Serbia

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Serbia

Flag of Serbia
Capital	Belgrade
Inhabitants	7,306,677
Language(s)	Serbian

Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, covering the southern part of Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Belgrade, Serbia's capital city is among the most populous in Southeast Europe.

After their settlement in the Balkans, Serbs formed several medieval kingdoms, which evolved into the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbian lands were conquered and occupied by the Ottomans, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution reestablished the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in Southeast Europe. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when Serbia retrieved its independence. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province declared independence, with mixed responses from the international governments.

Serbia is a member of the United Nations, Council of Europe, PfP, BSEC and CEFTA. It is also an EU membership applicant and a neutral country.

History

Prehistoric era

The Neolithic Starčevo and Vinča cultures existed in or near Belgrade and dominated the Balkans (as well as parts of Central Europe and Asia Minor) about 8,500 years ago. Some scholars believe that the prehistoric Vinča signs represent one of the earliest known forms of writing systems (dating to 6,000 - 4,000 B.C.).

The Paleo-Balkan peoples, such as the Thracians, Dacians, Illyrians were autochthonous inhabitants of Serbia prior to the Roman conquest in the 1st century B.C. Greeks expanded into the south of modern Serbia in the 4th century B.C., the northernmost point of Alexander the Great's empire, being the town of Kale-Krševica. The Celtic tribe of Scordisci settled in the 3rd century B.C. and built many fortifications and cities in Serbia, such as Singidunum, now known as Belgrade.

Roman era

The Romans conquered parts of Serbia in 2nd century BC, in 167 BC when conquering the West, establishing the province of Illyricum and the rest of Central Serbia in 75 BC, establishing the province of Moesia Superior. Srem was conquered in 9 BC and Bačka and Banat in 106 AD after the Dacian wars. Reliefs of the Roman-era Trajan's bridge over the Danube.

Despite its small size, the contemporary Serbia extends fully or partially over several Roman provinces such as Moesia, Pannonia, Praevalitana, Dalmatia, Dacia and Macedonia. The northern Serbian city of Sirmium was one of the capitals of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy. 17 Roman Emperors were born in present-day Serbia, second only to what is present-day Italy.

The most famous Roman Emperor born in Serbia is Constantine I who empowered Christianity throughout the Roman Empire The northern Serbian city of Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica) was among the top 4 cities of the late Roman Empire, serving as its capital during the Tetrarchy. Contemporary Serbia comprises the classical regions of Moesia, Pannonia, parts of Dalmatia, Dacia and Macedonia. Around the 6th century, Slavs appeared on the Byzantine borders in great numbers. The chief towns of Serbian Upper Moesia in the principate were: Singidunum, Viminacium and Remesiana.

Medieval monarchy

The beginning of the Serbian state began with the settling of the White Serbs in the Balkans led by the Unknown Archont, who was asked to defend the Byzantine frontiers from invading Avars. Emperor Heraclius granted the Serbs a permanent dominion in the Sclavinias of Western Balkans upon completing this task. By the 750s the great-grandson of the Unknown Archont, Višeslav I managed to unite several territories, which led to the founding of Raška, which lay between the crisis-struck Byzantine and the growing Frankish Empire.

At first heavily dependent on the Byzantine Empire as its vassal, Raška gained independence by the expulsion of the Byzantine troops and the major defeat of the Bulgarians around 850 AD during the rule of Vlastimir of Serbia, the founder of the first Serbian dynasty, the House of Vlastimirović. The Christianization of the Serbs was complete in 867–869 when Byzantine Emperor Basil I sent priests after Knez Mutimir had acknowledged Byzantine suzerainty. At about the same time, the western Serbs were subjugated to the Frankish Empire. The First dynasty died out in 960 AD; the wars of succession for the Serb throne led to Serbian incorporation into the Byzantine Empire in 971. Around 1040 AD, an uprising in the medieval state of Duklja overthrew Byzantine rule. Duklja then assumed dominion over Serb lands during the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1077 AD, Duklja became the first Serbian kingdom following the establishment of the Catholic Bishopric of Bar. From the late 12th century onwards, Raška rose to become the dominant Serbian state. Over the 13th and 14th centuries, it ruled over the other Serb lands. During this time, Serbia began to expand eastward and southward into Kosovo and northern Macedonia and northward for the first time.

The Serbian Empire was established in 1346 by Tsar Stefan Dušan, during which time the country reached its territorial, spiritual and cultural peak, becoming the most powerful state in the Balkans. Dušan's Code, a universal system of laws, was enacted. The reign of his son Tsar Stefan Uroš V saw the Serbian Empire fragment into a confederation of principalities. Tsar Uroš died childless in December 1371, after much of the Serbian nobility had been destroyed by the Turks in the Battle of Maritsa earlier that year. The royal Houses of Mrnjavčević, Lazarević and Branković ruled the Serbian lands in the 15th and 16th centuries. Constant struggles took place between various Serbian kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 and the Siege of Belgrade, the Serbian Despotate fell in 1459 following the siege of the provisional capital of Smederevo. After repelling Ottoman attacks for over 70 years, Belgrade finally fell in 1521, opening the way for Ottoman penetration into Central Europe. Conversion to Islam soon became evident, especially in the southwest- Raška, Kosovo and Bosnia. To the south, the Republic of Venice expanded, gradually taking over the coastal areas.

