Požarevac (Serbian Cyrillic: Пожаревац, pronounced [pǒʒarevats]) is a city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čačalica (208m). As of 2022, the city has a population of 51,271 while the city administrative area has 68,648 inhabitants.

Požarevac
Пожаревац (Serbian)
City of Požarevac
Град Пожаревац
From top: City Hall, Regional History Museum, Eco Home, Miloš Obrenović statue in the city park, Mausoleum and cemetery in Viminacium
Flag of Požarevac
Coat of arms of Požarevac
Location of the city of Požarevac within Serbia
Location of the city of Požarevac within Serbia
Coordinates: 44°37′N 21°11′E / 44.617°N 21.183°E / 44.617; 21.183
Country Serbia
RegionSouthern and Eastern Serbia
DistrictBraničevo
Municipalities2
Settlements27
Government
 • MayorSaša Pavlović (SNS)
Area
 • Urban74.39 km2 (28.72 sq mi)
 • Administrative483.18 km2 (186.56 sq mi)
Elevation
81 m (266 ft)
Population
 (2022 census)[2]
 • Urban
51,271
 • Urban density690/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
 • Administrative
68,648
 • Administrative density140/km2 (370/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
12000
Area code+381(0)12
Car platesPO
Websitewww.pozarevac.rs

Name edit

In Serbian, the city is known as Požarevac (Пожаревац), in Romanian as Pojarevăț or Podu Lung, in Turkish as Pasarofça, in German as Passarowitz, and in Hungarian as Pozsarevác.

The name means "fire-town" in Serbian (In this case, the word "fire" is used in the sense of a disaster).

History edit

Ancient times edit

In ancient times, the area was inhabited by Thracians, Dacians, and Celts.[citation needed] There was a city at this locality known as Margus in Latin after the Roman conquest in the first century BC.[citation needed]

In 435, the city of Margus, under the Eastern Roman Empire, was the site of a treaty between the Byzantine Empire and the Hun leaders Attila and Bleda.[citation needed]

One pretext for the Hun invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire in 442 was that the Bishop of Margus had crossed the Danube to ransack and desecrate the royal Hun graves on the north bank of the Danube. When the Romans discussed handing over the Bishop, he slipped away and betrayed the city to the Huns, who then sacked the city and went on to invade as far as the gates of Constantinople itself.[citation needed]

After the fall of the Hunnic Empire, the area was again controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire. In the 6th century, it was briefly controlled by the Kingdom of the Gepids. Since the 6th century, the area was populated by Slavs, but the Eastern Roman Empire held a nominal control over the region until the 8th century when Balkan Slavs achieved de facto independence from the Eastern Empire. It was also ruled by Avar Khaganate before their demolition by Charlemagne. The area was subsequently included into the Bulgarian Empire and was alternately ruled by the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary until the 13th century.

In the 13th century, the area was ruled by independent local Slavic-Bulgarian rulers, Drman and Kudelin. It was subsequently included into the Kingdom of Syrmia, ruled by Serbian king Stefan Dragutin and into the Kingdom of Serbia and Serbian Empire ruled by Stefan Dušan.

Archaeology edit

A Bronze Age figurine "The Idol of Kličevac" was found in a grave in the village of Kličevac. It was destroyed during World War I.[3]

The National Museum in Belgrade and Požarevac has some 40,000 items found in Viminacium, of which over 700 are of gold and silver. Among them are many invaluable rarities.

In June 2008, a Triballian (Thracian) grave was found with ceramics (urns). These date from the first millennium BC.[4]

Modern city edit

 
Unveiling of the Miloš Obrenović monument, 1898.
 
Reservist mobilization in Požarevac, 1914.

The modern town of Požarevac was first mentioned in the 14th century under the name Puporače[5][dubious ]; it first being mentioned under its present-day name in 1476.[6] The town became part of Moravian Serbia and Serbian Despotate, until the Ottoman conquest in 1459. During Ottoman administration, it was part of the Sanjak of Smederevo. It was occupied by Austrian Empire between 1688 and 1690.

In 1718, Požarevac was the site of the signing of the Treaty of Požarevac,[7] with the town then falling under Habsburg control and becoming part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (from 1718 to 1739). After 1739, the town reverted to Ottoman control except final Austrian occupation between 1789 and 1791. During the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813), the town was part of the Karađorđe's Serbia. At the end of the uprising in 1813, the town came briefly once more under direct Ottoman control. However, following the Second Serbian Uprising from 1815, the town then became part of the autonomous Ottoman Principality of Serbia. Požarevac was the second capital of the Serbian prince, Miloš Obrenović with the first regular state court in Serbia being established here in 1821. Since 1878, Požarevac became part of the independent Principality of Serbia and since 1882 as part of the Kingdom of Serbia.

