What is "begaljica"

Begaljica is a rural settlement in the Grocka municipality of eastern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is one of 15 settlements of Grocka, situated in its centre, with a population of 8,233 according to the 2011 preliminary census. The village is located at the water source of the Begaljica river, a tributary of the Danube, thus in the southern half of Podunavlje, as well as in the fertile Šumadija region of central Serbia.

Begaljica was first mentioned in 1528, seven years after the Ottoman conquest of Serbia, as having 5 families, and the Rajinovac monastery on the hill above the village. As the region was located on the Ottoman-Habsburg war frontier, villages were constantly destroyed and deserted. In fact, the village of Begaljica (literally "fleeing town") derived its name from these events. In 1804, a notable knez from the village, Stevan Andrejević Palalija, was executed alongside some 70 nobles by the janissaries. This event sparked the First Serbian Uprising. In 1902, an anthropogeographical study registered some 200 houses and 17 clans as living in Begaljica. The village is based on agriculture, namely fruits and viticulture, with 38,6% of the population being agrarian in 1991.