Ottoman and Austrian rule

After the loss of independence to the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, Serbia briefly regained sovereignty under Jovan Nenad in the 16th century. Three Austrian invasions and numerous rebellions, such as the Banat Uprising, constantly challenged Ottoman rule. Vojvodina endured a century long Ottoman occupation before being ceded to the Habsburg Empire in the 17th–18th centuries under the Treaty of Karlowitz. As the Great Serb Migrations depopulated most of Kosovo and Central Serbia, the Serbs sought refuge across the Danube river in Vojvodina to the north and Military Frontier in the West where they were granted rights by the Austrian crown under measures such as the Statuta Wallachorum of 1630. The Ottoman persecutions of Christians culminated in the abolition and plunder of the Patriarchate of Peć in 1766. As Ottoman rule in the Pashaluk of Belgrade grew ever more brutal, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I formally granted the Serbs the right to their autonomous crown land following several petitions. Revolution and independence

The quest for national emancipation was first undertaken during the Serbian national revolution, in 1804 until 1815. The liberation war was followed by a period of formalization, negotiations and finally, the Constitutionalization, effectively ending the process in 1835.[26] For the first time in Ottoman history the entire Serbian Christian population had risen up against the Sultan. The entrenchment of French troops in the western Balkans, the incessant political crises in the Ottoman Empire, the growing intensity of the Austro–Russian rivalry in the Balkans, the intermittent warfare which consumed the energies of French and Russian Empires and the outbreak of protracted hostilities between the Porte and Russia are but a few of the major international developments which directly or indirectly influenced the course of the Serbian revolt.

During the First Serbian Uprising, or the first phase of the revolt, led by Karađorđe Petrović, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began. Led by Miloš Obrenović, it ended in 1815 with a compromise between the Serbian revolutionary army and the Ottoman authorities. German historian Leopold von Ranke published his book "The Serbian revolution" in 1829. They were the easternmost bourgeois revolutions in the 19th-century world. Likewise, Serbia was second in Europe, after France, to abolish feudalism.

Serbia during Napoleonic era

The Convention of Ackerman in 1826, the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 and finally, the Hatt-i Sharif, recognized the suzerainty of Serbia with Miloš Obrenović I as its hereditary Prince. The struggle for liberty, a more modern society and a nation-state in Serbia won a victory under first constitution in the Balkans on 15 February 1835. It was replaced by a more conservative Constitution in 1838. In the two following decades, temporarily ruled by the Karadjordjevic dynasty, the Principality of Serbia actively supported the neighboring Habsburg Serbs, especially during the 1848 revolutions. Interior minister Ilija Garašanin published The Draft (for South Slavic unification), which became the standpoint of Serbian foreign policy from the mid-19th century onwards. The government thus developed close ties with the Illyrian movement in Croatia-Slavonia region that was a part of the Austria-Hungary.

Following the clashes between the Ottoman army and civilians in Belgrade in 1862, and under pressure from the Great Powers, by 1867 the last Turkish soldiers left the Principality. By enacting a new constitution without consulting the Porte, Serbian diplomats confirmed the de facto independence of the country. In 1876, Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, proclaiming its unification with Bosnia. The formal independence of the country was internationally recognized at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, which formally ended the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878); this treaty, however, prohibited Serbia from uniting with Bosnia and Raška by placing them under Austro-Hungarian occupation.

From 1815 to 1903, Principality of Serbia was ruled by the House of Obrenović, except from 1842 to 1858, when it was led by Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević. In 1882, Serbia became a kingdom, ruled by King Milan. In 1903, following May Overthrow, the House of Karađorđević, descendants of the revolutionary leader Karađorđe Petrović assumed power. Serbia was the only country in the region that was allowed by the Great Powers to be ruled by its own domestic dynasty. During the Balkan Wars lasting from 1912 to 1913, the Kingdom of Serbia tripled its territory by reacquiring parts of Macedonia, Kosovo, and parts of Central Serbia. The 1848 revolution in Austria lead to the establishment of the autonomous region of Serbian Vojvodina. By 1849, the region was transformed into the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar.

Balkan wars and World War I

Balkan Wars refers to the conflicts that took place in Southeast Europe between 1912 and 1913. The First Balkan War broke out when the member states of the Balkan League attacked and divided Ottoman territories in the Balkans in a seven-month campaign, resulting in the Treaty of London. For the Kingdom of Serbia, this victory enabled territorial expansion into Raška and Kosovo. The Second Balkan War soon ensued when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its gains, turned against its former allies, Serbia and Greece. Their armies repulsed the Bulgarian offensive and counter-attacked, penetrating into Bulgaria, while Romania and the Ottomans used the favourable time to intervene against Bulgaria to win territorial gains. In the resulting Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria lost most of the territories gained in the First Balkan War, and Kingdom of Serbia annexed Vardar Macedonia. The Serbia enlarged its territory by 80% and its population by 50% within just two years; it also suffered high casualties on the eve of World War I, with around 20,000 dead in the Balkan campaigns.[35] On 28 June 1914 the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Yugoslav nationalist and member of Young Bosnia, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. In defense of its ally Serbia, Russia started to mobilize its troops, which resulted in Austria-Hungary's ally Germany declaring war on Russia. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against Serbia activated a series of military alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations across the continent, leading to the outbreak of World War I within a month.

