the town was renamed Svetozarevo (, ) after the 19th century Serbian socialist Svetozar Marković.

In the early Neolithic settlement, the world's largest collection of prehistoric artefacts was found, with nearly a 100 manlike figures made of stone, bones and clay, about 8000 years old. Geophysical research in 2012 in the area of Belica uncovered a prehistoric settlement, surrounded by a circular trench that has a diameter. Inside that circle, triangular, trapezoid and circular shaped foundations of monumental structures were found, unlike any found in other early Neolithic settlements. Gold bracelets similar to ones found on the nearby Juhor mountain dating to the Middle Bronze Age have been found in Trućevac. In addition, Bronze Age settlement has been discovered in a part of town called Sarina Međa. In the village of Belica, near Jagodina, Europe's oldest sanctuary is found.

On top of Juhor mountain there was a Celtic oppidum, and in the village of Novo Lanište a Triballi settlement. With the Roman conquest of 74 BCE, the territory of today's Jagodina fell under the Roman authority. Romans had a castle on the hill known as Đurđevo Brdo, and a settlement beneath it. Ad Octavium was a spot on the military road upon which the village Dražmirovac stands today.

Coins of Emperor Phokas and Constantine IV from 643/4 and fibulae have been found in the region, as well as Early Slavic pottery dating to the 6th century. In 1183 Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja liberated the areas of Belica, Levač and Lepenica from the rule of Byzantine Empire. Jagodina was situated in the Belica county. Jagodina was first mentioned in 1399 in a letter to Princess Milica (the wife of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović). Its second recorded mention was in 1411, when the Parliament was held there. After the year 1458, Jagodina falls into the hands of the Ottoman Empire. During the second half of the 15th century, in the Ottoman Empire's tax registers, a certain Miloš Belmužević is mentioned as the landlord of Jagodina. He later fled to Hungary.

During the middle of the 16th century Jagodina becomes a feud of a Dervish bey Jahjapašić. A large mosque is built there in 1555, and sometime later, another one. Jagodina had two caravan stations and a public bathroom. In Jagodina, by the command of Dervish bey, certain German clockmaker built a clock tower, which was a rarity in Ottoman Empire at the time. In 1553 1557 the travelers refer to Jagodina as a beautiful settlement with 4 caravan stations and two mosques. In it lived more of sipahis and Ottoman soldiers, and less Christian Serbs. It had a Turkish school. With the status of a palanka (small town), Jagodina is mentioned in 1620, as a small stop on the road to Istanbul. In the year 1660, a traveler named Evlija Čelebija states that the town has 1500 houses and that the entire population is made of Christians that were converted to Islam. In the middle of the 17th century Jagodina gets its own bedesten. After the Austrian Turkish war (1716–1718), Jagodina becomes the capital of the District of Jagodina. According to Austrian register in 1721. Jagodina had 162 families living in it. After the new Austrian Turkish war (1737–1739), Serbia is back under the Ottoman rule.

During the Serbian Revolution (1804–1815), when Serbs began their uprising against the centuries long Ottoman rule, Jagodina was a scene of numerous battles, given the town's strategic importance within Serbia proper. Following the Ottoman defeat and re establishment of the Kingdom of Serbia, Jagodina experienced a period of relative industrial and civic development. From 1929 to 1941, Jagodina was part of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Jagodina was heavily industrialized and underwent a period of planned expansion and growth within communist Yugoslavia. Jagodina was given the status of a city in December 2007.

By 1837, Jagodina had 5,220 inhabitants, while Serbia proper had a population of 41,374. In the 1866 census, there were 4,429 inhabitants. Even until 1876, Jagodina was still an agricultural town with 91.88% of the population being in some way associated with agriculture. By the 1930s Jagodina had 6,950 citizens, and by 1961 the town had 19,769 inhabitants. By 1971 the number grew to 27,500 and by 1991 it rose to 36,000, while the municipal area had 77,000 citizens. Jagodina obtained city rights in December 2007. As of 2011, the city of Jagodina has a population of 71,852 inhabitants, while the urban area has 43,311 inhabitants.

Ratko Stevanović, vice president of United Serbia party, is the mayor of Jagodina. He was elected in May 2012. The President of City Assembly is Dragan Marković Palma, who was the mayor of Jagodina from 2004 to 2012.

Jagodina has one cinema also serving as a theatre with some 400 seats.

When the Aqua Park and Zoo opened, the tourism rate in Jagodina started to rise exponentially. More attractions were added in order to increase tourism. In April 2015, a new artificial waterfall was opened in the park "Potok". It was constructed in only twelve days, spanning the height of twelve meters. It is one of the longest waterfalls in Serbia, and it cost around 7 million dinars to complete. Jagodina attracted around 500,000 people in 2014 and 2015, and that number is expected to increase in the future. Besides those attractions, the city has a stadium and a sport centre, which provide space for sporting events.

The first primary school in Jagodina was opened in 1808. Today, there are 11 primary schools in Jagodina of which 6 are in the city and five are in the rural area, with 36 regional offices. There are also 4 secondary schools and two universities, one public (founded in 1898) and one private (Megatrend University).

The total length of roads in the city of Jagodina is There are 5 regional roads, long and 32 local roads, long. Except for the international highway A1 motorway (E 75; section Belgrade Niš), which goes by the city for about , there are no other major highways. As for the roads of regional significance, the following pass through the city:
R.108 Ćuprija Svilajnac
R.110 Kragujevac Svilajnac
R.214 Kruševac Paraćin Lapovo (the old route of "Istanbul Road")
R.217 from Gilja to Varvarin and Kruševac
R.218 from regional road R.214 towards Rekovac

Jagodina Airport is situated in the close vicinity of Jagodina, about northwest of town centre. Jagodina Mayor Dragan Markovic Palma said on 16 January 2015 that Jagodina will get a new airport and it will finish in 3 years.

The association football team FK Jagodina play at the Jagodina City Stadium. Motorcycle speedway existed in the city during the 1960s, the Stadion Automoto Drustvo Svetozarevo (location unknown) held qualifying rounds of the 1964 Speedway World Team Cup and the 1968 Individual Speedway World Championship.