Kuršumlija
Куршумлија | |
---|---|
Town and municipality | |
Coordinates: 43°09′N 21°16′E / 43.150°N 21.267°E | |
Country | Serbia |
Region | Southern and Eastern Serbia |
District | Toplica |
Settlements | 90 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Radoljub Vidić (SNS) |
Area | |
• Town | 7.90 km2 (3.05 sq mi) |
• Municipality | 952 km2 (368 sq mi) |
Elevation | 366 m (1,201 ft) |
Population (2011 census)[2] | |
• Town | 13,306 |
• Town density | 1,700/km2 (4,400/sq mi) |
• Municipality | 19,213 |
• Municipality density | 20/km2 (52/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 18430 |
Area code | +381(0)27 |
Car plates | PK |
Website | www |
Kuršumlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Куршумлија, pronounced [kurʃǔmlija]) is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of the southern Serbia. It is situated near the rivers Toplica, Kosanica and Banjska, on the southeast of mount Kopaonik, and northwest of Mount Radan. As of 2011, the town has 13,306 inhabitants, while municipality has 19,213.
Geography
Kuršumlija sits on the area of 952 km2 (367.57 sq mi) and administratively is in Toplica District. Its borders the municipalities of Brus, Blace, Prokuplje, Medveđa, Podujevo, and Leposavić. Its southwest border (105 km) is within the disputed territory of Kosovo.
History
The Romans established the Ad Fines military outpost in the 3rd century AD. There are also remains of churches from the Byzantine period. The Serbian principality of Rascia expanded from this region. Stefan Nemanja, a Serbian lord (župan), and the founder of Nemanjić dynasty, built his residence here, as well as the two monasteries of St Nicolas and the Holy Mother of God (before 1168).[citation needed]
There are many historical sights in Kuršumlija from that era: Mara Tower, Ivan Tower, and many medieval churches. The name in that period was Bele Crkve (White Churches) and Toplica. After the invasion by the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century, the Ottomans gave the town its current name, simply by translating the old name, Bele Crkve (White Churches). During Ottoman rule Kuršumlija was part of the Sanjak of Niš.[3]
In 1878, Kuršumlija became a part of the Principality of Serbia, which in 1882 became the Kingdom of Serbia. From 1929-41, Kuršumlija was part of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
1999 NATO bombing
Kuršumlija was bombed on multiple occasions during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav army barracks were struck by NATO bombs on March 24, 1999, after which nine officers and two soldiers were killed.[4] A total of 41 soldiers were injured in the same bombing that night.[4] On April 12, 1999, six civilians were killed in Merdare from NATO airstrikes on the border of Kuršumlija and Podujevo.[5]
Settlements
Aside from the town of Kuršumlija, the following villages consist the municipality of Kuršumlija:
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1948 | 37,284 | — |
1953 | 39,772 | +1.30% |
1961 | 36,896 | −0.93% |
1971 | 31,672 | −1.52% |
1981 | 27,629 | −1.36% |
1991 | 23,590 | −1.57% |
2002 | 21,608 | −0.79% |
2011 | 19,213 | −1.30% |
Source: [6] |
The municipality of Kuršumlija includes one urban and 89 rural settlements. According to the 2011 census there are 19,213 inhabitants in the municipality. The municipality of Kuršumlija has 6,962 households with 2,76 members on average, while the number of homes is 11,374.[7]
The religious structure of the municipality is predominantly Serbian Orthodox (18,764), with minorities like Atheists (22), Muslims (17), Catholics (14) and others.[8] Most of the population speaks Serbian (18,687).[8]
The composition of population by sex and average age:[8]
- Male - 9,862 (41.54 years) and
- Female - 9,351 (44.43 years).
