Belgrade: Encyclopedia - Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade (listen ▶ (help·info)), is the capital of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–Present). It is one of the oldest cities in Europe settled in the 3rd century BC by the Celts before becoming the Roman settlement of Singidunum. The name Beograd (Belgrade) has been first mentioned back in year 878. It has been the capital of Serbia since 1404, and of Yugoslavia from 1918 until 2003.

In the field of traffic and transport, it is a city of the highest importance. It spreads over 3.6% of the territory of Serbia, and 15.8% of Serbian population (23% excluding Kosovo) lives in this city . Also, 31.2% of all employed workers in Serbia work in Belgrade. Belgrade is the capital of Serbian culture, education and science. It has the greatest concentration of institutions of national importance in the field of science and art.

Belgrade has the status of a separate teritorial unit in Serbia, having its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities, having their own local governmental bodies. It is the largest city of former Yugoslavia and by population ranks fourth in the Balkans, right behind Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest.

The city lies on the outfall of the Sava river to the Danube river in north central Serbia, at 44.83° N 20.50° E. The population of the Belgrade region is 1,711,800

Belgrade - History

For a quick overview of its history see Timeline of Belgrade

Being located where the Vinča culture existed and dominated the Balkans about 8,000 years ago, Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe and maybe the world. Settled in the 3rd century BC by the Celts before becoming the Roman settlement of Singidunum, the site passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire.

Singidunum experienced occupation by successive invaders of the region — Huns, Sarmatians, Ostrogoths and Avars — before the arrival of the Slavs around 630 AD. In 878 the city was renamed Beligrad ("white fortress" or "white town") under the rule of the Bulgarian kingdom. Belgrade could also mean "East Town," because the Slavic word "beli" means "east" too. For approximately 400 years, it remained a Bulgarian frontier town, often known as the region of "Belgrade and Branichevo." During that period, however, the city was also a subject to Byzantine rivalry and rule, before it finally emerged as a stronghold of the medieval Serbian kingdom. It was a major traffic point on a crusade route which led from Western Europe to Middle East.

The first Serbian king to rule Belgrade was Dragutin (1276–1282), who received it as a present from the Hungarian king.

After terrible defeat in Battle of Kosovo of 1389, Serbian Empire became to crumble, and by the beginning of next century most of it was conquered by the Ottomans. However, Serbian Despotovina in the North, with Belgrade beeing its capital, resisted for another 60 years, beeing the last Christian state in the Balkans to do so. Under DespotStefan Lazarevic, son of the last Serbian "czar Lazar", Belgrade has flourished, having its ancient walls refortified, along with its castles, harbours and churches, resisting to surrender to the Muslims. At that time Belgrade became a shelter for many Balkan peoples that wanted to escape Turkish yoke. In 1453 Serbian Despotovina was lost to the Turks, but Belgrade itself invited Hungarian kings for protection. Turks however wanted Belgrade no matter what the costs were {"key to the Balkans"). That resulted in their invasion in 1456- Siege of Belgrade, a true crusade war which determined the fate of Christianity at that time- having Jan Hunyadi and his allies won and expelled Turks from the city. This war has brought the city the reputation of "Guardian of Christianity" and it was celebrated throughout Europe. At that time Belgrade reached its peak of glory, numbering well over 100,000 people of many nations, regulating traffic between East and West, becoming a "Christian Mecca" and a cultural hub for South-East. However, "nothing in the Balkans lasts long".... In 1521, the fort was captured by the Ottoman Turks, and Belgrade remained under Ottoman rule for nearly three centuries. By 1526 Turks have already conquered Southern Hungary, by 1541 took over the capital Buda, and already by 1563 knocked on the door of Western Europe in Vienna. The city of Belgrade deteriorated as its buildings were demolished and robbed by "non-believers". It was the site of a major rebellion in 1594 (Banat rebellion), that was brutally crushed by the Turks, burning the churches and even coffins of Nemanjic family- see Temple of Saint Sava. Thrice occupied by Austria (1688–1690, 1717–1739, 1789–1791), the city was briefly held (1806–1813) by Serbian forces during the first national uprising against Ottoman rule, and in 1817 became the capital of an autonomous principality of Serbia (except in the period from 1818–1839, when Kragujevac was the country's capital city). It was also the site of 2 Great Serbian Migrations- when hundreds of thousands of Serbs, led by their patriarchs, have retreated together with Austrians into Habsburg Empire in 1690 and 1737, settling today's Vojvodina and Slavonia.

