Belgrade, Serbia

Belgrade (or Beograd, as it is called locally) is the capital of Serbia. The city is situated on the Danube River where it is joined by one of its major tributaries, the Sava. Belgrade has been called the "gate to the Balkans" and has served as an important port on one of Europe's most important trade routes, from the Black Sea in the east to the North Sea and the Atlantic in the west. Its strategic location has been recognized since prehistoric times, and has caused instability throughout the city's history. In the seven thousand years since Belgrade was first inhabited, it has been conquered by forty armies and rebuilt thirty-eight times.

Landscape

Belgrade lies at the junction of the Sava and Danube rivers. The urban area of the city covers 360 square kilometers (140 square miles); the entire metropolitan area covers 3,223 square kilometers (1,244 square miles). The terrain descends from hills in the south to alluvial plains in the north. The city center is 117 meters (383 feet) above sea level.

The presence of the two rivers, the Danube and the Sava, gives Belgrade 200 kilometers (124 miles) of riverbanks. There are sixteen islands in the rivers, including Ada Ciganlija, which has been used as a recreational area since the 1800s.

Belgrade's climate is moderate continental, with summer high temperatures averaging 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit), and winter lows of –2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit). July and August are the warmest, sunniest months, while December and January bring the coldest temperatures and the least sunshine. Precipitation averages about 670 millimeters (26 inches) per year.

The city, which forms its own territorial unit in Serbia, is subdivided into seventeen municipalities, ten urban and seven suburban. The city itself has expanded to the south and east.

The historic center is in the western portion of the city. The oldest section of Belgrade, Kalemegdan, is located in the municipality of Stari Grad.

People

Belgrade has an estimated population of 1.408 million people according to 2023 estimates. The vast majority, approximately 90 percent, are ethnic Serbians. The largest minority ethnic groups reflect the fact that Belgrade was the capital of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (dissolved in 1992), which included Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, and others who identify themselves simply as Yugoslavs. There is also a significant population of Roma people in Belgrade.

Since the late 1990s, immigration has created a Chinese section in Belgrade, a neighborhood known as Blok 70 in Novi Beograd or New Belgrade. Other immigrants include students from Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

As Serbs make up the largest portion of the population ethnically, the predominant religion is Serbian Orthodox Christianity. Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Protestants are also represented. The Jewish community, which dates back to the sixteenth century and the expulsion of the Sephardim from Spain, was largely wiped out during the Holocaust. A monument and the Jewish Historical Museum stand in memory of the once thriving community.

Serbian food is similar to the foods of Turkey and Greece. The national dish, ćevapčići, consists of grilled patties of minced beef or a combination of beef and pork. The patties are served on a flatbread called lepinja with chopped onions and sour cream. A traditional bread, called česnica, is baked on Christmas morning. A coin is usually baked into the bread, and the person who finds the coin is said to benefit from good luck for the following year.

Turkish coffee is very popular in the many kafane or cafés. The traditional alcoholic drink is rakija, a colorless brandy made from fermented fruit. While grapes, peaches, apricots, pears, and apples are sometimes used, the most popular rakija is made with plums and is called šljivovica, or slivovitz.

Economy

Belgrade generates around a third of Serbia's gross domestic product (GDP), and employs about 30 percent of Serbia's workforce. Manufacturing, business, and building are the three main components of the economy.

The dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the wars that followed as Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo declared their independence led to serious economic problems in Belgrade. International economic sanctions and NATO bombings made the problems worse. Since the overthrow of President Slobodan Milošević in 2000, the economy has been growing steadily, and international investments have increased.

In 2006, Belgrade was named "Southern European City of the Future" by the Financial Times. This award, based on indicators such as business potential, quality of life, and transportation and communication infrastructure, has given Belgrade further exposure to international investors.

