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| Capital | Belgrade |
| Government | parliamentary democracy |
| Coin | Serbian Dinar (RSD) (In Kosovo the Euro is used as legal tender.) |
| Surface | 88,361 km² |
| Population | 7.276.604 (2012) |
| Language | Serbian 90.1% (official), Hungarian 3.8%, Rom 1.1%, other 4.1%, unknown 0.9% (2002); Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian and Croatian are official in Vojvodina; Albanian is official in Kosovo. |
| Religion | Orthodox 65%, Islam 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, Other 11% |
| Electricity | 230V/50Hz (European plug) |
| Call code | 381 |
| Internet TLD | .rs |
| Time zone | UTC 1 |
Serbia is a country in Southern Europe in an area commonly referred to as the Balkans.
Info
History
The roots of the current Serbian state can be traced back to the 7th century and the ducal house of Vlastimirović. The Serbian Kingdom was established in the area known as Duklja (Latin: Doclea or Dioclea) in the 11th century. The Serbian state began to grow in prestige under the leadership of Stefan Nemanja in the 12th century. His son Stefan Nemanjić would later be known as Stefan the First Crowned from 1220. His descendant Stefan Dušan elevated Serbia from principality to kingdom in 1346. After Stefan Dušan's death, a number of rulers followed who lost more and more land to the Ottoman Empire. In 1389 a crucial battle took place on the Merelveld (Kosovo Polje). The battle ended in a draw, leaving Serbia weakened. In 1459, Serbia lost its independence at the Battle of Smederevo. Bosnia followed in 1463. Serbia fell under Ottoman rule from 1459 to 1804, after which it regained partial independence.
In 1815, the Principality of Serbia emerged from the Second Serbian Uprising, a semi-independent principality under the leadership of Prince Miloš Obrenović. Obrenović managed to make his position hereditary, and took the first steps towards independence. The Obrenović dynasty acquired the right to tax from the sultan in exchange for a fixed annual payment. By 1830 Miloš Obrenović had become so rich that he could acquire new rights from the sultan in exchange for loans (the Turkish treasury was constantly empty). The period that followed was dominated by struggles between the various powerful families (Obrenović and Karađorđević).
At the head of the state was the monarch (from 1878 king), who could only very slowly build an army. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877, Serbia acquired Niš and Pirot. In 1903, the Karađorđević House came to power permanently: King Alexander Obrenović and Queen Draga were murdered by officers and thrown out the window. The Obrenović dynasty died out and Peter I Karađorđević came to the throne.
In the Balkan Wars, the Serbian army was able to expand its territory considerably, partly at the expense of Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Turkey. Over time, the principality also increasingly pursued a foreign policy. This relied heavily on Austria-Hungary, to the dismay of a large part of the population and the Pan-Slavists. They preferred a pro-Russian policy.
In World War I, the country was occupied by the Central Powers, but in 1919 the Kingdom of Serbia merged with the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (SHS), from 1929 called Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Serbia was occupied by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1944 (until 1943 with the help of Italy). During this occupation, a puppet government was established in Belgrade under General Milan Nedic (see the article on Serbia in the Second World War).
Yugoslavia became a federal republic in 1945, which slowly and often violently disintegrated in the 1990s.
This led to the situation that between 1992 and 2006 Serbia formed a federation with Montenegro, called Serbia and Montenegro from 2003. Serbia was the largest and most dominant part of the country during the period of the kingdom as well as under Yugoslavia and the federation with Montenegro. The independence obtained in 2006 was therefore not much desired. On June 3, 2006, Montenegro declared its independence, making Serbia as the successor state of the Serbia-Montenegro Confederation also an independent state. The official Serbian declaration of independence came on June 5, 2006.
On February 17, 2008, Kosovo seceded from Serbia and declared itself an independent state.
Slobodan Milošević, former president of Serbia, was charged by the ICTY with war crimes in Croatia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a 2004 interlocutory judgment, the Tribunal found Milošević guilty of mass murder and war crimes in seven municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Srebrenica and Prijedor.
