Čačak

There are more than 20 churches and monasteries in the region of Čačak, the most found in such a tiny area in Serbia. They are cultural and historic landmarks of high importance. The most noteworthy are the Church of the Ascension of Jesus, a church on Ljubić hill dedicated to Saint Tsar Lazar, and the Vujan Monastery, which is situated on the same mountain. The monasteries of the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge, which date back to the Middle Ages as a cultural and historic whole, are of exceptional worth since they embody the uniqueness of the region’s cultural and artistic legacy developed over the ages. The gorge has 12 monasteries and churches:

• Uspenje
• Vavedenje
• Jovanje
• Nikolje
• Blagoveštenje
• Vaznesenje
• Preobraženje
• Sretenje
• Sveta Trojica
• Ilinje
• Savinje
• Kadjenica

Thermal and mineral springs with medical characteristics serve as the foundation for the growth of leisure tourism. Within the Čačak municipality, there are three spa resorts: Gornja Trepča, Ovčar Banja, and Slatinska Banja. Picnic areas include Gradina and the “Battle and Victory” park (also known as the “Spomen” (remembrance) park) on Jelica mountain, the Memorial complex on Ljubić hill, Grujine fields, rafts on the Zapadna Morava river in Beljina, Parmenac, Međuvršje, and Ovčar Banja, and picnic areas on the tiny rivers Dičina, Kamenica, Čemernica and Banja.

The municipality of Čačak is located in western central Serbia, 144 kilometers south of the capital city of Belgrade. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the closest international border. This municipality has all of the features of a key hub within the Moravica District. This municipality links the hills of Šumadija in the north and higher parts of the interior in the south. It is largely located in the western portion of the West Morava river’s flow. These mountains gently and wavyly slope toward the Čačak valley, town, and Morava River.

A humid continental climate has an average temperature of 10.47 degrees Celsius, 74.1 percent humidity, warm summers, and freezing winters. Winds blow from the north and northeast, but seldom from the west due to the mountains that obstruct them. The average temperature in August is 22 °C, while it is 0.5 °C in January. During the year, there are 38 days of snow on average. The average wind speed is 2.3 meters per second. The average number of foggy days per year is 54. There have been a few documented cases of Sahara desert sand finding its way to town through winds, causing issues for the town’s people, particularly in traffic. The average annual precipitation is 735 mm.

Agriculture, industry, commerce, and services make up the economic backbone of the municipality of Čačak. Aside from agricultural production, there is also paper production, electric home appliances, blade tools for metal, nonmetal, and wood processing, chemical industry products, thermal technical appliances, wood, metal, and combined carpentry, parts and kits for the pharmaceutical industry and products for medical needs, processing of forest and agricultural products, and so on.

Many enterprises with more than 250 workers have suffered as a result of the sanctions imposed in the 1990s. More than 40 government-owned firms have been privatized since 2000. Today, the only businesses with more than 500 workers on the Čačak municipality’s area are Sloboda Čačak and Fabrika reznog alata.

Private business, which has a long history dating back to the nineteenth century, is the dominant feature of the municipality’s economy. A substantial number of private enterprises expanded into middle-sized businesses with 80 to 270 people and a diverse product range.