Požarevac Explained

Požarevac
Native Name Lang:sr
Official Name:City of Požarevac
Град Пожаревац
Coordinates:44.6167°N 32°W
Parts Type:Settlements
Parts Style:para
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Saša Pavlović
Area Blank1 Title:Urban
Area Blank1 Km2:74.39
Area Blank2 Title:Administrative
Area Blank2 Km2:483.18
Elevation M:81
Population As Of:2022 census
Population Blank1 Title:Urban
Population Blank1:51271
Population Density Blank1 Km2:auto
Population Blank2 Title:Administrative
Population Blank2:68648
Population Density Blank2 Km2:auto
Utc Offset:+1
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code:12000
Area Code:+381(0)12
Blank Info:PO

Požarevac (Serbian: Пожаревац, pronounced as /sr/) 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.

Name

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

Ancient times

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

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.

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.

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

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.[1]

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.[2]

Modern city

The modern town of Požarevac was first mentioned in the 14th century under the name Puporače[3] ; it first being mentioned under its present-day name in 1476.[4] 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, 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

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

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

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipal area of the city of Požarevac:[5]

Ethnic groupPopulation%
Serbs66,80188.67%
Romani3,8685.13%
Vlachs/Romanians1770.23%
Macedonians1680.22%
Montenegrins1600.21%
Croats1090.14%
Romanians910.12%
Yugoslavs710.09%
Hungarians560.07%
Muslims420.06%
Slovenians380.05%
Bulgarians350.05%
Others3,7184.94%
Total75,334

Economy

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

ActivityTotal
Agriculture, forestry and fishing305
Mining and quarrying46
Manufacturing3,048
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply3,315
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities340
Construction889
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles3,117
Transportation and storage1,206
Accommodation and food services628
Information and communication231
Financial and insurance activities318
Real estate activities23
Professional, scientific and technical activities461
Administrative and support service activities1,670
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security1,824
Education1,236
Human health and social work activities2,062
Arts, entertainment and recreation318
Other service activities396
Individual agricultural workers753
Total22,187

Politics

Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2024 local elections:

Education

People associated with Požarevac

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Serbia.

Twin towns – sister cities

Požarevac is twinned with:

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Garasanin . Draga . 1972 . Bronze Age in Serbia . 30 September 2013 . Projekat Rastko . Stefanovic . M. R..
  2. Web site: Mirković . S. . 9 June 2008 . Iskopane urne Tribala . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090208130434/http://www.jasatomic.org.yu/?postid=7953 . 8 February 2009 . 8 February 2009 . Jaša Tomić . sr.
  3. Web site: Požarevac, Kostolac, Malo Crniće, Petrovac . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131002145831/http://www.serbia.travel/destinations/52-amazing-weekends-in-serbia/pozarevac-kostolac-malo-crnice-petrovac/ . 2 October 2013 . 30 September 2013 . Serbia.travel . National Tourism Organisation of Serbia.
  4. Web site: Istorijat . https://web.archive.org/web/20131003062031/http://www.pozarevac.rs/istorijat/ . 3 October 2013 . 30 September 2013 . Pozarevac.rs . sr.
  5. Book: Republički zavod za statistiku . Nacionalna pripadnost: Podaci po opštinama i gradovima / Ethnicity: Data by municipalities and cities . 2012 . Republički zavod za statistiku / Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia . 978-86-6161-025-7 . Beograd . sr,en.
  6. http://www.vts-pozarevac.edu.rs/ Official website
  7. https://www.politehnicka.edu.rs/ Official website
  8. https://www.ekonomskapo.edu.rs/ Official website
  9. https://medicinskapozarevac.edu.rs// Official website
  10. https://www.mokranjac.rs// Official website
  11. Web site: Vajner . M. . 2 April 2015 . Gimnazijalci iz Janjine u poseti Požarevcu . dead . Boom93 . sr . 13 July 2019 . 13 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190713002056/http://www.boom93.com/info/lokalne-vesti/26613/gimnazijalci-iz-janjine-u-poseti-pozarevcu.html .
  12. Web site: Ivić . Dragi (Драги Ивић) . 16 May 2013 . Volokolamski pravac . sr:Волоколамски правац . 20 June 2022 . Urban Book Circle . sr.