Following the end of the First World War in 1918, the town was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). From 1929 to 1941, Požarevac was part of the Danube Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, from 1941 to 1944, it was part of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. From 1944, Požarevac became part of the new socialist Serbia within socialist Yugoslavia. And from 1992, the town became part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (renamed as Serbia and Montenegro in 2003). Since 2006 it has been part of the Republic of Serbia.

Municipalities and settlements edit

The City of Požarevac includes two city municipalities:

These include the following settlements:

In the 2008 reform of Serbian local government, Požarevac received the status of a city and the town of Kostolac became the seat of the second city municipality. Požarevac is the smallest Serbian city consisting of two municipalities.

Demographics edit

Historical population
YearPop.±%
190012,980—    
190512,162−6.3%
191013,613+11.9%
192110,604−22.1%
193114,042+32.4%
194116,300+16.1%
194815,474−5.1%
195318,529+19.7%
196124,269+31.0%
197132,828+35.3%
198139,735+21.0%
199141,160+3.6%
200241,736+1.4%
201144,183+5.9%
Data for pre-1948 censuses not cited
Source: [2]

As of 2011, the city of Požarevac has a total population of 75,334 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups edit

The ethnic composition of the municipal area of the city of Požarevac:[8]

Ethnic group Population %
Serbs 66,801 88.67%
Romani 3,868 5.13%
Vlachs/Romanians 177 0.23%
Macedonians 168 0.22%
Montenegrins 160 0.21%
Croats 109 0.14%
Romanians 91 0.12%
Yugoslavs 71 0.09%
Hungarians 56 0.07%
Muslims 42 0.06%
Slovenians 38 0.05%
Bulgarians 35 0.05%
Others 3,718 4.94%
Total 75,334

Economy edit

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[9]

Activity Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 305
Mining and quarrying 46
Manufacturing 3,048
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 3,315
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 340
Construction 889
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 3,117
Transportation and storage 1,206
Accommodation and food services 628
Information and communication 231
Financial and insurance activities 318
Real estate activities 23
Professional, scientific and technical activities 461
Administrative and support service activities 1,670
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security 1,824
Education 1,236
Human health and social work activities 2,062
Arts, entertainment and recreation 318
Other service activities 396
Individual agricultural workers 753
Total 22,187

Politics edit

Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2020 local elections:

  • Serbian Progressive Party (49)
  • Socialist Party of Serbia (13)
  • The Souverainists (4)
  • Vlach Party Bridge (2)

Education edit

  • Požarevac Gymnasium (Požarevačka gimnazija), a college-preparatory high school
  • Technical College (Visoka tehnička škola strukovnih studija u Požarevcu)[10]
  • Polytechnic school (Politehnička Škola Požarevac), a collage-preparatory high school [11]

People associated with Požarevac edit

International relations edit

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Požarevac is twinned with:

Gallery edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Municipalities of Serbia, 2006". Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  2. ^ a b "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 2014-06-27.
  3. ^ Garasanin, Draga (1972). "Bronze Age in Serbia". Projekat Rastko. Translated by Stefanovic, M. R. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  4. ^ Mirković, S. (9 June 2008). "Iskopane urne Tribala". Jaša Tomić (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Požarevac, Kostolac, Malo Crniće, Petrovac". Serbia.travel. National Tourism Organisation of Serbia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  6. ^ "Istorijat". Pozarevac.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  7. ^ Ingrao, Samardžić & Pešalj 2011.
  8. ^ Republički zavod za statistiku (2012). Nacionalna pripadnost: Podaci po opštinama i gradovima / Ethnicity: Data by municipalities and cities (PDF) (in Serbian and English). Beograd: Republički zavod za statistiku / Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. ISBN 978-86-6161-025-7.
  9. ^ Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2019). Municipalities and Regions of the Republic of Serbia, 2019 (PDF). Belgrade: Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 28 December 2019 – via stat.gov.rs.
  10. ^ Official website
  11. ^ Official website
  12. ^ Vajner, M. (2 April 2015). "Gimnazijalci iz Janjine u poseti Požarevcu". Boom93 (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  13. ^ Ivić, Dragi (Драги Ивић) (16 May 2013). "Volokolamski pravac" Волоколамски правац. Urban Book Circle (in Serbian). Retrieved 20 June 2022.

Sources edit

External links edit