According to abbreviationfinder, Belgrade is the capital of the Republic of Serbia and the largest and most populous city in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. It is believed to be the oldest city in the world.
Located at the confluence of the Sava River with the Danube and on the border of the Pannonian plain with the Balkan Peninsula, Belgrade extends over an area of 3,222.68 km², which occupies 3.6% of the territory of the Republic. The metropolitan area is home to a population of 1,756,534 residents, representing 21% of the Serbian population, making it the fifth most populous city in southeastern Europe, after Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest.
With a history dating back almost 7000 years, Belgrade is recognized as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, along with Byblos (Lebanon), Aleppo (Syria), Susa (Iran), Sidon (Lebanon) and Luxor (Egypt).
Often convulsed as it was the scene of confrontations between the powers that successively dominated the region. The first settlements appeared with the prehistoric culture of Vincha around 4800 BC. n. and. In the III century a. n. and. Celts settled, and later, the Romans founded the city of Singidunum. The first documents where the Slavic name Beligrad appears date from the year 878. In 1284 it passed into the hands of the Serbs of Sirmia, and from 1403, to the Despotate of Serbia. Later it was also the capital of the Principality of Serbia, which became the Kingdom of Serbia in 1882, as well as of the different state variations of Yugoslavia between 1918 and 2003, as well as of the Confederation of Serbia and Montenegro until its dissolution in 2006.
Economy
Due to its central geographical location, Belgrade has been, together with its population, the main engine of the Serbian economy.
Industry is the dominant sector of the Belgrade economy with a weight of 26.4% in the total value. Among the types of manufacturing present, the companies in the energy sector (50.5%), the food industries (17.3%), the metallurgical sector (12.2%) and the chemical-pharmaceutical industry (7) stand out for their productive value., 6%).
The trade employs 63,000 people in about 60,000 establishments, of which 14,500 are retail stores, hypermarkets or department stores. The sector is favored by the activity of the river port and the promotional activity of the Belgrade Fair.
In the construction sector, Belgrade with more than 4,300 companies concentrates practically all of Serbia’s resources: 80% of projects, 50% of buildings and 100% of civil engineering.
During the 1990s, the city suffered, like the rest of the country, the effects of the economic crisis caused by the war situation in the region and accentuated after the sanctions imposed by the international community but which was recovering significantly from the year 2000. In December 2000, hyperinflation reached 111.9%, the change from the Yugoslav dinar to Euro was set at 58.67 or the reserves in foreign currencies were 890 million USD, in January 2005 those same indicators showed 14.4% for inflation, the change to Euro at 80.29 and the currency reserves increased to 4,977 million USD.
In March 2007, the average gross monthly salary in Belgrade was 46,048 Serbian dinars, around € 565 euros or $ 770 dollars.
Sightseeing
The historic neighborhoods and buildings of Belgrade are the main attractions of the city. Among others, these are: Skadarlija, National Museum of Serbia, National Theater, Zemun, Nikola Pašić Square, Terazije Square, Students Square, Kalemegdan, Knez Mihailova Street, Parliament of Serbia, Temple of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace.
There are many parks, monuments, museums, bars, restaurants and shops on both banks of the Sava, such as the Mausoleum of the Unknown Hero in Avala (work of Ivan Meštrović), or the Mausoleum of Tito, called Kuća cveća (House of Flowers). The Topčider and Košutnjak parks are very popular, especially among tourists from the former Yugoslav republics.
Communications and transportation
Belgrade has an extensive public transport system based on buses (118 urban lines and more than 300 suburban lines), trams (12 lines), and trolleybuses (8 lines). The public transport system is managed by the Belgrade Public Transport Company (GSP Beograd) and SP Lasta, in cooperation with some private companies on various bus routes.
The main train station connects Belgrade with other European capitals, as well as with other cities in Serbia. The motorway system provides easy access to Novi Sad to the north, Niš to the south and Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, to the west.
The most important bridges are the Branko, and Gazela. They connect the city center with New Belgrade. The Port of Belgrade, which is on the Danube, allows river traffic.
It has the airport – Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade (IATA: BEG) a few kilometers from the city center.
Demography
Belgrade’s population was 1,576,124, of which 1,417,187 declared themselves Serbs, 22,161 Yugoslavs, 21,190 Montenegrins, 19,191 Roma, 10,381 Croats, 8,372 Macedonians and 4,617 Muslims. See population of Serbia.
In Belgrade there are several religious communities, the largest community being the Serbian Orthodox with about 1,429,170 believers. Islam is the second largest religion, with about 20,366 believers, the third is the Catholic Church with about 16,305 believers. Before World War II, Belgrade had a large Jewish community, but after the Nazi occupation and subsequent emigration to Israel, their number has dropped to just 415. There are also 3,796 Protestants in the city.
Besides its natural residents, Belgrade is home to many Serbs from all over the former Yugoslavia: immigrants, refugees from war or victims of “ethnic cleansing” operations.
