Loznica

Loznica (Serbian Cyrillic: Лозница, pronounced [lǒznitsa]) is a city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia, on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2022 the city had a total population of 19,515, while the administrative area had a population of 72,062.

Its name stems from the word "loza" (the Serbian word for vine). Originally, its name was Lozica (Serbian for small vine), but it later became Loznica.

History

The oldest settlements on the territory of Jadar and Loznica can be traced to the Neolithic period when the Starčevo culture flourished from 4500–3000 BC. Illyrian and Celtic tribes inhabited the region prior to the Roman conquest in 75 BC. Roman conquest of the Balkan Peninsula brought huge changes: the territory became part of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

The most important settlement in Jadar was Genzis, located near Lešnica, while the Roman settlement in present-day Loznica was called Ad Drinum. Legend tells that Loznica was named after the grape vines that were grown in this region, starting from the 3rd century AD in the time of Roman Emperor Probus. The first reference to the town as Loznica dates back to the reign of Serbian King Stefan Milutin, when Catherine, the wife of Milutin's brother Dragutin, founded the nearby monastery of Tronoša (1317). Loznica received little notice for the next two hundred years. By 1533, Loznica had been conquered from the Serbian Despotate by the Ottoman Empire and was then populated by Muslims; according to the tax registry, out of 37 houses, 26 houses were Muslim and 11 were Christian.