Raska

in Raska

Raška is a town settlement in Serbia in the municipality of Raška in the Raška district. In the Middle Ages, Raška was one of the Serbian parishes whose prefects from the beginning of the 12th century began to lead Serbian campaigns against Byzantium instead of the first Serbian kingdom of Zeta, so that its great prefect Stefan Nemanja became the most powerful among Serbian rulers in the second half of the 12th century, creating a state whose capital was Stari Ras, which was located not far from today's Novi Pazar. The name Rasija (Raška) itself was mentioned for the first time in 1189. From then on, the Venetians, Germans and Hungarians until the 18th century called Serbia Rascija, and the Serbs Raci, Rasciani, Raiceni, and the like. The name Raška is preserved today in the name of the Raška district in Serbia, and the territory of the former Raška is today known under the geographical name Raška oblast. About 7,000 inhabitants live in the settlement of Raška, while according to the latest census from 2022, the whole municipality has about 21,659 inhabitants.