Continuing economic problems include high unemployment and a trade deficit. In 2010, Serbia adopted a long-term economic growth plan which focuses on increasing exports and investing in basic infrastructure over the next ten years. In 2013, the unemployment rate was over 20 percent, exports were substantially less than imports, and inflation was at 8.2 percent. By 2015 unemployment had declined slightly, to 19.3 percent, and inflation was checked at 1.5 percent. Belgrade and the nation as a whole were negatively impacted by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which brought many national economies to a screeching halt. Serbia's economy shrank by 0.9 percent in 2020 before bouncing back to grow by 7.55 percent in 2021. The national unemployment rate was at 11.8 percent in 2021 and inflation stood at 4.09 percent.

Serbia is part of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, an agreement that covers non-European Union countries in central and southeastern Europe. Several countries that were part of the agreement have gone on to join the European Union (such as Poland, Hungary, and Romania). Serbia gained EU candidate status in March 2012, but is not yet an official member.

Landmarks

The most prominent landmark in Belgrade is the Kalemegdan Fortress, built on the hill overlooking the point where the Sava joins the Danube. Its strategic position was recognized as early as the third century BCE by the Celtic Scordisci tribe. The fortress has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times over the ensuing years, most notably by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the sixth century and by the Despot Stefan Lazarevik in the fifteenth century.

The National Museum, founded in 1844, is the oldest museum in Serbia. Its most precious piece is an illuminated manuscript entitled Miroslav's Gospels. Written between 1186 and 1190 for the Serbian Prince Miroslav, it is one of the oldest surviving documents written in Cyrillic.

The Museum of Aviation at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport boasts not only an architecturally unique building, but one of the world's best collections of fighter planes. Among its treasures are an Italian Fiat G.50 (the only one of its kind in the world) and wreckage from American and NATO planes shot down in the wars of the 1990s, including an F-16 Fighting Falcon and an F-117 Nighthawk.

History

The history of Belgrade begins in the sixth millennium BCE when the area was settled by what is referred to as the Vinča culture. One of the largest Neolithic settlements in Eastern Europe has been discovered just 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Belgrade. The area has been continuously populated since then, particularly by the Scordisci in the third century BCE and then by the Romans in the first century CE, who named the settlement Singidunum.

The Romans continued to develop the site for its military importance. When the Empire was divided into East and West in 395, Singidunum became part of the Eastern or Byzantine Empire. Following invasions by the Goths, Huns, Mongols, and Slavs, the area passed from the Franks to the Bulgarians to the Hungarians. The Hungarian King Stephen V then gave it as a wedding present to his son-in-law, Stefan Dragutin, who became the first Serbian king. Dragutin chose Belgrade (as it had been called since 878) as his capital in the 1270s.

After Dragutin's death, the area passed back to Hungarian hands. It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1521 and was then lost to the Austrians three times over the next 270 years, but always recaptured by the Turks. The First Serbian Uprising in 1804 brought control of Belgrade to the Serbs briefly, until it was conquered again by the Turks in 1813. The Second Serbian Uprising in 1815 led to an agreement with the Turks that Serbia would become a separate state with its capital at Belgrade.

The Ottomans finally left Belgrade in 1867, and by 1882, the Kingdom of Serbia was internationally recognized. The next invaders of Belgrade were the Austrians in World War I. When the city was regained at the end of the war, it became the capital of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.

In late March 1941, the government joined with the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. This led to massive uprisings, the overthrow of the government, and the bombing and occupation of Belgrade by the Germans. The city was liberated in October 1944 by the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Red Army. In November 1945, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was formed, led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito .

When Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Belgrade became the capital of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, composed of the remaining two states—Serbia and Montenegro. This republic changed its name again in 2003, this time to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Montenegro declared its independence in 2006, leaving Belgrade as the capital of the independent Serbia.

Bibliography

"Belgrade." Serbia.com, 2019, www.serbia.com/visit-serbia/cities/belgrade/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

City of Belgrade, www.beograd.rs/en/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2019.

Norris, David. Belgrade: A Cultural History. Oxford UP, 2009.

"Serbia." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 21 Feb. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/serbia/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

Van Berkum, S., and Natalija Bogdanov. Serbia on the Road to EU Accession: Consequences for Agricultural Policy and the Agri-food Chain. CABI, 2012.