Krćevac

Krćevac is a village in the Topola municipality of the Šumadija District in central Serbia, located 3.9 km from Zagorica and 5.2 km from Topola.

Etymology

The name "Krćevac" stems from krčanje meaning "burning/clearing of forest". The region of Šumadija is densely wooded and so the village owes its name to the intense forest clearing effort that was undertaken when the area was settled. Local lore holds that the area of today's Krćevac burned for three months before the land became clear for farming.

History

The village was active in the Serbian Revolution, being organized into the knežina of Kačer during the First Serbian Uprising. Gavrilo Đurić, who slew the Kragujevac mutesellim, was from Krćevac. The Ottomans called the village a "house of hajduks" due to the wooded village serving as a safe haven for rebels in the uprising.
Prince Alexander Karađorđević had a fountain built in the village on 29 September 1858, on a farm field that he had inherited from his father, the leader of the uprising, Karađorđe Petrović. That land was later sold by the rival House of Obrenović.

Demographics

According to the 1991 census data, the population was 794. According to the 2002 census, this had declined slightly to 775, composed of 636 adults, with an average age of 42.9 years. There were 216 households in the village with an average of 3.59 members per household.
In 2002, Serbs constituted 98.7% of the population, Montenegrins 1.03%, Croats 0.12%, and Muslims 0.12%.