With the departure of its Turkish garrison (1867) and Serbia's full independence (1878) and elevation to a kingdom (1882), Belgrade became a key city of the Balkans. But despite the opening of a railway to Niš, Serbia's second city, conditions in Serbia as a whole remained those of an overwhelmingly agrarian country, and in 1900 the capital had only 69,000 inhabitants. However by the outbreak of WWI in 1914 the city has grown to over 100,000, not counting the settlements on the northern sides of Sava and Danube that belonged to Austro-Hungary.

After occupation by Austro-Hungarian and German troops in 1915-1918 during World War I, Belgrade experienced faster growth and significant modernisation as the capital of the new Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the 1920s and 1930s, growing in population to 239,000 by 1931 with the incorporation of the northern suburb of Zemun, formerly on the Austro-Hungarian bank of the river.

On April 6, 1941, Belgrade was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe (killing thousands of people) and Yugoslavia was invaded by German, Italian, Hungarian and Bulgarian forces, aided by domestic Albanians and Croats. Most of the city remained under German occupation until October 20, 1944, when it was liberated by Yugoslav Partisan forces and the Red Army, while the western suburbs were incorporated into Independent State of Croatia. In the post-war period Belgrade grew rapidly as the capital of the renewed Yugoslavia, developing as a major industrial centre. Sarajevo was considered as a candidate for the capital for a short period of time.

In March 1972, Belgrade was at the centre of the last major outbreak of smallpox in Europe. The epidemic, which was contained with enforced quarantine and mass vaccination, was over by late May. See: 1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia.

On March 9, 1991 massive demonstrations were held against Slobodan Milošević in the city. Two people were killed and tanks were deployed in the streets in order to restore order. One of them, Branivoje Milinović (1973–1991), was a 17 year-old Serb high school student. According to his parents, he was actually just going into the centre to buy some cassettes when he was killed. Milinović is considered by many to be the first victim of the Yugoslav breakup.

After elections in 2000, Belgrade was the site of major demonstrations which caused the ousting of president Milošević.

NATO air strikes caused substantial damage to the city during the Kosovo War in 1999. Among the sites bombed were the Ministries of defense, interior, and finance, the presidential residency, a few television and radio broadcasting stations ("Pink", "Košava", "Radio S", "ELMAG") including RTS (Radio Television of Serbia) killing 17 technicians, the hospital "Dragiša Mišović," the Socialist Party of Serbia headquarters, the Hotel "Jugoslavija," and the Chinese embassy.

Belgrade has come under some form of attack some 54 times since AD 1, or every 37 years on average. Zoran Đinđić was the first elected mayor of Belgrade. The current mayor is Nenad Bogdanović.

Belgrade - Geography

Belgrade is situated in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. It lies at the point where the river Sava merges into the Danube, on the slope between two alluvial planes. The river waters surround it from three sides, and that is why since ancient times it has been the guardian of river passages. Because of its position it was properly called "the gate" of the Balkans, and "the door" to Central Europe. The city's main traffic artery stretches from Kalemegdan, along Knez Mihailova Street, and through Terazije to Slavija.

At Knez Mihailova street, the coordinates of Belgrade are marked:

• 44°49'14" of northern latitude
• 20°27'44" of eastern longitude
• altitude 116,75 m.

Belgrade is at the intersection of roads that lead between Eastern and Western Europe. which leads from the Morava-Vardar valley and the Nišava-Marica valley, to the shores of the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor and to the Middle East. The city lies on the Danube river, the sailing route, which connects the Western and Central European countries with the countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. After the construction of the artificial lake and the Đerdap power station, Belgrade became a river and sea port. Ships from the Black Sea sail to its docks, and with the opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, Belgrade came to the center of the most important sailing route in Europe: The North Sea - Atlantic - Black Sea route.

Belgrade - Climate

Belgrade has a moderate continental climate, with four seasons. Autumn is longer than spring, with longer sunny and warm periods - the so-called Indian summer. Winter is not so severe, with an average of 21 days of sub-zero temperature. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 0.4°C. Spring is short and rainy. Summer arrives abruptly.