The Serbian Army won several major victories against Austria-Hungary at the beginning of World War I, such as the Battle of Cer and Battle of Kolubara – marking the first Allied victories against the Central Powers in World War I. Despite initial success, it was eventually overpowered by the joint forces of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria in 1915. Most of its army and some people went into exile to Greece and Corfu, where they recovered, regrouped and returned to the Macedonian front during World War I to lead a final breakthrough through enemy lines on 15 September 1918, freeing Serbia again and defeating Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. Serbia, with its campaign, was a major Balkan Entente Power which contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the Balkans in November 1918, especially by enforcing Bulgaria's capitulation with the aid of France. The country was militarily classified as a minor Entente power. Serbia was also among the main contributors to the capitulation of Austria-Hungary in Central Europe.

Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths; 58% of the regular Serbian army (420,000 strong) perished during the conflict. The total number of casualties is placed around 1,000,000 more than 25% of Serbia's prewar size, and a majority (57%) of its overall male population.

First Yugoslavia

• Syrmia region was the first among former Habsburg lands to declare union with Serbia on 24 November 1918.
• Banat, Bačka and Baranja – together called Vojvodina – joined Serbia the next day.
• On 26 November 1918, the Podgorica Assembly deposed the House of Petrovic-Njegos of the Kingdom of Montenegro, opting for the House of Karađorđević (the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Serbia), unifying the two states.
• Bosnia declares its unification with Serbia.
• On 1 December 1918, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia joined the unitary Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, under the reign of King Peter I.

World War II and civil war

In 1941, in spite of domestically unpopular attempts by the government of Yugoslavia to appease the Axis powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and other Axis states invaded Yugoslavia. After the invasion, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was dissolved and Serbia was put under a German Military administration, under a joint German-Serb government with Milan Nedić as Head of the "Government of National Salvation". Serbia was the scene of a civil war between Royalist Chetniks commanded by Draža Mihailović and Communist Partisans commanded by Josip Broz Tito. Against these forces were arrayed Nedić's units of the Serbian Volunteer Corps and the Serbian State Guard. King Alexander I of Yugoslavia fell victim to IMRO and Croatian fascists in 1934.

After one year of occupation, around 16,000 Serbian Jews were murdered in Axis-occupied Serbia, or around 90% of its pre-war Jewish population. Banjica concentration camp was established by the German Military Administration in Serbia. Primary victims were Serbian Jews, Roma, and Serb political prisoners. Other camps in Serbia included the Crveni Krst concentration camp in Niš and the Dulag 183 in Šabac. Sajmište was one of the first concentration camps for Jews in Europe. Staro Sajmište was the largest concentration camp in Axis-occupied Serbia.

Relations between Serbs and Croats in Yugoslavia severely deteriorated during World War II as a result of the creation of the Axis puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) that comprised most of present-day Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and parts of present-day Serbia. The NDH committed large scale persecution and genocide of Serbs, Jews, and Roma. The estimate of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum indicates that between 330,000 and 390,000 ethnic Serb residents of Croatia, Bosnia and parts of Serbia (primarily the Syrmia region) were murdered during the Ustaše genocide campaign; same figures are supported by the Jewish Virtual Library. reports that more than 500,000 Serbs were killed overall, whereas official Yugoslav sources used to estimate more than 700,000 victims, mostly Serbs. The Jasenovac memorial so far lists 75,159 names killed at the this concentration camp alone, out of around 100,000 estimated victims (75% of whom were of Serbian origin).[56] In April 2003 Croatian president Stjepan Mesić apologized on behalf of Croatia to the victims of Jasenovac. In 2006, on the same occasion, he added that to every visitor to Jasenovac it must be clear that Holocaust, genocide and war crimes took place there. Out of roughly 1,000,000 casualties in all of Yugoslavia up until 1944, around 250,000 were citizens of Serbia of different ethnicities, according to Zundhauzen. The overall number of ethnic Serb casualties in Yugoslavia was around 530,000, out of whom up to 400,000 in the NDH genocide campaign. By late 1944, the joint Soviet and Bulgarian invasion swung in favour of the partisans in the civil war; communists were subsequently established as the ruling elite, whereas the Karadjordjevic dynasty was banned from returning. The Syrmia front was the last sequence of the internal war in Serbia following the Belgrade Offensive. Around 70,000 people in Serbia alone perished during the Communist takeover, (including 10,000 Belgraders) whereas Ministry of Justice figures puts lower estimate around 80,000, of whom 60,000 were of Serbian origin.