A total of 7,356 citizens (older than 15 years) have secondary education (44.8%), while 1,606 citizens have higher education (9.8%). Of those with higher education, 898 (5.5%) have university education.[9]
Ethnic groups
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
Ethnic group | Population | % |
---|---|---|
Serbs | 18,528 | 96.43% |
Roma | 339 | 1.76% |
Montenegrins | 47 | 0.24% |
Croats | 8 | 0.04% |
Gorani | 8 | 0.04% |
Macedonians | 6 | 0.03% |
Yugoslavs | 5 | 0.03% |
Albanians | 5 | 0.03% |
Russians | 5 | 0.03% |
Others | 262 | 1.36% |
Total | 19,213 |
Tourism
Kuršumlija is known for a natural monument of hoodoos near Mount Radan known as Đavolja Varoš ('Devil's Town'). There are three spas (banjas): the Prolom Banja, Kuršumlijska Banja, and Lukovska Banja. Prolom water is bottled at the Prolom Spa.
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Devil's Town
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Devil's Town
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Devil's Town
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Devil's Town
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Prolom Spa Center
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Kuršumlija Spa Center Hotel
Economy
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[10]
Activity | Total |
---|---|
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 168 |
Mining and quarrying | - |
Manufacturing | 1,070 |
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 31 |
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 94 |
Construction | 90 |
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 417 |
Transportation and storage | 242 |
Accommodation and food services | 109 |
Information and communication | 33 |
Financial and insurance activities | 25 |
Real estate activities | - |
Professional, scientific and technical activities | 91 |
Administrative and support service activities | 23 |
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 461 |
Education | 312 |
Human health and social work activities | 441 |
Arts, entertainment and recreation | 40 |
Other service activities | 141 |
Individual agricultural workers | 208 |
Total | 3,997 |
Gallery
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St. Nicholas Monastery
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St. Nicholas Monastery
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St. Nicholas Monastery
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Orthodox Church Irinej
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Kuršumlija Railway station
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Panorama of Kuršumlija
Notable natives or residents
- The most notable Grand Prince of Serbia, Stefan Nemanja, established his first capital, Bele Crkve, near the location of today's Kuršumlija in 1166–1172. His wife, Grand Princess Anastasia (Ana), died and was buried here as a nun, St. Anastasia Nemanjic.
- Sultania Mara, daughter of Despot Đurađ Branković, later wife of the Ottoman Emperor Murad II, and step mother of Emperor Mehmed II also at the end of her life came to live here as a nun in monastery of Holy Mother of God, where she made a fortress called Mara Tower. She died in around 1487.
- Kosta Pećanac, a notable Serbian soldier in the First and Second World War. His house is protected of by the municipality.
- Dragoljub Mićunović (born in 1930. in Merdare, Kuršumlija), professor of at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy. He was a dissident during the Communist period, and the first president of the Democratic Party. He was the first president of parliament of State Union of Serbia & Montenegro.
- Momčilo Đokić, He played a total of 13 matches for the Yugoslavia national football team. His debut was on April 13, 1930 against Bulgaria, in Belgrade, a 6-1 win, and his fairway match was on December 13, 1936, in Paris against France, a 0-1 loss. He played all the matches at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay.
- Žarko Dragojević, director, born in Kuršumlija, professor at the Faculty of Drama at the University of Belgrade. He is director of several notable films, including Kuća pored pruge (House by the tracks) and Noć u kući moje majke (Night in my mother's house). He also directed many documentaries, among them series on Serbian monasteries for the Serbian national broadcaster (RTS).
- Vojin Šulović, academician, humanist, doctor of gynaecology. 7 July and October awards of city of Belgrade winner. Also Serbian medical society award winner and Serbian warrior medallist. Smederevo and Kuršumlija municipality freeman.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Municipalities of Serbia, 2006". Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia: Comparative Overview of the Number of Population in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002 and 2011, Data by settlements" (PDF). Statistical Office of Republic Of Serbia, Belgrade. 2014. ISBN 978-86-6161-109-4. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- ^ Godišnjak grada Beograda. Museum of the Belgrade. 1977. p. 116. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ a b Ljiljana Danilović (25 March 2010). "Blic: Još sanjam pogled nastradalog druga" (in Serbian). Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ Dragan Ilić (24 March 2017). ": Слово Југа: Да се не заборави: 18 година од НАТО бомбардовања" (in Serbian). Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ^ "Number and the floor space of housing units" (PDF). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ a b c "Religion, Mother tongue, and Ethnicity" (PDF). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Educational attainment, literacy and computer literacy" (PDF). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ in memoriam academician Vojin ŠuloViĆ(1923-2008) Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine