University of Kragujevac was built on the foundations of the Lyceum (Licej Knjazevstva Serbskog), the first higher education institution in modern Serbia. With the decree of Prince Milos Obrenovic of July 1, 1838., the Lyceum (Lyceum - gardens where philosophy was taught) was founded, and Athanasius Nikolic, an educated engineer, professor of mathematics, geography and „na?ertanija“ was named for a rector of the Lyceum in Kragujevac. At that time, Serbia, according to the first census from 1834, had only 678 192 mostly illiterate and rural residents, who were engaged in agriculture. Number of primary schools was 72, with 2514 students, and the state paid for education of 26 students. Other schools were municipal or private, and the obligatory elementary education did not exist. In a year when the Lyceum was founded, and even in 1839 when it separated from secondary school called (Gimnazija), there were no laws on education in Serbia, but the content and the way of teaching depended on the Ministry of Education, the teachers themselves and Instruction from the Ministry (from 1838) to bring in humanistic character to secondary schools. Disciplines which are studied at the Lyceum are philosophy, general history, mathematics, geometry, physics, natural law, European statistics, German, French, interpreting the Gospels, drawing, and from 1841. the first year of law opens at the Lyceum, signifying the beginning of the schoolof law, for the purposes of the civil service.