The average annual air temperature, for the period from 1961 to 1990 was 11.9°C. The hottest months are July (21.7°C) and August (21.3°C). The lowest temperature in Belgrade was recorded on January 10, 1893 (-26.2°C), and the highest on August 12, 1921 and on September 9, 1946 (41.8°C). The average annual number of days with temperatures higher than 30°C - the so-called tropical days - is 31 and that of summer days with temperature higher than 25°C is 95.

The characteristic of Belgrade climate is also Košava - the southeast-east wind, which brings clear and dry weather. It mostly blows in autumn and winter, in 2-3 days intervals. The average speed of Košava is 25-43 km/h but certain strokes can reach up to 130 km/h. Košava is the strongest air cleaner of Belgrade.

The average annual rainfall on Belgrade and its surroundings is 685 mm. The rainiest months are May and June. The average number of sunny hours over the year is 2.096 hours. There are about 10 hours of sun a day in July and August, while December and January are the cloudiest, with only 2 to 2.3 hours of sun per day. The average number of snowy days is 27, snow cover lasts from 30 to 44 days, and its average thickness is 14 to 25 cm.

Belgrade - Tourism

Since 2001, in line with Yugoslavia's revival of diplomatic relations with Western Europe and the USA, the republic of Serbia (although landlocked) is seeing a return of foreign holiday makers absent since the internal wars from 1992. Belgrade is again becoming a choice for weekend breaks and more and more foreign tourists are to be found walking the streets of Belgrade having included the city as a part of their wider European adventure.

Though Belgrade was deemed to be safe (even during the hostilities of the 90s), two obstacles prevented more visitors to the city; firstly, bad political coverage and a history of being a capital of a communist country created uncomplimentary connotations. But just as the latter never stopped visitors flooding into Budapest and Prague, Belgrade also housed many young "modern" people who suffered in the name of self-hatred and prefered outsiders to see Belgrade as a great East London-style council estate based on the slums of New York with the poverty of Calcutta, dismissing buildings as being communist in style and very ugly. The fact is that no city has escaped this 20th century effect, particularly those considered to be beautiful.

The city has suffered carnage on at least one occasion in the life of every resident on average since Slavic arrival. Even this has done nothing to disturb the beauties of such areas as Belgrade's fine old city, chiefly Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun, Nikola Pašić Square, Terazije, Students' Square, Kalemegdan Fortress, and Knez Mihailova (pictured right). The Federal Parliament and the Old Palace buildings are masterpieces and the city boasts a number of objects not only attributed to the local Serbian/Slavic ancestors, but many outside influences, such as Venetians, Magyars, Ottomans and Austrians. On top of this, there are many parks, monuments, cafes, restaurants and hotels, shops with some lovely nature walks for all year round; both sides of the river Sava, not to mention a fantastic view of the city from the Avala monument, situated at a hilltop overlooking the city, a fine spot for young romantics and those picnicking.

Belgrade - Municipalities

An urban municipality is a part of the territory of the City of Belgrade, in which certain operations of local self-government laid down by the City Charter are run. Pursuant to the Constitution, legislation, present Charter and bylaws of the urban municipality, the citizens participate in conducting operations of the urban municipality through the councilors elected to the City municipal assembly, civil initiative, local citizens’ meeting and referendum.

The bodies of the urban municipality are:

• Municipal Assembly
• District Council Chairman
• Municipal Council

The number of councilors in the Municipal Assembly ranges from 19 to 75 councilors.

The District Council Chairman presides over the Municipal Assembly, and he/she is a chairperson of the Municipal Council. The Municipal Assembly elects the District Council Chairman among the municipal councilors.

The Municipal Council is composed of the District Council Chairman, Deputy District Council Chairman and at the most 7 members. The Municipal Council members are elected by the Municipal Assembly among both councilors and citizens further to the proposal by the District Council Chairman.

