SERBIA

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SERBIA ___________________________________________________________
The Republic of Serbia is a landlocked country in Central and Southeastern Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered by Hungary on the north; Romania and Bulgaria on the east; Albania and Macedonia on the south; and Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the west.
The capital is Belgrade. For centuries shaped at cultural boundaries between East and West, a powerful medieval Kingdom, later Serbian Empire, has been born, taking up much of the Balkans. The modern state of Serbia emerged in 1817 following the Second Serbian Uprising. Later, it expanded its territory further south to include Kosovo and Metohija and the regions of Raska and Vardar Macedonia (in 1912). Finally, Vojvodina (formerly an autonomous Habsburg crownland named Voivodship of Serbia and Tamis Banat) proclaimed its seccession from Austria-Hungary, and united with Serbia in November 25, 1918, preceded by the Syrmia region a day before.
The current borders of the country were established following the end of World War II, when Serbia became a federal unit within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Serbia became an independent state again in 2006, after Montenegro left the union which was formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1990s
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POPULATION OF SERBIA ___________________________________________________________
Serbia is populated mostly by Serbs. Significant minorities include Albanians (who are a majority in the province of Kosovo), Hungarians, Bosniaks, Roma, Croats, Slovaks, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Romanians, etc. The two provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, are ethnically and religiously diverse.According to the last official census data collected in 2002, ethnic composition of Serbia is:
Total: 7,498,001
Serbs: 6,212,844 (82.86%)
Hungarians: 293,172 (3.91%)
Bosniaks: 136,464 (1.82%)
Roma: 107,971 (1.44%)
Yugoslavs: 80,978 (1.08%)
Others (each less than 1%): 666,572 (8.89%)
The census was not conducted in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo, which is under administration by the United Nations. According to the EU estimates however, the overall population is estimated at 2,000,000 inhabitants, of whom 90% are Albanians, 8% Serbs and others 2%.
Government of Serbia ___________________________________________________________
RELIGION ___________________________________________________________
For centuries straddling the religious boundary between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, joined up later by the penetration of Islam, Serbia remains one of the most diverse countries on the continent. Centuries on, different regions of Serbia remain heavily cosmopolitan: Kosovo province houses a 90% Muslim community, Vojvodina province is 25% Catholic or Protestant, while Central Serbia and Belgrade regions are over 90% Orthodox Christian.
Among the predominant Orthodox Christian countries of Europe, Serbia is the westernmost. According to the 2002 Census [40], 82% of the population of Serbia (excluding Kosovo) or 6,2 million people declared their nationality as Serbian, who are overwhelmingly adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Other Orthodox Christian communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Vlachs etc. Together they comprise about 84% of the entire population.
Catholicism is mostly present in Vojvodina (mainly in its northern part), where almost 20% of the regional population (belonging to different ethnic groups such as the Hungarians, Slovaks, Croats, Bunjevci, Czechs, etc) belong to this Christian denomination. There are an estimated 433,000 baptized Catholics in Serbia, roughly 6,2% of the population, mostly bounded to the northern province.
Protestantism accounts for about 1,5 % of the country's population.
Islam has a strong historic populous in the southern regions of Serbia - Raska region, several municipalities in the south-east, and especially in the southern province of Kosovo. Bosniaks are the largest Muslim community in Serbia (excluding Kosovo) at about 140,000 (2%), followed by Albanians (1%), Turks, Arabs etc.
With the exile of Jews from Spain during the infamous Inquisition era thousands of both individuals and families escaping that horror made their way through Europe to the Balkans. A goodly number settled in Serbia and became part of the general population. They were well accepted and during the ensuing generations the majority assimilated or became traditional or secular rather than remain orthodox Jews as had been the original immigrants. Later on the wars that ravaged the region resulted in a great part of the Serbian Jewish population either being killed or escaping to other regions for hopefully safer abodes in Yugoslavia and Austria-Hungary..
