Serbia (Србија Srbija) is a country that was part of Yugoslavia. It is in the Balkans, in Southern Europe. It is surrounded by Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, Bulgaria to the southeast, Croatia to the northwest, Hungary to the north, Macedonia to the south, Romania to the northeast. It controls one of the major land routes from Central Europe to Turkey and the Near East.
Regions
Cities
Other destinations
Understand
Serbia is a lovely country, open for tourism all year round. In summer tourists love spending their time in Belgrade and enjoy the nature of many national parks throughout the country. In winter tourists are warmly welcomed to mountain resorts (one of the most popular being Kopaonik ). There are also many spa resorts such as Sokobanja, Niška Banja and Vrnjačka Banja.
Serbs are warm people especially towards tourists. Most Serbs know English (excluding seniors) so you will be able to find your way around by asking directions. Most tourists come to Serbia in the summer and you will often hear German, Italian, French and English on the streets of Belgrade due to the number of tourists.
If you are planning to travel to Kosovo (a UN administered zone) plan your travel well as it is not the safest place to be. However the rest of Serbia is safe and there are police officers in all cities and towns.
Climate
In the north: continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion: moderate continental climate; to the south: hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall.
Terrain
Extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills. Although the region around the town of Mionica has been known for some earthquakes in recent years, these were by no means destructive.
; Highest point : Đeravica 2,656 m
History
The first Serbian state was formed in the early 11th century, expanding to a Balkan empire until the mid of 14th century. In 1389, the Serbian empire finally fell to the dominance of the Turks. An uprising in the early 1800s led to Serbian independence in 1815.
The 1914 Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by an ethnic Serbian precipitated the first World War. In its aftermath, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought each other as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal Tito took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades.
In the early 1990s, post-Tito Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in 1992 and, under President Slobodan Milosevic, led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia". All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
In the late 1990s, the violent Albanian separatist movement in Kosovo led to NATO intervention, and the placement of Kosovo under UN administration. Federal elections in the fall of 2000 brought about the ouster of Milosevic, and led to the country's acceptance into UN organizations under the name of Yugoslavia. In 2002, the regions of Serbia and Montenegro began negotiations to forge a looser relationship, which led first to the name change to "Serbia and Montenegro", then culminated in Montenegro declaring independence in June 2006.
; Independence : 4 February 2003 (when changed from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to State Union of Serbia and Montenegro), 5 June 2006 (from State Union of Serbia and Montenegro to Serbia)
; National holidays:
January 1 - 2 (New Year's Day), January 7 (Eastern Orthodox Christmas), January 14 (National Holiday (Orthodox New Year), January 27 (Saint Sava's feast Day), February 15 (Sretenje / Groundhog Day (Candlemas) / Serbian National Day), April 21 (Orthodox Good Friday), April 23 (Orthodox Easter), April 24 (Orthodox Easter Monday), May 1 - 2 (Labour Day), May 9 (Victory Day), June 28 (Vidovdan / St Vitus Day)
Get in
Getting into Serbia does not constitute a problem for most European nationals. You don't need to obtain a visa for entering. Citizens of USA, Canada and Australia do not need visas either. Citizens of Bosnia need only ID. Check with your nearest Serbian embassy for current and detailed information.
By plane
TIP: If you want go by taxi to the city centre of Belgrade, don't take one of the taxis that are offered by men in and around the airport. They are much too expensive. Just take one that arrives with new travellers. They will be happy if they don't have to go back on their own. The average trip is between 550 and 800 Dinars (January 2005: 1400 Dinars)
Make sure that the taximeter is switched on. Tarif 1 is the correct one Monday to Saturday from morning till 10 am. Or better take one of the several bus lines, check the Belgrade section.{br}
You can change money at the airport. There is an ATM in the luggage collection area which accepts most major banking and credit cards.
----
----
By train
Several international trains from Belgrade to Budapest and Vienna and to Zagreb-Ljubljana-München/Zurich. Usually, they should not be too late (seldom more than 1 hour). The night train to Budapest was very regularly overcrowded in summer 2005 (only 1 sitting car). Furthermore, there are direct (day or night) trains from Belgrade to Skopje - Thessaloniki (Belgrade-Thessaloniki 30 euro/seat+20euro/bed one way at 2 beds compartment). Trains to Sofia and Bucarest however seem to be often very late (several hours). Trains to Macedonia (Greece), Bulgaria and Romania are allegedly reported to be unsure.
By car
Be sure your Green Card has an uncancelled "YU" or "SCG" box.
By bus
Priština - Bus terminal is located about 2 km from the city center. It serves several connections in Kosovo as well as international ones (Skopje, Belgrade). Buses are fairly cheap - for example, 80 km trip to Skopje, which takes 2-2.5 h is 5 Euro.