Second Yugoslavia

The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in Belgrade; Principle founders, during the Brijuni Islands summit in Yugoslavia (1953); left to right: Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Jawaharlal Nehru of India.

The communist takeover resulted in abolition of the monarchy, ban on the royal family's return and a subsequent orchestrated constitutional referendum on the republic-socialist type of government. In the aftermath of the victory of the communist Yugoslav Partisans, a totalitarian single-party state was soon established in Yugoslavia by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. All opposition was repressed and people deemed to be promoting opposition to the government or promoting separatism were given harsh prison sentences or executed for sedition. Serbia became a constituent republic within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia known as the Socialist Republic of Serbia and had a republic-branch of the federal Communist party, the League of Communists of Serbia. The republic consisted of Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and Central Serbia, along with the state capital, Belgrade. One of Serbia's most powerful and influential politicians in this period was Aleksandar Ranković, a high-ranking official in the federal Communist party who was considered one of the "big four" Yugoslav Communists, alongside Josip Broz Tito, Edvard Kardelj, and Milovan Đilas and who was popular in Serbia. Ranković served as head of the UDBA internal security organization and served as vice-president of Yugoslavia from 1963 to 1966. In 1950, Ranković as minister of interior reported that since 1945 the Yugoslav communist regime had arrested five million people. For years Ranković served as Tito's right-hand man and supported Tito's decision to break Yugoslavia away from domination by Soviet Union by having the UDBA obstruct the USSR's efforts to infiltrate state institutions and communist party. These actions resulted in the Cominform accusing the Yugoslav government of being dominated by a "Tito-Ranković clique" that they accused of being a "fascist regime". He supported a centralized Yugoslavia and opposed efforts that promoted decentralization that he deemed to be against the interests of Serb unity. Ranković sought to secure the position of the Serbs in Kosovo and gave them dominance in Kosovo's nomenklatura. Ranković's power and agenda waned in the 1960s with the rise to power of reformers who sought decentralization and to preserve the right of national self-determination of the peoples of Yugoslavia. In response to his opposition to decentralization, the Yugoslav government removed Ranković from office in 1966 on various claims, including that he was spying on Tito. Ranković's dismissal was highly unpopular amongst Serbs.

After the ouster of Ranković, the agenda of pro-decentralization reformers in Yugoslavia, especially from Slovenia and Croatia succeeded in the late 1960s in attaining substantial decentralization of powers, creating substantial autonomy in Kosovo and Vojvodina, and recognizing a Muslim Yugoslav nationality. As a result of these reforms, there was a massive overhaul of Kosovo's nomenklatura and police, that shifted from being Serb-dominated to ethnic Albanian-dominated through firing Serbs in large scale. Further concessions were made to the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo in response to unrest, including the creation of the University of Pristina as an Albanian language institution. These changes created widespread fear amongst Serbs that they were being made second-class citizens in Yugoslavia by these changes.[74] These changes was harshly criticized by Serbian communist official Dobrica Ćosić, who at the time claimed that they were contrary to Yugoslavia's commitment to Marxism through conceding to nationalism, especially Albanian nationalism.

Dissolution of Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rose to power in Serbia in 1989 in the League of Communists of Serbia through a series of coups against incumbent governing members. Milošević promised reduction of powers for the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. This ignited tensions with the communist leadership of the other republics that eventually resulted in the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia from Yugoslavia.

Multiparty democracy was introduced in Serbia in 1990, officially dismantling the former one-party communist system. Critics of the Milošević government claimed that the Serbian government continued to be authoritarian despite constitutional changes as Milošević maintained strong personal influence over Serbia's state media. Milošević issued media blackouts of independent media stations' coverage of protests against his government and restricted freedom of speech through reforms to the Serbian Penal Code which issued criminal sentences on anyone who "ridiculed" the government and its leaders, resulting in many people being arrested who opposed Milošević and his government.

The period of political turmoil and conflict marked a rise in ethnic tensions and between Serbs and other ethnicities of the former communist Yugoslavia as territorial claims of the different ethnic factions often crossed into each others' claimed territories. Serbs feared that the nationalist and separatist government of Croatia was led by Ustase sympathizers. They also accused the separatist government of Bosnia and Herzegovina of being led by Islamic fundamentalists. The governments of Croatia and Bosnia in turn accused the Serbian government of attempting to create a Greater Serbia. These views led to a heightening of xenophobia between the peoples during the wars.

In 1992, the governments of Serbia and Montenegro agreed to the creation of a new Yugoslav federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which abandoned the predecessor SFRY's official endorsement of communism, and instead endorsed democracy. In response to accusations that the Yugoslav government was financially and militarily supporting the Serb military forces in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia, sanctions were imposed by the United Nations, during the 1990s, which led to political isolation, economic decline and hardship, and serious hyperinflation of currency in Yugoslavia.