The Temple of Saint Sava in Serbia is the largest Orthodox church currently in use in world
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TOURISM in SERBIA ___________________________________________________________
Tourism in Serbia is mostly focused on the villages and mountains of the country. The most famous mountain resorts are Zlatibor, Kopaonik, and the Tara. There are also many spas in Serbia, one the biggest of which is Vrnjachka Banja. Other spas include Soko Banja and Niska Banja. There is a significant amount of tourism in the largest cities like Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, but also in the rural parts of Serbia like the volcanic wonder of Djavolja varos, Christian pilgrimage across the country and the cruises along the Danube, Sava or Tisza. Home to several popular festivals, such as the Exit Festival (proclaimed the best European festival by UK Festival Awards 2007 and Yourope, the European Association of the 40 largest festivals in Europe) and the Gucha trumpet festival, in 2007, 2,2 million tourists have chosen Serbia as its destination, a 15% increase comparing to the previous yearNational Park Djerdap
Tara National Park
National Park Kopaonik
Fruska Gora National Park
(''DEVIL'S TOWN'').
The monument of nature “Djavolja Varos” is unique in Serbia and very rare in the world. Located in southern region of Serbia, 27 km from town Kursumlija. On this location, a million years ago, volcanic eruptions caused emergence of earth pyramids. Since 1959. Djavolja Varos is under protection of the state and by decision of Serbian Government in 1995, it was proclaim the natural good of outstanding importance and get under the first-category level of protection. Beneath one natural phenomena there is another one! Couple of them actually. There is two springs. “Djavolja voda” (“Devil’s Water”) with extremely high acid water (pH 1.5) and high mineral concentration (15 g/l of water) and “Crveno vrelo” (“Red Well”). These extraordinary earth figures looks very attractive and recently they entered the contest for New Seven World Wonders. After that it is expected for Djavolja Varos to become one of the favorite attractions of Serbian tourism. It should bring visitors from all around the world. Djavolja Varos or Davolja Varos (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђавоља Варош, meaning "Devil's Town") is a geographical region of south Serbia, by the Radan mountains near Kursumlija. The region is protected as a natural heritage, and features exotic formations described as earth pyramids. Scientists say that they have been formed by erosion. A natural spring is located beneath the pyramids and has a high mineral concentration. This site is a nominee in the New Seven Wonders of Nature election.Legend:
The region was formed several million years ago by strong volcanic activity. There are several legends surrounding this phenomenon; the most common one is that the poles represent God's punishment and that the formations are wedding guests that have turned into stone.
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SERBS ___________________________________________________________
Serbian are a South Slavic people who live in the Balkans, mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. They are also a significant minority in two other republics of the Former Yugoslavia- the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Serbs are an officially recognized minority in both Romania and Hungary (mostly in Banat). There is a sizeable Serbian diaspora in Western Europe (predominantly concentrated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria), as well in North America: the United States and Canada. The majority of Serbs live in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Republic of Serbia is their state, they are a constituent nation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and a recognized people in the Republic of Montenegro where they have lived since their arrival. Large indigenous population also lived in Croatia, where they were a constitutive nation before 1990 and today a recognized national minority. Much smaller Serb autochthonous minorities exist in the Republic of Macedonia (Kumanovo, Skopje), Slovenia (Bela Krajina), Romania (Banat), Hungary (Szentendre, Pécs, Szeged) and Italy (Trieste). Many Serbs also live in the diaspora, notably in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Russia, Brazil, Canada, the US and Australia.
