There is a Neolithic archaeological site in the village of Drenovac.[3]Basarabi pottery from the 8th Century BC depicting a domestic rooster was discovered near the town.[4] The Roman fort at Momčilov Grad produced a great number of coins of Byzantine Emperor Justinian (525–565).[5]
The medieval town of Petrus was granted by Emperor Dušan to the local župan Vukoslav. Petrus was the center of the Petruš region [sr], one of the spiritual centers of Medieval Serbia. It comprised 14 monasteries and churches, all from the 14th century, along the rivers Crnica and Grza. As of 2017, several of the monasteries are being restored while there are plans to restore the town of Petrus, too, and to establish a touristic complex which would encompass both the town and the monasteries.[3]
Paraćin was mentioned for the first time in 1375. That year, Prince Lazar of Serbia issued a charter to the Monastery of Great Lavra by which he granted to the monastery villages in the Petruš region, and Trg Parakinov brod ("Town of Parakin's river crossing"). It is believed that the name of the town originated from Parakin, name of a ferryman who ferried the people across the Crnica river, on which the town is located. In time, the name evolved into Paraćin.[3]
In the 19th century, with the construction of the railway and its further branching, and already being located on the most important road route, Tsarigrad Road, Paraćin became a major traffic hub. The industry followed the traffic, so Paraćin was one of the largest industrial centers of Serbia in the 19th and 20th century, and the most densely populated town in country in the late 19th century.[3]
In 1987, a Kosovo Albanian conscript named Aziz Kelmendi went on a shooting rampage at the Yugoslav People's Army barracks in Paraćin, killing four of his fellow soldiers and wounding five others before taking his own life. The attack led to an increase in ethnic tensions between Serbs and Albanians in Yugoslavia.[6]
Folklore
Nickname for an inhabitant of Paraćin is Džigeran, derived from the colloquial Serbian word for liver, džigerica, and originating from the 19th century. There are couple of jovial stories how it came about and both stem from the popular local rivalry between the towns of Paraćin and Jagodina. According to one story, Serbian ruler Prince Miloš Obrenović, visited Paraćin. The hosts didn't know what to prepare for the prince, so the townsfolk from the neighboring Jagodina told them to prepare liver, as the prince adores it. Actually, it was quite the opposite, so when prince tasted the liver, which he couldn't stand, he said: Oh liver, are you meat? Oh, people of Paraćin, are you humans? Another story goes that a train hit a turkey in Jagodina (turkey is town's symbol) and dragged it all the way to Paraćin, with only liver remaining on the locomotive.[3]
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[9]
Activity
Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
127
Mining and quarrying
17
Manufacturing
2,664
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
65
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
164
Construction
554
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
2,421
Transportation and storage
870
Accommodation and food services
350
Information and communication
102
Financial and insurance activities
162
Real estate activities
35
Professional, scientific and technical activities
385
Administrative and support service activities
254
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security
468
Education
762
Human health and social work activities
804
Arts, entertainment and recreation
158
Other service activities
189
Individual agricultural workers
507
Total
11,058
Culture
The town has a Home Museum, a library and a "Pitagora" gallery.[3] The Museum of Paraćin was established in 1978 on the site of the historic Ružićeva kuća (Ružić's house).[10]
Tourism
The Sisevac excursion place is the most popular excursion sites in the municipality. This small village with only 15 inhabitants in 2011[11] is located in the structural basin on the Kučaj mountains, at an altitude of 360 m (1,180 ft). Sisevac is surrounded by forests and is the location of the Crnica river spring. Due to the favorable microclimate and the natural springs of the mineral water, it was known as the weather spa already in the 14th century.[3]Sisevac is also home to the 14th century Sisojevac Monastery, which is protected as a cultural monument of great importance.[12]
Another excursion site is Grza, located on the river of the same name. Popular attraction is the village of Gornja Mutnica with the river Suvara. Although the river runs through the village for a length of only 500 m (1,600 ft), there are 30 bridges over it.[3]
^ abcdefghG.Zorkić (24 December 2017), "Prkosni grad na Carigradskom drumu" [Defiant town on Tsarigrad Road], Politika-Magazin, No. 1066 (in Serbian), pp. 20–21
^Comparative overview of the number of population in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002 and 2011 – Data by settlements, page 74. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade. 2014. ISBN978-86-6161-109-4.