Milošević represented the Bosnian Serbs at the Dayton peace agreement in 1995, signing the agreement which ended the Bosnian War that internally partitioned Bosnia & Herzegovina largely along ethnic lines into a Serb republic and a Bosniak-Croat federation. When the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia refused to accept municipal election results in 1997, which resulted in its defeat in the municipalities, Serbians engaged in large protests against the Serbian government and government forces held back the protesters. Between 1998-99, peace was broken when the worsened situation in Kosovo with continued clashes between Yugoslav security forces and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The confrontations led to the Kosovo War.

Political transition

In September 2000, opposition parties claimed that Milošević committed electoral fraud. A campaign of civil resistance followed, led by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a broad coalition of anti-Milošević parties. This culminated on 5 October when half a million people from all over the country congregated in Belgrade, compelling Milošević to concede defeat. The fall of Milošević ended Serbia's international isolation. Milošević was sent to the ICTY on accusations of sponsoring war crimes during the breakup of Yugoslavia, which he was held on trial to until his death in 2006. The DOS announced that Serbia would seek to join the European Union. In October 2005, the EU opened negotiations with Serbia for the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

Serbia's political climate has remained tense. In 2003, the prime minister Zoran Đinđić was assassinated as result of a plot originating from circles of organized crime and former security officials. Nationalist and EU-oriented political forces in Serbia have remained sharply divided on the political course of Serbia in regards to its relations with the European Union.

From 2003 to 2006, Serbia was part of the "State Union of Serbia and Montenegro." This union was the successor to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 21 May 2006, Montenegro held a referendum to determine whether or not to end its union with Serbia. The next day, state-certified results showed 55.4% of voters in favor of independence. This was just above the 55% required by the referendum.

On 5 June 2006, the National Assembly of Serbia declared Serbia to be the legal successor to the former state union. In April 2008 Serbia was invited to join the intensified dialogue programme with NATO despite the diplomatic rift with the alliance over Kosovo.

Serbia officially applied for EU membership on 22 December 2009.

Culture

For centuries straddling the boundaries between East and West, Serbia had been divided among: the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; between Kingdom of Hungary, Bulgarian Empire, Frankish Kingdom and Byzantium; and between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, as well as Venice in the south. The result of these overlapping influences are distinct characters and sharp contrasts between various Serbian regions, its north being more tied to Western Europe and south leaning towards the Balkans and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Byzantine Empire's influence on Serbia was profound, through the introduction of Greek Orthodoxy from the 7th century onwards to today, the Serbian Orthodox Church has an overwhelming influence on the makeup of cultural objects in Serbia. Different influences were also present- chiefly the Ottoman, Hungarian, Austrian and also Venetian, also known as coastal Serbs. Serbs use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

The monasteries of Serbia, built largely in the Middle Ages, are one of the most valuable and visible traces of medieval Serbia's association with the Byzantium and the Orthodox World, but also with the Romanic Western Europe that Serbia had close ties with back in Middle Ages. Most of Serbia's queens still remembered today in Serbian history were of foreign origin, including Hélène d'Anjou, a cousin of Charles I of Sicily, Anna Dondolo, daughter of the Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, Catherine of Hungary, and Symonide of Byzantium.

Serbia has eight cultural sites marked on the UNESCO World Heritage list: Stari Ras and Sopoćani monasteries added to the Heritage list in 1979, Studenica Monastery added in 1986, the Medieval Serbian Monastic Complex in Kosovo, comprising: Dečani Monastery, Our Lady of Ljeviš, Gračanica and Patriarchate of Pec, monestaties were added in 2004, and put on the endangered list in 2006, and Gamzigrad – Romuliana, Palace of Galerius, was added in 2007. Likewise, there are 2 literary memorials added on the UNESCO's list as a part of the Memory of the World Programme: Miroslav Gospels, handwriting from the 12th century, added in 2005, and Nikola Tesla's archive added in 2003.

The most prominent museum in Serbia is the National Museum of Serbia, founded in 1844; it houses a collection of more than 400,000 exhibits, over 5600 paintings and 8400 drawings and prints, and includes many foreign masterpiece collections and the famous Miroslav Gospels. The museum is currently under reconstruction.

Art

There are cultural traces in Serbia from prehistory. The most famous neolithic culture on the territory of Serbia is the culture of Lepenski Vir. There were many famous royal cities and palaces in Serbia at the time of Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, traces of which can still be found in Sirmium, Gamzigrad and Justiniana Prima. Serbian medieval monuments, which survived until our days, are mostly Monasteriesand churches. Most of these monuments have walls painted with frescoes. The most original monument of Serbian medieval art is the Studenica (around 1190). This monastery was a model for later monasteries, like: Mileševa, Sopoćani and Visoki Dečani. The most famous Serbian medieval fresco is the „Mironosnice na grobu“ (or the "white angel") from the Mileševa monastery.