The urban municipalities are conditionally divided (in relation to their geographical position and powers) in 10 urban and 7 suburban municipalities:

1. Barajevo
2. Voždovac
3. Vračar
4. Grocka
5. Zvezdara
6. Zemun
7. Lazarevac
8. Mladenovac
9. Novi Beograd
10. Obrenovac
11. Palilula
12. Rakovica
13. Savski Venac
14. Sopot
15. Stari Grad
16. Surčin
17. Čukarica

Urban municipalities:
Čukarica, Novi Beograd, Palilula, Rakovica, Savski Venac, Stari Grad, Voždovac, Vračar, Zemun, Zvezdara,
Suburban municipalities:
Barajevo, Grocka, Lazarevac, Mladenovac, Obrenovac, Sopot, Surčin,

Belgrade - Transportation

For a better overview see Transportation in Belgrade

The main public transportation system in Belgrade consists of buses (112 lines), trams (12 lines) and trollies (8 lines). In addition, there are 24 taxi companies serving the city.

The regional rail system (Beovoz) is operated by the national railway company, and connects Belgrade's suburbs with the urban areas. There are six lines with 41 stations. Two stations near the downtown area (Vukov spomenik and Karađorđev park) are used by lines 1 and 2, and are situated underground. Construction of light rail transit system is scheduled to begin in 2006, while first line should be completed by 2011.

The international airport, Belgrade International Airport, is located 12 km outside the city. It is connected with the city by the Belgrade-Zagreb highway. It provides connections with many cities in Europe, Asia and Africa. Eighteen established international airlines maintain offices at the airport.

The main railway station is situated near the downtown district, and connects Belgrade with many major Europian cities, such as Istanbul, Athens, Bucharest, Sofia, Vienna and Kiev.

Belgrade - Architecture

Various parts of Belgrade have wildly varying architecture, from the center of Zemun, which is a typical one for a Vojvodina town, via still remaining Turkish-styled buildings and street layout of the centre of Belgrade, to modern architecture and layout of Novi Beograd.

Some distinctive buildings in Belgrade are:

• Avala TV Tower
• Bajrakli mosque
• Beli Dvor
• Beograđanka
• Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro
• Temple of Saint Sava
• Genex Tower
• Palace Albania
• Countess Ljubica's Residence
• Count Milos's Residence
• Ušće Tower — Formerly housed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Following Nato bombardment, from which only the skeleton of the building survived, it has been redeveloped into a office block.
• Sava Center
• Hotel Moskva

Some notable streets and squares are:

• Boulevard of King Alexander (formerly Boulevard of the Revolution) — the longest street in Belgrade
• Knez Mihailova
• Skadarlija
• Slavija
• Terazije
• Republic Square (square of Victory, of Theater)
• Kosančićev venac
• Mitrović passage - the shortest street in Belgrade

Famous tourist and historical sites from Belgrade include the Avala mountain, the Kalemegdan, the Dedinje ward and the Tito's mausoleum, called Kuća cveća (The House of Flowers).

Belgrade - Museums

See also: List of museums in Belgrade

Some of the more prominent museums in Belgrade are:

• Ethnographic Museum of Serbia (Studentski Trg 13) - museum contains more than 160,000 items presenting rural and urban culture of the Balkans. Established in 1901.
• Museum of Contemporary Art (Ušće bb) - Includes works of art produced in Yugoslavia since 1900, around 8,540 objects.
• Museum of Natural History - includes more than 900,000 items related to nature.
• National Museum (Trg Republike 1a) - an art museum with a collection of over 300,000 objects including foreign art master pieces. Established in 1844. Currently closed for restoration works.
• Nikola Tesla Museum (Krunska 52) - museum preserves personal items of Nikola Tesla. Includes around 160,000 original documents and around 5,700 other items. Established in 1952.

Belgrade - Media

Belgrade is the most important center for the Serbian media, it is the headquarters of the national television network "Radio Television Serbia" - RTS. The largest daily newspapers in Belgrade include Vecernje Novosti, Politika, Glas Javnosti, Blic and Kurir. Some of the more popular television stations without national television are B92, Pink, Bk, Studio B, Politika, and they cover large variety of tv programs,topics. While there are others like Sos channel which is focused on sport events, Metropolis which is music oriented, Cinemania - movie channel or Happy tv for children entertainment.

