established with the construction of the Gunpowder Factory in Kragujevac, by the Decision of the Government of the Principality of Serbia in 1850. Construction began in 1851 and was completed in 1853, when the first cannons were cast. At the initiative of Prince Alexander, with the consent of Emperor Napoleon III, Charles Lubri was appointed as the first director, who had been the supervisor of a private foundry in Dieppe. Thanks to Lubri's significant efforts, the First Craft School was founded to systematically train personnel for the new military factory, as well as the Workers' Medical Fund – the precursor to pension insurance institutions in Serbia. In 1892, a railway line was put into operation for more efficient supply. As a result, the factory in Kragujevac became the most significant place for weapon production and, thanks to the renowned engineer and professor Todor Toša Selesković, the site where the first electric power plant in Serbia was created and launched. After World War I, pioneering production and repair of automobiles began, which later grew into the largest factory in the region.

Within the spatial cultural-historical unit of the Military-Technical Institute, the following buildings are located: the Old Gunpowder Factory (now the ‘Old Foundry’ museum), the Large Chimney, the Old Cartridge Factory, the Machine/Mechanical Workshop, the Administrative Building, the Director's Residence, the Serbian Royal Military Craft School (now the Second Technical School), the Dormitory of the Military Craft School (now the Polytechnic School), the Artillery Workshop, the Old Energy Plant, the Children's Kindergarten, the Old Clinic, the Artillery Non-Commissioned Officer School, Officers' Residences, the Flag Security, the Ammunition and Gunsmith Workshop, the Carriage Workshop, the Press Room, the R.A.P. Production Hall, the Kayin Warehouse, the Old Tannery, the Stables, the Cartridge Factory, the Fire Tower, the Ambulance Building, the Administrative Building of Pyrotechnics, and a number of other buildings.