Belgrade

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City of Belgrade
Град Београд
Grad Beograd
From upper left: West of Novi Beograd with Genex Tower, the Cathedral of Saint Sava with Karađorđe monument in front, Yugoslav Drama Theatre with Beograđanka on the right, and the Sava bridge.

Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Belgrade within Serbia
Coordinates: 20°27′44″E / 44.82056°N 20.46222°E / 44.82056; 20.46222Coordinates: 20°27′44″E / 44.82056°N 20.46222°E / 44.82056; 20.46222
Country  Serbia
District City of Belgrade
Municipalities 17
Founded 279 B.C.
City rights 150 A.D.
Unified 1918
Government
 - Mayor Dragan Đilas (DS)
 - Deputy Mayor Milan Krkobabić (PUPS)
 - Ruling parties DS/G17+/SPS-PUPS/LDP
 - City council
Area [1]
 - Urban 359.96 km² (139 sq mi)
 - Metro 3,222.68 km² (1,244.3 sq mi)
Elevation [2] 117 m (384 ft)
Population (2007)[3]
 - City 1,182,000
 - Density 506/km² (1,310.5/sq mi)
 - Urban Density 3,283/km² (8,502.9/sq mi)
 - Metro 1,630,000 (Table 3.2, p. 64)
 - Demonym Belgrader
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 11000
Area code(s) (+381) 11
Car plates BG
Website www.beograd.rs

Belgrade (Serbian: Београд, Beograd ( listen (help·info)) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. [4] With a population of 1,630,000 (official estimate 2007),[3] Belgrade is the third largest city in Southeastern Europe, after Istanbul and Athens. Its name in Serbian translates to White city.

Belgrade's wider city area was the birthplace of the largest prehistoric culture of Europe, the Vinča culture, as early as the 6th millennium BC.[5][6] In the antiquity, the area of Belgrade was inhabited by the Thraco-Dacian[7] tribe of Singi who would give the name to the city after a fortress was founded in 3rd century BC by the Celts, who named it Singidun (dun, fortress)[5] It was awarded city rights by the Romans[8] before it was permanently settled by Serbs from the 7th century onwards. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times[9] since the ancient period by countless armies of the East and West. In medieval times, it was in the possession of Byzantine, Frankish, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Serbian rulers. In 1521 Belgrade was conquered by the Ottomans and became the seat of the Pashaluk of Belgrade, as the principal city of Ottoman Europe[10] and among the largest European cities.[11] Frequently passing from Ottoman to Austrian rule which saw destruction of most of the city, the status of Serbian capital would be regained only in 1841, after the Serbian revolution. Northern Belgrade, though, remained a Habsburg outpost until the breakup of Austria-Hungary in 1918. The united city then became the capital of several incarnations of Yugoslavia, up to 2006, when Serbia became an independent state again.

Belgrade has the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia, with its own autonomous city government.[12] Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each having its own local council.[13] It covers 3.6% of the territory of Serbia, and 24% of the country's population lives in the city.[14] Belgrade is the central economic hub of Serbia, and the capital of Serbian education and science.

Geography

Belgrade lies 116.75 metres (383 ft) above sea level and is located at confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, at coordinates 44°49'14" North, 20°27'44" East. The historical core of Belgrade, today's Kalemegdan, is on the right bank of the rivers. Since the 19th century, the city has been expanding to the south and east, and after World War II, New Belgrade was built on the Sava's left bank, merging Belgrade with Zemun. Smaller, chiefly residential communities across the Danube, like Krnjača and Ovča, also merged with the city. The city has an urban area of 360 square kilometres (139.0 sq mi), while together with its metropolitan area it covers 3,223 km² (1,244.4 sq mi). Throughout history, Belgrade has been a major crossroad between the West and the Orient.[15]

On the right bank of the Sava, central Belgrade has hilly terrain, while the highest point of Belgrade proper is Torlak hill at 303 m (994 ft). The mountains of Avala (511 m (1,677 ft)) and Kosmaj (628 m (2,060 ft)) lie south of the city.[16] Across the Sava and Danube, the land is mostly flat, consisting of alluvial plains and loessial plateaus.

Climate

Belgrade has a mild continental climate. The year-round average temperature is 11.7 °C (53.1 °F), while the hottest month is July, with an average temperature of 22.1 °C (71.8 °F). There are, on average, 31 days a year when the temperature is above 30 °C, and 95 days when the temperature is above 25 °C. Belgrade receives about 700 millimeters (27.56 in) of precipitation a year. The average annual number of sunny hours is 2,096. The sunniest months are July and August, with an average of about 10 sunny hours a day, while December and January are the gloomiest, with an average of 2–2.3 sunny hours a day.[17] The highest officially recorded temperature in Belgrade was +43.1 °C,[18] while on the other end, the lowest temperature was −26.2 °C on January 10, 1893.[17]

Climate data for Belgrade, Serbia Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 3.5
(38) 6.4
(44) 11.9
(53) 17.5
(64) 22.5
(73) 25.3
(78) 27.3
(81) 27.3
(81) 23.7
(75) 18.1
(65) 11.0
(52) 5.3
(42) 16.7
(62)
Average low °C (°F) -2.3
(28) -0.2
(32) 3.3
(38) 7.8
(46) 12.1
(54) 15.0
(59) 16.3
(61) 16.1
(61) 13.0
(55) 8.3
(47) 4
(39) -0.2
(32) 7.8
(46)
Precipitation mm (inches) 47
(1.85) 44
(1.73) 46
(1.81) 56
(2.2) 71
(2.8) 91
(3.58) 67
(2.64) 53
(2.09) 51
(2.01) 46
(1.81) 57
(2.24) 59
(2.32) 688
(27.09)
Sunshine hours 62 85 155 180 210 240 279 279 210 155 90 62 2,007
Avg. precipitation days 12 11 12 12 13 12 9 9 9 9 12 13 145
Source: [19] December, 2009

History

Ancient city

The Neolithic Starčevo and Vinča cultures existed in Belgrade and dominated the Balkans (as well as parts of Central Europe and Asia Minor) about 7,000 years ago.[20][21] Some scholars believe that the prehistoric Vinča signs represent one of earliest known forms of alphabet.[22] The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Dacians and Thracians dwelled in the area before being settled in the 4th century BC by a Celtic tribe, the Scordisci, the city's recorded name was Singidūn, before becoming the romanized Singidunum in the first century AD. In 34-33BC the Roman army under Silanus reached Belgrade. In the mid 2nd century, the city was proclaimed a municipium by the Roman authorities, evolving into a full fledged colonia (highest class Roman city) by the end of the century.[8] Apart from the first Christian Emperor of Rome who was born on the territory in modern Serbia – Constantine I known as Constantine the Great [23]) – another early Roman Emperor was born in Singidunum: Flavius Iovianus (Jovian), the restorer of Christianity.[24] Jovian reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending the brief revival of traditional Roman religions under his predecessor Julian the Apostate. In 395 AD, the site passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire.[21] Across the Sava from Singidunum was the Celtic city of Taurunum (Zemun), that through Roman and Byzantine times shared a common fate with its "twin brother" (the two cities were connected by a bridge).[25]