The number of Serbs in the diaspora is unknown but it is estimated to be up to 4 million according to Ministry for Diaspora Republic of Serbia. Smaller numbers of Serbs live in New Zealand, and Serbian communities in South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile) are reported to grow and exist to this day. According to official figures, 5000 Serbs live in Dubai but the unofficial figure is estimated to be around 15,000. ___________________________________________________________
GOD OF JUSTICE (Anthem) ___________________________________________________________
Боже правде, English: God of Justice or Lord Give Us Justice is the official anthem of Serbia. It was written in 1872 with music by Davorin Jenko and lyrics by Jovan Đorđević. It was also used as an anthem of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the period of 1991 to 2006,
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ECONOMY ___________________________________________________________
With a GDP for 2008 estimated at $81.892 billion ($10 985 per capita PPP), Republic of Serbia is considered an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in 2006 was $5.85 billion or €4.5 billion. FDI for 2007 reached $4.2 Billion while real GDP per capita figures are estimated to have reached $6 600 (October 2007). The GDP growth rate showed increase by 6.3% (2005), 5.8% (2006), reaching 7.5% in 2007 as the fastest growing economy in the region. At the beginning of the process of economic transition (1989), its favorable economic outlook in the region was hampered by politics, its economy being gravely impacted by the UN economic sanctions of 1992–95, as well as the sizable infrastructure and industry damage, suffered during the Kosovo war. Its problems were only augmented by losing the ex-Yugoslavia and Comecon markets. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President Milošević in October 2000, the country experienced faster economic growth, and has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important trading partner. among which unemployment (18,1%) high export/import trade deficit and considerable national debt are most prominent. The country expects some major economic impulses and high growth rates in the next years. Serbia has been occasionally called a "Balkan tiger" because of its recent high economic growth rates, which averaged 6,6 % (in the past three years), with FDI at its record levels. Serbia grows about one-third of the world's raspberries and is the leading frozen fruit exporter. Serbia has been very successful in economic reforms since the 2000 revolution, especially in the past three years in which growth has averaged 6 – 7 percent, and foreign direct investment is at record levels ___________________________________________________________
HOLIDAYS IN SERBIA ___________________________________________________________
*January 1-2 New Year
*January 7 Orthodox Christmas
*January 14 Orthodox New Year
*January 27 Sveti Sava (Saint Sava's) day. In memory of the first Serbian Archbishop
*February 15 Statehood Day- National Day of Serbia
*April 25 Orthodox Good Friday
*April 26 Orthodox Good Saturday
*April 27 Orthodox Easter
*April 28 Orthodox Easter Monday
*May 1 / May 2 Labour Day
*May 9 Victory Day
*June 28 Vidovdan (Orthodox holiday, also day for memory on Kosovo battle-1389)
*December 19 Saint Nicholas (commonly celebrated by a large part of the Orthodox population)

All holidays in Serbia are regulated by the Law of national and other holidays in Republic of Serbia.. Holidays are modulate with historical and religious events ___________________________________________________________
SERBIAN LANGUAGE ___________________________________________________________
Serbian (српски језик; srpski jezik) is the most spoken South Slavic language. It is one of the standard versions of the Shtokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and by Serbs in the Serbian diaspora. The former standard is known as Serbo-Croatian, now split into Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian standards. It counts among official (and minority) languages of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania, Republic of Macedonia and Hungary. Two alphabets are used to write the Serbian language: a variation on the Cyrillic alphabet, devised by Vuk Karadzic, and a variation on the Latin alphabet, devised by Ljudevit Gaj. The characters of the two alphabets map to each other one-to-one. Serbian orthography is very consistent: approximation of the principle "one letter per sound". This principle is represented by Adelung's saying, "Write as you speak and read as it is written", the principle used by Vuk Stefanovi,, Karad,,i,, when reforming the Cyrillic orthography of Serbian in the 19th century. Standard Serbian is based on the ,,tokavian dialect. The Ekavian variant is spoken mostly in Serbia and Ijekavian in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, south-western Serbia, and Croatia. The base for is the Ijekavian dialect is East-Herzegovinian, and of the Ekavian, the Sumadija-Vojvodina dialect. Features of other Shtokavian dialects, as well of the Torlakian dialect, which is spoken in southern Serbia, are not accepted as standard. The sort order of the two alphabets is different ___________________________________________________________
SPORTS IN SERBIA ___________________________________________________________
Serbia is currently the world's leading nation in sports. The Sport in Serbia revolves mostly around team sports: football, basketball, water polo, volleyball, handball, and, more recently, tennis.
Waterpolo team of Serbia
Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic Serbian Best Women tennis players
National Football team ___________________________________________________________
KOSOVO IS SERBIA ___________________________________________________________
KOSOVO
Pristina 4 Largest city 230.000 prior to (1999) naw more than 500.000 Largest city in Kosovo and Metoxija region
VISOKI DECANI SERBIAN ORTHODOX MONASTERY
Visoki Decani Monastery is situated in the western part of the UN administered Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohia. It was built between 1327 and 1335 by the Serbian medieval king St. Stephen of Decani and was dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord. The monastery is settled in the picturesque valley of the Bistrica river surrounded by the mountains and forests of the Prokletije mountain range It is the largest and best preserved medieval monastery in Serbia. During its turbulent history the Monastery was an important spiritual centre with developed artistic and intellectual activities. Although the monastery buildings suffered damage from the Turkish occupation, the church has been completely preserved with beautiful 14th century fresco paintings. Today a young brotherhood of 30 brethren lives in the monastery continuing the centuries old tradition of the past. The brotherhood has developed various activities: wood carving, icon painting, book publishing and is also active in the missionary work. The beautiful monastic services are served according to the typicon of Mount Athos.
