10 Facts About Starina Novak

Starina Novak was a Serb hajduk who distinguished himself in many battles against the Ottoman Empire.

Starina Novak is considered a national hero by both the Serbs and the Romanians.

Starina Novak studied at the monastery of Porec where he learned to read and write in Old Church Slavonic.

Starina Novak began his career as a hajduk at an early age after he was imprisoned and beaten by Turks, losing all his teeth that led him to leave his birthplace and take refuge in the forests of the Timok Valley where he quickly learned the use of weapons and military from a harambasa.

Starina Novak soon formed his own ceta and started a violent fight against the Ottomans.

The oldest mention of Novak is from 1595, when he was mentioned in the forces of Wallachian prince Michael the Brave.

Starina Novak joined the forces of Michael in the region of Banat, and received the rank of captain with 2,000 Serbian hajduks under his command, set to liberate the Wallachian lands.

Starina Novak's forces were part of the attack on Bulgarian Sofia which earned him great reputation after he and his 700 soldiers tricked the Turks by changing route through the Balkan mountains and successfully surprise-attacked the Turkish forces only leaving behind 8 of his soldiers and capturing vast amounts of livestock and supplies from the Ottomans.

Starina Novak was falsely accused of wanting to hand over the fortresses of Lugos and Karansebes to the Turks, but his intention was unveiled in time.

In October 2017, the city's administration announced that a monument to Starina Novak will be erected in the park.