Hungary: When you take an international bus from Belgrade towards Germany, be not surprised when a collection is held inside the bus for paying the Hungarian border guards a fee to let the bus go faster over the border. This is what you would call a bribe. On your way into Serbia it seems 'cheaper'.
By boat
There are boat tours, which pass through Belgrade. These are English Trafalgar Tours which cruise along the Danube and have a two day stopover in Belgrade.
By thumb
Sometimes difficult to hitchhike, sometimes easy. Novi Sad seemed hard to get out of. Numberplates have an indication of where the car is coming from (or going to), NS is Novi Sad, BG is Belgrade, etc.
Generally, it is easy to hitch-hike through Vojvodina and it's much more difficult to hitch a ride from Belgrade to south, both Macedonia and Montenegro directions.
Talk
Languages: Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
The Serbian language is almost identical with Croat, Bosnian or Bosniak (differences are mostly in vocabulary , but all inhabitans understand all versions). Before the era of aggressive nationalist cultural and linguistic policies in former Yugoslavia, it was known as Serbo-Croatian, although today people in former Yugoslavia no longer use this general expression for their common language.
In Kosovo, the spoken language is almost entirely Albanian, although Serbian is usually understood. You should generally try to avoid using it though except in areas populated by Serbs, Roma or Bosniaks. Due to the high number foreign aid workers and NATO soldiers, English is also spoken quite well especially by younger people.
See
There are two rivers which go through Belgrade: Sava and Danube. There are a lot of old buildings on all four banks, including a fortress from the Turkish period (Kalemegdan), variuos towers and ports, and two long walking/biking paths along both rivers.
Medieval orthodox monasteries – Studenica, Manasija, Žiča, Ravanica...Exellent opportunity to see part of Serbian history. If you are interested in art, there are excellent fresco masterpieces. Recommendaion – “Beli Anđeo” (White Angel) fresco in Mileseva monastery.
Do
Belgrade night life – Belgrade is very famous for its whole-night-party clubs. It depends from musical taste, but if you are in search of place to feel local atmosphere and good vibes, visit bohemian street “Skadarlija”. If you are eager to feel even more of local atmosphere check “Black Panthers” (Crni Panteri) boat on Ada lake.
Favorite leisure activity in Belgrade is drinking coffee in numerous bars, bistros and cafés (especially in Strahinjića Bana street). It is very strange but most of places are occupied all day long. You should ckeck: Downtown café, Buka bar, Movie bar, Iron café, Biblioteka café, Monza café-boat, Bibis café-boat, and many more;
EXIT festival – Biggest music festival in SE Europe, that is happening in the beginning of July, in Novi Sad, on Petrovaradin fortress. (http://www.exitfest.org/)
Buy
There are lots of good shops in Belgrade downtown, in particular on the "Knez Mihailova" and "Terazije" streets. The only large western-style modern mall is located in "Novi Beograd" and it's called "Merkator". All major credit cards are accepted and prices are around the European average.
Eat
When ordering a burger ask for 'pljeskavica' (pronounced: pl-yee-eska-veetsa), and ask for cheese curd (like sour cream) (pronounced: kei-mahk) it tastes better than it sounds. Stepin Vajat at and Duff at autokomanda, and Iva in Žarkovo are the best grill fastfood restaurants in town. Also try ćevape (pronounced: tye-vape), they are small parcels of minced meat, grilled with hot spices. It is considered a local fast food delicacy. Highly recommended to carnivores.
Burek (pronounced Boor-ek) is very delicious. It is made with either meat, cheese or sometimes apple. Not for dieters as it is quite oily. Morning is definitely the best time to eat this (sometimes sold-out by afternoon).
Drink
Tap water is perfectly safe to drink.
Stay safe
Serbia is a safe country. People are normally very polite and helpful in case you require any assistance if you feel lost. However, those of us who are from Asian/Black origin should not be surprised if they attract quite a bit of attention, including the occasional passport-checking by policemen.
In cities, Neo-Nazism is a growing problem. Similiarities are occuring in Russia, Slovenia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and most of the slavic and/or former communist countries.
Respect
When toasting in Serbia, as in many countries, you must look the person in the eye as you toast. It is rude not to. Also remember that being obviously drunk is a sign of bad taste and worse character, same as in Montenegro: You may be invited to drink gallons, but are expected to be able to hold your drink.
Always greet people with good morning (Dobro jutro) /afternoon (Dobar dan)/evening (Dobro veče) /night
In Serbia one says "molim" (pronounced: moleam) = please, do not say "šta" (pron. shta) which translates to "what" as is often used in English to get someone to repeat something. That would sound rude.
"Hvala" is "thank you".
Learn the polite version of "you" and use it, especially when addressing older people.
Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија or Republika Srbija, ), 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.
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 Raška and Macedonia (in 1912). Finally, Vojvodina (formerly an autonomous Habsburg crownland named Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat) proclaimed its secession from Austria-Hungary, and joined Serbia in 1918. 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.