Icon-painting is also part of Serbian medieval cultural heritage. The influence of Byzantine art was increased after the fall of Constantinople into the hands of crusaders in 1204, when many artists went to Serbia. Their influence is seen in the building of the church Our Lady of Ljeviš and many other buildings, including Gračanica. The monastery Viski Dečani was built between 1330 and 1350. Unlike other Serbian monasteries, this one was built in romantic style, under the authority of grand master Vita from Kotor. On the frescoes of this monastery there are 1.000 portrets depicting the most important episodes from the New Testament. Another style of architecture followed in Serbia is that of the end of the 14th century, near the river Morava (Moravic school). A characteristic of this style was the wealthy decoration of frontal church-walls. The frescoes in the monastery Manasija depict religious scenes in which people with Serbian medieval clothes are shown. During the time of Turkish occupation art virtually died. The most important Serbian painters of the 20th century were: Milan Konjović, Marko Čelebonović, Petar Lubarda, Vladimir Veličković and Mića Popović.

Literature

The start of Serbian literacy relates to the activity of brothers Cyril and Methodius in the Balkans. There are monuments of Serbian literacy from the early 11th century and, written Glagolitic. Back in the 12th century, there are books written in Cyrillic. From this epoch is the oldest Serbian Cyrillic book editorial, Gospel Zahumian prince Miroslav, brother of Stefan Nemanja. The Miroslav Gospel is the oldest and most beautifully illustrated book of Serbian medieval times.

During the Ottoman rule, Serbia had a developed oral lyric and epic literature.

In the era of national revival, in the first half of 19th century Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic translated the New Testament of the Serbian national language and reformed the Serbian language and spelling. These were the foundations laid for the Serbian literature of recent times. The most important Serbian poets of the 19th century were Branko Radičević, Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, Laza Kostic, Djura Jaksic and Jovan Jovanović Zmaj. The 20th century has been given to the prose writers: Ivo Andric, Isidora Sekulic, Miloš Crnjanski, Mesa Selimovic, Dobrica Cosic, Danilo Kis , Aleksandar Tišma, though there are valuable poetic achievements: Milan Rakic, Jovan Ducic, Desanka Maksimovic, Miodrag Pavlović, Miroslav Antic, Branko Miljkovic and Vasko Popa.

In the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, the most popular authors are: David Albahari, Milorad Pavić, Momo Kapor, Goran Petrovic, Svetlana Velmar-Jankovic and Svetislav Basara.

Music

Serbia has long tradition in music. A kind of dance, named kolo is most favorite type of folklore, and it is different from region to region. The most popular are those from Užice and Morava region. Traditional Serbian music include various kinds of bagpipes, flutes, horns, trumpets, lutes, psalteries, drums and cymbals. Sung epic poetry has been an integral part of Serbian and Balkan music for centuries. In the highlands of Serbia these long poems are typically accompanied on a one-string fiddle called the gusle, and concern themselves with themes from history and mythology.

Composer and musicologist Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is considered one of the most important founders of modern Serbian music.[citation needed] Born in 1856, Mokranjac taught music, collected Serbian traditional songs and did the first scholarly research on Serbian music. He was also the director of the first Serbian School of Music and one of the founders of the Union of Singing Societies. His most famous works are the Song Wreaths. The Serbian composers Petar Konjović, Stevan Hristić and Miloje Milojević, all born in the 1880s, were the most eminent composers of their generation. They maintained the national expression and modernized the romanticism into the direction of impressionism. The best-known composers born around 1910 studied in Europe, mostly in Prague. Ljubica Marić, Stanojlo Rajicić, Milan Ristić took influence from Schoenberg, Hindemith and Haba, rejecting the "conservative" work of prior Serbian composers, seeing it as outdated and the wish for national expression was outside their interest.[133] Other famous classical Serbian composers include Isidor Bajić, Stanislav Binički, and Josif Marinković

The Yugoslav rock scene was well developed and covered in the media, which included numerous magazines, radio and TV shows. With the breakout of Yugoslav wars, former Yugoslav rock scene ceased to exist. During the 1990s popularity of rock music declined in Serbia, and although several major mainstream acts managed to sustain their popularity, an underground and independent music scene developed. The first decade of the 21st century saw the revival of the mainstream scene. The most notable Serbian rock acts include Bajaga i Instruktori, Đorđe Balašević, Ekatarina Velika, Električni Orgazam, Galija, Idoli, Korni Grupa, Orthodox Celts, Partibrejkers, Pekinška Patka, Rambo Amadeus, Riblja Čorba, Smak, Šarlo Akrobata, YU grupa, Van Gogh, and others.

Some of the most popular Serbian pop music perforers are Željko Joksimović, Aleksandra Kovač, Aleksandra Radović, Ana Stanić, Jelena Tomašević. Marija Šerifović won the first place at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, and Serbia was the host of the 2008 contest.The legend of Yugoslav rock, Goran Bregović, in the last ten years had international popularity with his music painted with ethno-motives. With the similar categories Sličnom kategorijom muzike bave se Biljana Krstić, Slobodan Trkulja & Balkanopolis i Nele Karajlić sa grupom No Smoking Orchestra. Serbia won the competition for the Eurosong 2007 in Helsinki, with the song „Molitva“ (prayer) performed by pop-singer Marija Šerifović. Serbia won the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

The so called "novokomponovana muzika" (newly composed music) can be seen as a result of the urbanization of folk music. In its early times, it had a professional approach to performance, used accordion and clarinet and typically included love songs or other simple lyrics. of the genre's best performers also play forms imported from even further abroad. These include Šaban Šaulić, Toma Zdravković, Silvana Armenulic and. At a later stage, the popular performers such as Lepa Brena, Vesna Zmijanac and Dragana Mirković used more influences from pop music, oriental music, and other genres, which led to the emergence of turbo folk.