On July 21, 2008, Radovan Karadžić is arrested in Serbia; he was wanted by the ICTY for his role during the Bosnian War as leader of the Serbian entity in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian Republic. This arrest further completes the search for persons suspected of acts of war who operated between approximately 1991 (beginning of the civil war of the former Yugoslavia) and 1999 (battle in Kosovo) and who are mainly of Bosnian, Croat, Serb or Kosovar descent.
Geography
Serbia is located on the Balkan Peninsula, at a crossroads between Central Europe, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe. Part of the country is also located on the Pannonian Plain.
Serbia has no coastline and is sandwiched between eight other countries. Clockwise, starting in the north, they are Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
The main river of Serbia is the Danube. This 2850 km long river flows 588 km across Serbian territory, mainly through the northern part of the country. On this part of the Danube are the cities of Belgrade and Novi Sad, the mountain Fruška Gora and the Iron Gate. In Serbia, other important rivers also flow into the Danube, such as the Sava (in the heart of Belgrade), the Timiş (near Pančevo), and the Tisa (near the village of Titel, where the Begej river (254 km) also flows with the Tisa mixes). These rivers are all navigable and connect Serbia with northern and western Europe (via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal), with Eastern Europe (via the Tisa, Tamis, Begej and Danube - Black Sea routes), and southern Europe (via the Sava).
climate
In general, Serbia has a continental climate with hot dry summers and cold wet winters. The southern half of the country has a Mediterranean climate. In pannonian plains and especially in the southeastern half of the country, it can often get extremely hot in summer. It rarely rains there, and these are the driest areas of the country. In Kosovo district and surroundings there is even a semi-desert climate in some places.
Population
Due to the recent civil wars, various population groups that used to live peacefully side by side in Yugoslavia are no longer so prominent, but are often still present. The three largest groups are the Serbs, the Roma Gypsies who are especially common in the south and a group of Hungarian ethnicity in the Vojvodina in the north. After the secession of Montenegro, with 672,180 (2009) inhabitants, Serbia has a population of 7,379,339 (2009)[3].
Culture
Because Serbia has been dominated by the Turks for 500 years during the time of the Ottoman Empire, you see many Turkish elements, which often have their own twist. In the Balkans, each region had its own characteristic folk dances, which were mainly expressed at festivals and parties in the villages.
On May 12, 2007 Marija Šerifović won the Eurovision Song Contest for Serbia with the song Molitva, which means 'supplication'. As a result, on May 20, 22 and 24, 2008, the music festival was organized in the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade.
Holidays
Regions
Geographically, Serbia is divided into Central Serbia, the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the independent republic of Kosovo.
| Belgrade The capital of Serbia, in Central Serbia |
| Eastern and Southeast Serbia The eastern and south-eastern part of Central Serbia. Here you will find Nis, the third largest city in Serbia and the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. |
| Western Serbia The western part of central Serbia. Adjacent to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. |
| Central Serbia The middle part of Central Serbia |
| Vojvodina Autonomous province in northern Serbia. Geographically, it is not located in the Balkans, but in the Pannonian plain. The capital is Novi Sad. |
Controversial area
| Kosovo Considered by the United Nations as an autonomous province of Serbia, and recognized as an independent republic by several countries, but not by Serbia. The area has a large ethnic majority of Albanians. |
Towns
Other destinations
Arrive
Passport and visa
Since 2004 you can get a visa at the border with an EU passport, as is customary in many neighboring countries. The passport must be valid for at least another three months upon entry. On the website the latest information from the YU embassy in The Hague can be found.
By plane
- Nikola Tesla Airport. This is a major international airport near Belgrade. Shuttle buses run from the airport to the bus station in the city. A cheaper solution to get into the city is by bus 72 (300 dinar), which stops right in front of the departure hall. From Eindhoven are there cheap flights to Belgrade from Schiphol fly the more luxurious flights.
- Nis has a small airport, in recent years there has been mainly (and only) Zurich flown. It is easily accessible from Schiphol/Amsterdam via Zurich, although there are only two flights a week.
By train
Despite the rise of budget airlines, train travel can still be a cheap, fast and certainly more convenient option for transportation. Because train stations are often located in the city centres, the train on the medium distance (for example Enschede - Paris or Bruges - Wolfsburg) can compete very well with the plane.