Belgrade - Radio stations:

(not all included)

Radio Beograd; Radio Beograd 202; Radio 101; Radio B92; Radio Barajevo; Radio Golf; Radio Indeks; Radio Yugoslavia; Radio Lazarevac; Radio Novosti; Radio Nostalgija; Radio Pingvin; Radio Politika; Radio Top FM; Radio S; Radio Studio B;

Belgrade - Television Stations:

(not all included)

Art TV; Radio Televisija Srbija - RTS 1, RTS 2, 3K; TV B92; BK TV; TV Kanal D; TV Košava; TV Metropolis; TV Pink; TV Politika; TV Sos Kanal; TV Stankom; TV Studio B; Happy TV;

Belgrade - Internet Service Providers

(not all included)

EUnet; SezamPro; BeoTel; Verat;

Belgrade - Production:

Продукцијска група Мрежа; Видео недељник ВИН; Advance; DТV production;

Belgrade - Press agencies:

Таnјug; FоNет; Bета; Тiкеr;

Belgrade - Names

The following is a list of names of Belgrade through history:

Belgrade - Education

Belgrade University was founded in 1808 as a Great Academy. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the country (the oldest higher-education facility dates back to 1689 and is located in Subotica- Teacher's college). Belgrade educational system is under the control of the Serbian Ministry of Education and Sport, while a minor part is controlled by the Sectretariat of Education. Belgrade has two state universities, and private institutions for higher education are being established as well. There are 195 primary (elementary) schools, and 85 secondary schools. Of the primary schools, there are 162 regular, 14 special, 15 art and 4 adult schools. The secondary schools consist of 51 vocational, 21 gymnasiums, 8 art schools and 5 special schools. There are 230,000 pupils enrolled, managed by 22,000 emplyees in over 500 buildings, covering around 1.1 km². Belgrade is also the seat of high-level scientific and research institutes covering many fields.

Universities located in Belgrade are:

• Belgrade University
• University of the Arts
• Braća Karić University
• European University
• Megatrend University of Applied Sciences
• Police Academy
• Military Academy

Belgrade - Sport and recreation

There are around a thousand sports facilities in Belgrade, many of which are capable of serving all levels of sporting events. Belgrade was a host of many great sport events in its history, including World and European championships in many sports categories.

Also, Belgrade will be the host city of the 2009 Summer Universiade.

Sporting arenas include:

• Red Star Stadium
• Partizan Stadium
• Belgrade Arena
• Pionir Hall

Ada Ciganlija is an island on the Sava river, and Belgrade's biggest sports and recreational complex. It is the most popular destination for Belgraders during the city's hot summers. There are 10 kilometres of long beaches and sports facilities for various sports including golf, rugby, football, basketball, volleyball and tennis. Extreme sports are included, like bungee jumping, water skiing, and there is even a paintball club. There are numerous tracks on the island, where it is possible to ride a bike, take a relaxing walk or jog. Many other recreational facilities are available, including fishing.

Belgrade - Night life

Many clubs and discotheques can be found throughout the city that are open until dawn. The most recognizable nightlife feature of Belgrade are the barges (called "splavs") that spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube rivers. These restaurants and discotheques float on water and offer an exciting scene for summer fun. Some of the most visited "splavs" are Ambis, Sound, Sargon and Amsterdam. There are other well known "non-splavic" popular clubs are Mr.Stefan Braun,Andergraund, Plastic, Zvezda, Bassment, Drama and the latest hotspot - Apartman.

Belgrade - Received decorations

Belgrade received domestic and international decorations.

• Legion of Honour
• War Cross
• Karađorđe's Star with Swords
• Order of National Hero

Belgrade - Twin cities

Belgrade is twinned with the following cities:

• Beijing (Peking), People's Republic of China. Since 14 October 1980.
• Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2005.
• Coventry, United Kingdom

Belgrade - Quotations

• I cometh and found the noblest burgh from ancient times, the grand town of Belgrade, by sorry fate destroyed and nearly void. Having rebuilt it, I consecrated it to the Holy Mother of God. — despot Stefan Lazarevic
• Soldiers! Heroes! The supreme command has erased our regiment from its records. Our regiment is sacrificed for King and Fatherland. You no longer have to worry for your lives which do not exist. So, forward to glory! Long live the king! Long live Belgrade! — major Dragutin Gavrilovic, to defenders of Belgrade in First World War

See also

• Timeline of Belgrade
• List of national capitals
• List of Belgrade suburbs
• Belgrade Arena

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Belgrade", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki