Serbian Statehood Day celebration

BELGRADE – Sretenje, Serbia’ s Statehood Day and national holiday celebrated in memory of the First Serbian Uprising and enactment of the first Serbian constitution, will be marked by a series of manifestations in Belgrade and at Oplenac Hill in Topola this year.

The celebrations will start with a gun salute at the Belgrade Fortress on Friday, and thematic activities, dedicated to significant historical events and figures from national history, particularly the First Serbian Uprising as part of the struggle against the Ottoman rule and the Sretenje Constitution, will be organized in Serbia's primary and secondary schools.

On Saturday, Statehod Day proper, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the Avala mountain near Belgrade, after which he will present deserving individuals and institutions with awards and decorations and organize a festive reception.

The Serbian government will organize celebrations at Oplenac, with Prime Minister Ivica Dacic laying a wreath in St George's Church, Serbian royal family mausoleum.

February 15, 1804 marked the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising, the first stage of a revolution that led to liberation of the Balkan nation from the Ottoman rule.

The people gathered at the so-called Sretenje Assembly at Oplenac on that day chose Djordje Petrovic, known in Serbian history as Karadjordje (Black George), as their leader.

The period known as the Serbian Revolution ended with successful diplomatic achievements of Milos Obrenovic, who ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1839 and from 1858 to 1860.

The same day in 1835 saw the passage of the first constitution of then Principality of Serbia, the so-called ‘Sretenje...