| Velika Plana | |
| Native Name Lang: | sr |
| Settlement Type: | Town and municipality |
| Coordinates: | 44.334°N 25.61°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Serbia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Southern and Eastern Serbia |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Podunavlje |
| Parts Type: | Settlements |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 13 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Strahinja Pavešković |
| Leader Party: | SNS |
| Area Blank1 Title: | Town |
| Area Blank1 Km2: | 47.64 |
| Area Blank2 Title: | Municipality |
| Area Blank2 Km2: | 345 |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 123 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 census |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Town |
| Population Blank1: | 16088 |
| Population Density Blank1 Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Municipality |
| Population Blank2: | 40902 |
| Population Density Blank2 Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 11320 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | +381(0)26 |
| Blank Name: | Car plates |
| Blank Info: | VP |
Velika Plana (Serbian: Велика Плана, pronounced in Serbian pronounced as /ʋêlikaː plǎːna /) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District of Serbia. As of 2011, the town has 16,088 inhabitants, while the municipality has 40,902. Velika Plana lies on the left bank of Velika Morava.
The municipality of Velika Plana has 13 settlements. The town is composed of three townships:[2] Town Mains, Stari Odbor (the Old Downtown),[3] [4] and Bresje. Town Mains is further subdivided into the neighbourhoods of Centar, Bugarija, Đurakovac, Kod Železničke (railway station area), Gloža-Ciglana (brick factory area) where a tiny Morava river village has been reconstructed,[5] and Magareća Glava ('Donkey Head'). There is also a satellite so-called weekend settlement next to the Pokajnica monastery between Velika Plana, Staro Selo and Radovanje.
As of the 2011 census, the municipality has 40,902 inhabitants.
The ethnic composition of the municipality:[6]
| Ethnic group | Population | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbs | 38,761 | 94.77% | |
| Roma | 380 | 0.93% | |
| Montenegrins | 62 | 0.15% | |
| Macedonians | 43 | 0.11% | |
| Croats | 32 | 0.08% | |
| Yugoslavs | 29 | 0.07% | |
| Romanians | 25 | 0.06% | |
| Bulgarians | 24 | 0.06% | |
| Albanians | 19 | 0.05% | |
| Hungarians | 17 | 0.04% | |
| Others | 1,510 | 3.69% | |
| Total | 40,902 |
The origins of industry in Velika Plana is connected to its agricultural environment and starts in the 1880s. Before World War II, there were three slaughterhouses-meat processing plants here, first that of Italian citizen of German origin Toni Klefiš (Tony Klefisch), and later that of Germans Christian Scheuß and Wilhelm Schumacher, and the one whose stocks were owned by a group of three larger and seven smaller Serbian entrepreneurs.
After World War II, all this property was nationalised and unified into a huge plant, expanding to include all sorts of food and food-related production, all the way to clothes and duvets with goose down. These have, however, folded in the 1990s with the disastrous events concurrent with the breakdown of ex-Yugoslavia.
Today, the main form of industry is a branch of Goša FOM from Smederevska Palanka[7] and the newly opened plant which produces parts for the military industry.[8] [9]
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 | 167 | |
| Mining and quarrying | 45 | |
| Manufacturing | 1,904 | |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 64 | |
| Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 200 | |
| Construction | 418 | |
| Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 1,837 | |
| Transportation and storage | 378 | |
| Accommodation and food services | 362 | |
| Information and communication | 67 | |
| Financial and insurance activities | 75 | |
| Real estate activities | 4 | |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 214 | |
| Administrative and support service activities | 137 | |
| Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 397 | |
| Education | 626 | |
| Human health and social work activities | 315 | |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 87 | |
| Other service activities | 150 | |
| Individual agricultural workers | 430 | |
| Total | 7,876 |
The main Serbian A1 motorway from Subotica to Niš goes by the town. The town is also an important railroad junction. Twin tracks go south toward Niš, a track goes west to Belgrade, and a track goes north to Mala Krsna junction, where it splits towards Belgrade, Smederevo and Požarevac. This, in combination with the fact that many bus lines from southern Serbia to Belgrade and Vojvodina make a stop at the town bus station, makes Velika Plana an important transportation hub of central Serbia.
Velika Plana has three elementary schools in the town itself: Sveti Sava (previously named Moša Pijade), Karađorđe (previously named Мiloš Mitrović), and Nadežda Petrović, and 11 in the surrounding suburbs and villages.
It also has three high schools: a gymnasium, technical high school and business assistant high school.
The Velika Plana Veterinary Centre started artificial insemination in cows in 1957 and later expanded to other livestock and claims to be one of the leading centres of its kind in Southeastern Europe.[11]
Town has large town park near centre and several smaller parks across town.
At the outskirts of the town are three important ecclesiastical monuments: the early 15th century Koporin Monastery where Despot Stefan Lazarević, son of Prince Lazar of the Battle of Kosovo is buried; the early 19th century Pokajnica Monastery built as a sign of repentance (Serbian: /) by the murderer of Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising and the founder of the Karađorđević royal family of Serbia and later Yugoslavia; as well as a small church built by King Alexander Karađorđević of Yugoslavia at the exact place of his ancestor's murder.
The latter two are within 4km (02miles) from each other, and easily reachable by public transit. Koporin is more secluded but still within 11km (07miles) from the other two.
The Plana Demo Fest rock music festival has been organised since 2009 and is sponsored by the Velika Plana Youth Community Centre.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Serbia.
Velika Plana is twinned with:
Budva, Montenegro
Conselice, Italy[12]