During the next year and a half, Leskovac will receive 565 million dinars in order to realize the Capital of Culture project of Serbia, announced the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković.
The project also envisages a monument to King Milan Obrenović, during whose time, Selaković explained, the south of Serbia was liberated from the Turks. He also emphasized that Leskovac will be the first city to receive his monument.
My money, my monument.
However, the people of Leskov would like to receive a monument to some other historical figure, one that they perceive more as their own, and above all, one that they chose themselves.
But nobody asked them. Actually, that was the first time they heard from the minister that they would get a monument. Unquestionably. Probably according to logic - whoever pays chooses the monument.
King Milan
As we know from school, King Milan Obrenović is one of the most important but also the most controversial Serbian rulers of the 19th century, he ushered Serbia into the modern era, and during his mandate the south of the country, including Leskovac, was finally freed from centuries of Turkish slavery. Leskovac was liberated on December 11, 1877 and again became part of Serbia. It was the beginning of a new period of development in which the city became an important industrial, craft and trade center. His decision for the Serbian army, with the support of Russia, to cross the border near Aleksinac and move towards Leskovac, proved to be historically decisive.
By liberating the south of Serbia, Milan Obrenović gained not only a military, but also a diplomatic victory. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, thanks to his efforts and political dexterity, the great powers recognized the independence of Serbia and confirmed its new borders, which made Leskovac and the surrounding areas officially part of the Kingdom of Serbia.
Stefan Nemanja, Nikola Skobajić...
The people of Leskov do not diminish the importance of King Milan for their city. They would just like to be given the opportunity to participate in decision-making.
On social networks, they comment that King Milan could have received the monument in Niš or one of the other cities, also liberated during the Serbian-Turkish war, and they believe that the monument in Leskovac was equally deserved by Stefan Nemanja, who annexed Dubočica, today's Leskovac and its surroundings, to the Serbian state.
Many believed that Leskovac should have a monument to Nikola Skobajić, a lord and duke from the middle of the 15th century, who became a symbol of resistance to the Turkish conquest. He, with a small army, managed to inflict a heavy defeat on the Ottomans at Leskovac. According to tradition, he refused the offer to surrender and accept Islam, so he was martyred together with his brother Dimitrije on November 16, 1454.
The people of Leskov emphasize that they do not dispute anyone's historical importance, they would just like to be asked whose monument will be located in their town.
Source: Lattice
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