He was born in Kosovo and Metohija, where he proudly fell defending Serbian heritage. About twenty kilometers southeast of Novo Brdo, at the crossroads of the municipalities of Kosovska Kamenica, Gnjilane, and Novo Brdo, lies the medieval town of Prilepac. It is mentioned by the same name in the Ravanica Charter of 1381.
Serbs from Kosovo Pomoravlje know Prilepac as the birthplace of Lazar Hrebeljanović. According to tradition, Emperor Dušan gifted the town of Prilepac to Lazar’s father, Pribac, in recognition of his loyalty and service. It is believed that a fortress once stood on Prilepac hill, and on the hilltop there was a buried well next to the house where Lazar Hrebeljanović was born in 1329.
Prilepac served as a protective wall against Turkish advances toward Novo Brdo, which was the most famous mine in Serbia at the time. During the Ottoman rule, everything was destroyed, and today the foundation of the medieval fortress of Prilepac can only be guessed from the remaining stones that once formed its strong walls. Today, Prilepac consists of ruins on the hill Odžin Kamen, about eleven kilometers northeast of Gnjilane. Young Lazar Hrebeljanović grew fond of his father Pribac’s stud farm.
It was a large stud of horses called Čarapon. As a Serbian prince, when he moved the capital from Novo Brdo to Kruševac, he also transferred the entire Čarapon stud. If a nation exists thanks to its history, the Serbs of Kosovo Pomoravlje are its diligent guardians. Living on the land where the great Prince Lazar was born and raised is not easy. The locals bear an even heavier burden because of Prince Lazar’s heroism. Despite the hardships they have faced in recent decades, the Kosovo Pomoravlje oath has kept them here, along with Lazar’s sacrifice. What price could ever be enough when a person leaves history, ancestral graves, and starts life anew somewhere unfamiliar?
On Vidovdan, June 28, 2001, the residents of the village of Ropotovo placed a stone plaque on the ruins of the fortress at Prilepac in honor of Prince Lazar. Just two days later, the plaque was destroyed. This reflects the challenges every humble attempt of Serbs faced in commemorating this date. Fearing it would be broken again, the locals had to take the plaque home after each ceremony, only to return it to Prilepac on the next Vidovdan. One might wonder, who could be bothered by a stone carved in Cyrillic? After a long struggle, the people of Kosovo Pomoravlje succeeded in ensuring the plaque now stands where it belongs. This fight is not just about territory or land, but about preserving our identity and memory of Prince Lazar, and about who we are as a people.