Currently in Belgium and at the Deutsche Bahn online only to order tickets for the neighboring countries of Belgium, resp. Germany and a number of easily accessible cities further on. Other tickets can only be purchased by telephone or at the counter, or of course in the country concerned. The latter is often much cheaper. Also keep an eye out for the many Sparpreis offers at the Deutsche Bahn, which can be very advantageous for a travel route to or via Germany.
However, it is quite possible to train journey map out from home. The two sites listed immediately below provide information not only about journeys from the Benelux, but also about all train connections throughout Europe and in the Russian part of Asia, e.g. between Moscow and Madrid. It is about this the site of the Belgian railways and the Dutch site of the Deutsche Bahn.
NS Hispeed only offers information about travel between the Netherlands and a few large foreign cities. As a rule, this information is also limited to trains that run directly to or from abroad (i.e. no connections between Utrecht and Paris or between Rotterdam and Germany, because there is always a transfer within the Netherlands). To plan trips within the Netherlands, it is best this website use.
NS Hispeed sells online a small range of journeys departing from the Netherlands to other countries (one-way and return journeys), and a very limited number of routes from abroad to (other) foreign countries (one-way and return journeys). You can book other trips by telephone via the Telesales department (0900-9296, €0.35 p.m.) and at the counters in the Tickets and Service shops at the (medium) large stations. This is the online International counter of the Dutch railways.
Smoking is prohibited on the train in all European countries.
By car
From the Netherlands you can go through Passau in Germany. Here you can choose to Vienna and Budapest to drive, or via Mariboro and Zagreb. The route across Zagreb is now all over (toll) highways.
By bus
By boat
Travel around
By plane
By train
By car
By bus
By boat
Language
To look at
- Subotica (отица). Lively student city in the north of Serbia with, among other things, several Art Deco buildings and Roman Catholic monuments.
- Palić (алић). Seaside resort and health resort on Lake Palić in northern Serbia. At the lake you can also go fishing, horseback riding and wine tasting, or visit the zoo.
- Novi Sad (ови ад). Capital of Vojvodina and the second largest city in Serbia. In 1999 the city was bombed during the war for Kosovo. The city has since been rebuilt and is a tourist attraction, due to the various neoclassical buildings and the Petrovaradin Fortress.
- Arilje (иље). About a third of all raspberries in the world are grown in Serbia. The town of Arilje is considered the raspberry capital of the country. You will find several raspberry plantations.
- Studenica Monastery (анастир Студеница). Serbian Orthodox monastery from the 12th century. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
- Stari Ras (ари ад Рас). Archaeological site of the early medieval city of Ras, once the capital of the Serbian state of Raška. Destroyed in the 13th century, the city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979
- Kopaonik (опаоник). Touristic ski resort in Serbia
- Đavolja Varoš (авоља арош). Rock formation in Radan Nature Reserve. It is one of two places in Serbia, and one of the 25 places in the world where earth pyramids occur. The area is on the list of nominations for expansion of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- Gamzigrad (амзиград). Archaeological site. It consists of a Roman temple complex and several palaces, commissioned by the Roman emperor Galerius. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007.
- Đerdap . National Park (ационални парк „Ђердап”). The park occupies part of the Danube Valley - de Iron Gate - on the border of Romania and Serbia. There are several natural and cultural attractions along the Danube River route, such as cliffs, medieval castles and the Tabula Traiana.
To do
- Wine Tasting in Negotin. Negotin is one of the four wine regions of Serbia. In the villages of Rajac, Rogljevo, Štubik and Smedovac, all located in the municipality of Negotin, you can find several wine cellars.
To buy
Although the local currency is the Yugoslav Dinar, the locals convert everything to euros (formerly in D-mark). Nowadays the official rate is the same as the street rate, and you can safely withdraw money in the larger cities (Belgrade and Niš) with your bank card. Exchanging money on the street is no longer necessary and is also not recommended in view of exchange tricks.
Cost
Food
In local bars (Kafana) you can drink and eat reasonably cheaply. We recommend eating at Pljeskavica, which can best be compared with a hamburger sandwich, which are sold in small places on the street.
Going out
stay overnight
To learn
To work
Safety
Health
respect
Contact
all around
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