In spite of its newfound consolidation under Turkish rule, the town's location in strategic borderland between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire made it an area of frequent conflict in the modern era.
During the Great Turkish War, the Austrians, under Louis of Baden, pushed the Turks far to the south of the city.
Although this occupation was short-lived, it spelled an end to consolidated Ottoman rule in the region.
Soon after, in 1718, Kragujevac became a part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia following conquest by Prince Eugene of Savoy and the signing of Treaty of Passarowitz.
Under Austrian occupation, the area around the city was fortified, and the Muslim population driven out.
As the Ottomans retook the town in 1739, and lost it again in 1789 to the same enemy, the town was ripe for new rule—this time under Serbian rebels.

As a settlement central to the Sanjak of Smederevo under Ottoman rule, Kragujevac was of utmost strategic importance to its agitating, largely rural Serb inhabitants.
Therefore, it became a centre of the Serbian Revolution, a national awakening of Serbs led by their vojvoda, Karađorđe.
First liberated on 5 April 1804 during the First Serbian Uprising, the city was finally freed from imperial rule during the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815.

In 1818, Kragujevac, though largely depopulated following the conflicts of the preceding centuries, was proclaimed capital of the Principality of Serbia on 6 May 1818 by Miloš Obrenović in the medieval Vraćevšnica monastery.
To mark the occasion, he built the Amidža Konak, perhaps ironically a lone cultural souvenir of Ottoman rule.
The first Serbian constitution, the Sretenje Constitution, was proclaimed in the city on 15 September 1835.
It was one of the most liberal constitutions in Europe had ever seen.
In spite of its newfound consolidation under Turkish rule, the town's location in strategic borderland between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire made it an area of frequent conflict in the modern era. During the Great Turkish War, the Austrians, under Louis of Baden, pushed the Turks far to the south of the city. Although this occupation was short-lived, it spelled an end to consolidated Ottoman rule in the region. Soon after, in 1718, Kragujevac became a part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia following conquest by Prince Eugene of Savoy and the signing of Treaty of Passarowitz. Under Austrian occupation, the area around the city was fortified, and the Muslim population driven out. As the Ottomans retook the town in 1739, and lost it again in 1789 to the same enemy, the town was ripe for new rule—this time under Serbian rebels.
As a settlement central to the Sanjak of Smederevo under Ottoman rule, Kragujevac was of utmost strategic importance to its agitating, largely rural Serb inhabitants. Therefore, it became a centre of the Serbian Revolution, a national awakening of Serbs led by their vojvoda, Karađorđe. First liberated on 5 April 1804 during the First Serbian Uprising, the city was finally freed from imperial rule during the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815.
In 1818, Kragujevac, though largely depopulated following the conflicts of the preceding centuries, was proclaimed capital of the Principality of Serbia on 6 May 1818 by Miloš Obrenović in the medieval Vraćevšnica monastery. To mark the occasion, he built the Amidža Konak, perhaps ironically a lone cultural souvenir of Ottoman rule. The first Serbian constitution, the Sretenje Constitution, was proclaimed in the city on 15 September 1835. It was one of the most liberal constitutions in Europe had ever seen.
Kragujevac