Turbo-folk (a term coined by rock musician Rambo Amadeus) music emerged during the Yugoslav wars and the breakup of Yugoslavia. Turbo-folk used Serbian folk music and "novokomponovana" as the basis, and added influences from rock, pop and electronic dance music. In the first decade of the 21st century turbo-folk featured even more pop music elements, and some of the performers were labeled as pop-folk. Some of the best known turbo-folk perfromers include Seka Aleksić, Jelena Karleuša, Aca Lukas, Ceca Ražnatović, Dragana Mirković and others.

Brass bands, known as "trubači" (трубачи, the trumpeters) are extremely popular, especially in Central and Southern Serbia where Balkan Brass Band originated. The music is traditional from the First Serbian Uprising. The trumpet was used as a military instrument to wake and gather soldiers and announce battles, the trumpet took on the role of entertainment during downtime, as soldiers used it to transpose popular folk songs. When the war ended and the soldiers returned to the rural life, the music entered civilian life and eventually became a music style, accompanying births, baptisms, weddings, slavas, farewell parties for those joining military service, state and church festivals, harvesting, reaping, and funerals. In 1831 the first official military band was formed by Prince Miloš Obrenović. Roma people have adopted the tradition and enhanced the music, and today most of the best performers are Roma.

The best known Serbian brass musicians are Goran Bregović, Fejat Sejdić, and Boban Marković and are also the biggest names in the world of modern brass band bandleaders. Guča trumpet festival is one of the most popular and biggest music festivals in Serbia, with over 300,000 visitors annually.[134]

Theatre and cinema

Serbia has a well-established theatrical tradition with many theaters. The Serbian National Theatre was established in 1861 with its building dating from 1868. The company started performing opera from the end of the 19th century and the permanent opera was established in 1947. It established a ballet company. Bitef, Belgrade International Theatre Festival, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in the world. New Theatre Tendencies is the constant subtitle of the Festival. Founded in 1967, Bitef has continually followed and supported the latest theater trends. It has become one of five most important and biggest European festivals. It has become one of the most significant culture institutions of Serbia.

Cuisine

Serbian cuisine is varied, the turbulent historical events influenced the food and people, and each region has its own peculiarities and differences. It is strongly influenced by the Byzantine-Greek, Mediterranean, Oriental and Austro-Hungarian styles. Many of the traditional Serbian foods like ćevapčići, soup, pljeskavica, gibanica, are enjoyed even today.

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Events

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National holidays

• Jan 1,2: New Year's Day
• Jan 7: Julian Orthodox Christmas
• Feb 15: Serbia National Day
• May 1,2: May Day
• Good Friday
• Easter
• Easter Monday