GRACANICA MONASTERY
Gracanica Monastery one of King Milutin's last monumental endowments. It is situated in the village of Gracanica, 5 km. from Pristina, the administrative centre of Kosovo and Metohija region. The monastery is in the close vicinity of Lipljan, the ancient Roman town of Ulpiana, and the old residence of bishops. Gracanica was constructed on the ruins of an older 13th-century church of the Theotokos, which was built on the ruins of a 6th-century early Christian three-naved basilica. In the charter inscribed on the south wall of the chapel, King Milutin says: "I saw the devastation and fall of the church of the Holy Theotokos of Gracanica, Bishopric of Lipljan, I had it built from the foundation stone, I had it inscribed and decorated from the inside and from the outside." All this happened in the year 6830, that is, in 1321 since the birth of Christ. Only the church remains from the original monastery complex. The vestibule with the dome was additionally built several decades later. This vestibule was ruined during Turkish assaults in 1379-1383, when the dome was lost in fire, as well as a rich collection of manuscripts. The vestibule is believed to have been restored in 1383 by Bishop Simeon of Gracanica.
Monastery of the Patriarchate of Pec
The Monastery of the Patriarchate of Pec is located at the very entrance of the Rugova gorge near Pec. The complex of the Pec churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs. The temple of the Holy Apostles was built by Archbishop Arsenije I in the third decade of the 13th century. He was also responsible for the painting of the church around 1260. Archbishop Nikodim built the temple of St. Dimitrije next to the northern side of the church of Holy Apostles between 1321 and 1324, while Archbishop Danilo II built the churches dedicated to Virgin Odigitrija and St. Nikola on its southern side. He also built the monumental parvis in the shape of a magnificent open porch in front of the western facades of the churches of St. Dimitrije, Holy Apostles and Holy Virgin Odigitrija. At the time of Patriarch Makarije, the elegant openings with dual arcades were walled up. An entire history of the styles of medieval wall painting can be seen on the walls of the Pec churches. The church of the Holy Apostles was also decorated around 1300, then around 1350 and 1375 and twice in the 17th century. The church of St. Dimitrije was painted for the first time at the time of Patriarch Joakinije, around 1345, and the new layer of frescoes was painted by Georgije Mitrofanovic around 1619-1620. The church of Holy Virgin Odigitrija was painted before 1337, while its parvis was painted in the 14th and 16th centuries. The church of St. Nikola was painted by painter Radul in 1673/1674. As a result of severe Turkish repression Patriarch Arsenios III left Pec with several thousand Christian families and emigrated to southern Hungary at the end of 17th century. Despite pressure from the local Moslem population the monastery has been preserved until today. After the Second World War the Patriarchate of Pec was converted into a convent. Although this monastery jurisdictionally does not belong to the Diocese of Raska and Prizren it is nevertheless closely tied to the monasteries of the Diocese. As a stavropegic monastery it is directly under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch from Belgrade. Today, the monastery is still one of the most important Serbian Orthodox centers in the Region with the sisterhood of 24 nuns. After the fire which was set by Albanian extremists in 1981 new residental quarters were erected. After the war 1998-1999 the monastery became an important center for the remaining Serbs in the area. At the moment in Pec town only these nuns remain. They live in everyday struggle to preserve this holy site and provide necessary humanitarian assistance to the neigboring Serb enclaves of Gorazdevac and Osojane. The monastery also owns the metochion of Budisavci, near Klina where two nuns remain under the constant KFOR protection.
MONASTERY CHURCH OF VIRGIN LJEVICKA AT PRIZREN Church was built 1306/7 by serbian king Milutin Nemanjic (1282-1321) and decorated with frescoes between 1309 and 1313.