Name
In 17th and early 20th century English works, the country was often referred to as Servia. The usage was often resented by Serbs, who felt that the use of "Servia" linked the Serbs to the Latin servus, a slave or servant. However, scholars today agree that Serbian name did not derive from word servus.
The basic name, Serboi, originates in the works of Tacitus, Plinius and Ptolemy in the 1st and 2nd centuries, describing a people living north of the Caucasus. Following the migration into Central Europe, White Serbs established a state called Sorbia (White Serbia) in the 5th century. Their arrival in the Balkans is thought to have happened in 630, when Serbs settled among the other Slavic tribes that settled there a century earlier and mixed with them forming a medieval Serbian nation. Serbian kings were crowned as Kings of all Serbs rather than Kings of Serbia, and were using the terms Serb lands rather than Serbia itself. This is due to the fact that the Serbs mostly lived in several different tribal denominations such as Dioclea and Travunija, rather than in one unified state; however, the first unified state was achieved under the Vlastimirovic dynasty in the 9th century and has reemerged several times during Serbian history.
Geography
Serbia is located in Europe, on the Balkan peninsula and in the Pannonian Plain. It is placed at the crossroads between Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. The Danube river (2850 km) flows through the northern third of the country; it is 588 km long and forms the border with Croatia and part of Romania. The Sava river forms the southern border of the Vojvodina province, flows into the Danube in central Belgrade, and bypasses the hills of the Fruška Gora in the west. Sixty kilometers to the northeast of Belgrade, the Tisa river flows into the Danube and ends its 1350 km long journey from Ukraine, and the partially navigable Timiş River (60 km/350 km) flows into the Danube near Pancevo. The Begej river (254 km) flows into Tisa near Titel. All five rivers are navigable, connecting the country with Northern and Western Europe (through the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal–North Sea route), to Eastern Europe (via the Tisa–, Timiş–, Begej– and Danube–Black sea routes) and to Southern Europe (via the Sava river).
The eastern border of the country is determined by the Carpathian Mountain range, which runs through the whole of Central Europe. The Carpathians meet the Balkan Mountains, following the course of Velika Morava, a 500 km long (partially navigable) river. Midzor peak is the highest point in Eastern Serbia at 2156 m. In the southeast, the Balkan Mountains meet the Rhodope Mountains, connecting the country with Greece. The Sar Mountains of Kosovo form the border with Albania, with one of the highest peaks in the region, Djeravica (2656 m). Dinaric Alps of Serbia follow the flow of the Drina river (at 350 km navigable for smaller vessels only) overlooking the Dinaric peaks on the other side of the shore in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Climate
The Serbian climate varies between a continental climate in the north, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy inland snowfall. Differences in elevation, proximity to the Adriatic sea and large river basins, as well as the exposure to the winds account for climate differences. Vojvodina possesses typical continental climate, with airmasses from Northern and Western Europe which shape its climatic profile. South and Southwest Serbia is subject to Mediterranean influences, however the Dinaric Alps and other mountain ranges contribute cooling down the biggest part of warm air masses. Winters are quite harsh in Sandžak due to the mountains which encircle that plateau.
Average annual air temperature for the period 1961–90 for the area with the altitude of up to 300 m amounts to 10.9 °C. The areas with the altitudes of 300 to 500 m have average annual temperature of around 10.0 °C, and over 1000 m of altitude around 6.0 °C.
Cities
Major cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) — 2002 census data.
Infrastructure
Communications
89% of households in Serbia have static telephone lines, 49% have computers, 27% use the internet, 42% have cable TV and 90% of the population have cell phones.,,.
Transportation
Serbia, in particular the valley of the Morava, is often described as "the crossroads between East and West", which is one of the primary reasons for its turbulent history. The Morava valley route, which avoids mountainous regions, is by far the easiest way of traveling overland from continental Europe to Greece and Asia Minor.
European routes E65, E70, E75 and E80, as well as the E662, E761, E762, E763, E771, and E851 pass through the country. The E70 westwards from Belgrade and most of the E75 are modern highways of motorway / autobahn standard or close to that. As of 2005, Serbia has 1,481,498 registrated cars, 16,042 motocycles, 9,626 buses, 116,440 trucks, 28,222 special transport vehicles, 126,816 tractors, and 101,465 trailers.
The Danube River, central Europe's connection to the Black Sea, flows through Serbia.
There are four international airports in Serbia: Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Niš Constantine the Great Airport, Vršac International Airport and Priština International Airport (located in Kosovo, under Serbian sovereignty but under UN administration since 1999).
The national airline carrier is Jat Airways and the railway system is operated by Beovoz in Belgrade and by Serbian Railways on the national level.
See also
References
External links
Government links
(In alphabetical order of domain name.)
Other links