Embassies

• Embassy of the Republic of Albania - Bulevar mira 25A, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2665 439, 3066 642, Fax: 2665-439
• Embassy of the Algerian People's Democratic Republic - Maglajska 26 b, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3671-211, 3671-213, Fax: 2668-200
• Embassy of the Republic of Angola - Vase Pelagića 32, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3690-241, 3693-270, 3693-271, Fax: 3690-191, 3690-171
• Embassy of the Argentine Republic - Knez Mihailova 24/I, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2622 541, 2621 550, 2623-569; 622-541 (Consular section), Fax: 622-630
• Australian Embassy
• Embassy of the Republic of Austria - Kneza Sime Markovića 2, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 303-19-56, 303-19-64; 3032 437, 3032 441 (Consular), Fax: 635-606
• Embassy of the Republic of Belarus - Deligradska 13, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 361-6938, Fax: 361-6836
• Royal Belgian embassy - Krunska 18, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3230-016, 3230-017, 3230-018, Fax: 3244-394
• Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Milana Tankosića 8, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 329-1277, 329-1993, 329-1995, 329-1997, Fax: 766-507
• Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil - Krunska 14, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 323-97-81, 323-97-82, 323-97-83, Fax: 323-06-53
• Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria - Birčaninova 26, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 361-3980, Fax: 361-1136
• Canadian Embassy in Serbia
• Embassy of the People's Republic of China - Lackovićeva 6, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 662-737, Fax: 3671 666
• Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Diplomatska kolonija 3, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2664-131
• Embassy of the Republic of Croatia - Kneza Miloša 62, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3610-535; 3610-153, Fax: 3610-032
• Embassy of the Republic of Cuba - Vasilija Gaćeše 9b, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 369-2441, Fax: 369-2442
• Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus - Diplomatska Kolonija 9, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3672-725; 3672-909, Phone: 3671-348
• Embassy of the Czech Republic
• Royal Danish Embassy - Neznanog Junaka 9 a, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 367-0443, Fax: 660-759
• Consulate of Republic of Ecuador - Belgrade, Graničarska 8/III, Phone: +381 11 344-0135
• Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt - Andre Nikolića 12, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2650-585; 2651-225, Fax: 2652-036
• Embassy of Finland - Birčaninova 29, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3065-400, Fax: 3065-375
• Embassy of the Republic of France
• Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Embassy of the Republic of Ghana - Ognjena Price 50. 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3440-856, 3440-845, Fax: 344-0071
• Her Britannic Majesty's Embassy Belgrade
• Embassy of the Hellenic Republic
• Embassy of the Republic of Guinea - Ohridska 4, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3444 840, 451 391, Fax: 3444 870
• Embassy of the Republic of Hungary - Krunska 72, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 244-0472; 244-7479; 444-7039, 444-3739, Fax: 344-1876
• Embassy of the Republic of India - Ljutice Bogdana 8, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 664 127, 2661 029, 2661 034, Fax: 3674 209
• Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
• Embassy of the Republic of Iraq - Pukovnika Purića 4, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 467-508, Fax: 3974-957
• Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Krunska 9, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3238-782; 3238-783; 3242-975, Fax: 3223-899
• Embassy of the State of Israel - Bulevar mira 47, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3672-400; 3672-401; 3672-402; 3672-403, Fax: 3670-304
• Embassy of the Republic of Italy - Birčaninova 11, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 306-6100, Fax: 324 9413
• Embassy of Japan - Geneksovi Apartmani, Vladimira Popovića 6, 11070 Novi Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3012-800, Fax: 311-8258
• Embassy of the Republic of Korea - Užička 32, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 367 4225, Fax: 367 4229
• Embassy of the Republic of Lebanon - Vase Pelagica 38, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3691-178, 3691-179, Fax: 3693-108
• People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - Mirka Tomića 6, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2663-445; 2668-253; 665-639, 367-0761, Fax: 367-0805
• Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia - Gospodar Jevremova 34, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 328-49-24, Fax: 328-50-76
• Embassy of Malesia - Geneksovi apartmani, Vladimira Popovića 6, 11070 Novi Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 311 3570, Fax: 311 4113
• Embassy of Mexico - Knez Mihajlova 10, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: 638-111; 638-822; 629-227, Fax: 3282 954
• Embassy of the Union of Myanmar - Kneza Miloša 72, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3617 165, 3619 114, Fax: 3614-968
• Embassy of the Kingdom Morocco - Sanje Zivanovic 4, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 369-02-88, 369-18-66, Fax: 369-04-99
• Royal Netherlands Embassy - Simina 29, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 328-2332; 328-1147; 328-1148; 328-2127, Fax: 628-986
• Royal Norwegian Embassy - Uzicka 43, 11040 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3670 404, 3670 405, Fax: 3690 158
• Embassy of the islamic Republic of Pakistan - Bulevar mira 62, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2661-676, Fax: 2661-667
• Embassy of the State of Palestine - Maglajska 14, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3671-407, Fax: 3671-336
• Embassy of the Republic of Peru - Terazije 1/II, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 322-1197; 322-1368, Fax: 3228-694
• Embassy of the Republic of Poland - Ul. Kneza Miloša 38, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2065 301, 2065 318; 3616 585, Fax: 361-69-39
• Embassy of the Republic of Portugal - Vladimira Gaćinovića 4, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 2662-895, 2662-894, 2662-897, Fax: 2662-892
• Embassy of Romania - Kneza Miloša 70, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3618-327, Fax: 3618-339
• Embassy of the Russian Federation - Deligradska 32, Katićeva 8-10, Phone: 361-1323; 361-1090; 361-0544, Fax: 361 1900
• Consulate of the Republic of Seychelles - Beogradskog bataljona 42, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3547-309, Fax: 3547-028
• Embassy of the Slovak Republic - Bulevar umetnosti 18, Novi Belgrade 11070, Phone: +381 11 301-00-00, Fax: 301-00-20, 301-00-21
• Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia - Zmaj Jovina 33a, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 328-44-58; 328 4458, 328 2735 (consular), Fax: 625-884
• Embassy of Spain - Prote Mateje 45, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 344-02-31, 344-02-312, Fax: 344-4203
• Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic - Mlade Bosne 31, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 344-3671; 344-0826, Fax: 344-0121
• Embassy of the Swiss Confederation - Birčaninova 27, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3065-820, 3065-825
• Embassy of Sweden
• Embassy of the Tunesian Republic - Vase Pelagica 19, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3691-961, 3690-194, Fax: 3690 642
• Embassy of the Republic of Turkey - Krunska 1, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3235-431, 3235-432, Fax: 3235-433
• Embassy of Ukraine - Josipa Slavenskog 27, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11367-1516; 367-1781, Fax: 367-1516; 367-1781
• Embassy of the United States of America
• Vatican: Apostolic Nunciature - Svetog Save 24, 11000 Belgrade, Phone: +381 11 3085-356, Fax: 308-5216