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Surdulica

Coordinates: 42°41′N 22°10′E / 42.683°N 22.167°E / 42.683; 22.167
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Surdulica
Сурдулица (Serbian)
Town and municipality
Surdulica
Coat of arms of Surdulica
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Surdulica within Serbia
Location of the municipality of Surdulica within Serbia
Coordinates: 42°41′N 22°10′E / 42.683°N 22.167°E / 42.683; 22.167
Country Serbia
RegionSouthern and Eastern Serbia
DistrictPčinja
Settlements41
Government
 • MayorAleksandra Popović (SPS)
Area
[1]
 • Town8.58 km2 (3.31 sq mi)
 • Municipality628 km2 (242 sq mi)
Elevation
526 m (1,726 ft)
Population
 (2022 census)[2]
 • Town
9,242
 • Town density1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
 • Municipality
16,991
 • Municipality density27/km2 (70/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
17530
Area code+381(0)17
Car platesSC
Websitewww.surdulica.org

Surdulica (Serbian Cyrillic: Сурдулица) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 9,242, while the municipality has 16,991 inhabitants.

History

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Historically, the town by its modern name was first mentioned in texts from 1530 by Benedict Kuripešić. Following the revolutions of Serbia the Albanian majority was forced out of the town in 1877. It soon started to grow and develop in the hands of the independent nation of Serbia. Today, it is an industrial town with beautiful nature and plenty of wildlife.

Massacre during World War I

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Further information: Surdulica massacre

During World War I, 2,000–3,000 men were massacred by Bulgarian forces in the town from 1916 to 1917.[3]

Yugoslavia (1918–92)

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From 1929 to 1941, Surdulica was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II, Surdulica gradually industrialized, with one of the largest employers in the town being Zastava Pes, a supplier to Zastava's automotive wing.[citation needed] With the introduction of sanctions against Yugoslavia during the 1990s, Zastava Pes reduced its workforce by 70% and had its international contracts terminated.[citation needed]

1999 NATO bombings

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Further information: NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

Over the course of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Surdulica was subject to NATO bombings on multiple occasions. By the end of the bombing campaign, approximately fifty homes were destroyed and around 600 more were damaged in Surdulica alone.[citation needed] On April 27, 1999, NATO missiles struck several houses in the southern town of Surdulica. A CNN journalist named Alessio Vinci subsequently visited the local morgue, where he reported 16 civilians killed as a result of the attack.[4] One of Serbia's public broadcasters, RTS, reported that 20 civilians were killed during the April 27 bombings,[5] whereas Human Rights Watch only recorded eleven deaths.[6] Many of the victims had been killed in a single house on Zmaj Jova street,1 owned by Vojislav Milić.[7] Milić's family and several neighbors took refuge in Milić's basement when his house was struck by two bombs, after which nine people were killed in his house alone.[7]

Over the night of May 30–31, 1999, NATO airstrikes destroyed a sanatorium and a retirement home in Surdulica.[8] Human Rights Watch published the names of the 23 civilians killed in the sanatorium.[6]

Geography

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The town stands at 480 m above sea level; it is surrounded by mountains to the north by Čemernik and to the south by Vardenik; the highest peak Strešer stands at 1875 meters high. Some twenty kilometres along the river Vrla and up the mountains there is a highland called Vlasina. In the 1950s, a man made dam created a lake called Vlasinsko Jezero (Vlasina Lake) which is famous for its peat floating islands which were harvested by local farmers. The highland of Vlasina is unique natural reserve with rich wildlife in particular the many rare species of migrating birds that use this unique place as a stop on their migrating way north or south. The lake is rich with fish and is one of largest reservoirs of clean water in that part of the country. The surrounding soil is lush and green resembling the Devon Downs or Argentine pampas. It presents great potential for cattle breeding and dairy production. It has distinct four seasons with long snowy winters and brief hot summers. There are also two streams running from the mountains and joining at the town of Surdulica. This is where the Romanovce River joins the Vrla River on their way to South Morava and thence to the Danube and the Black Sea.

Settlements

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Municipality of Surdulica in Pčinja District

Aside from the town of Surdulica, the municipality includes the following settlements:

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
194832,747—    
195335,578+1.67%
196132,505−1.12%
197129,494−0.97%
198127,029−0.87%
199124,785−0.86%
200222,190−1.00%
201120,319−0.97%
202216,991−1.61%
Source: [9]

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Surdulica has a population of 20,319 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

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The ethnic composition of the municipality of Surdulica:[10]

Ethnic group Population %
Serbs 16,233 79.89%
Romani 2,531 12.46%
Bulgarians 734 3.61%
Macedonians 31 0.15%
Others 790 3.89%
Total 20,319

Economy

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The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[11]

Activity Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 55
Mining and quarrying -
Manufacturing 1,123
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 154
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 105
Construction 456
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 515
Transportation and storage 170
Accommodation and food services 164
Information and communication 29
Financial and insurance activities 23
Real estate activities -
Professional, scientific and technical activities 108
Administrative and support service activities 60
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security 358
Education 362
Human health and social work activities 507
Arts, entertainment and recreation 107
Other service activities 58
Individual agricultural workers 13
Total 4,346

Education

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There are two primary schools in the town of Surdulica - Vuk Karadžić and Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, and several schools in the villages around the town. There are three secondary schools: Svetozar Marković Gimnazija (Grammar School), Josif Pančić School of Agriculture and a technical college, Nikola Tesla. In line with falling population in the municipality of Surdulica the number of high school students is also falling.

Sports

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The local football team is FK Radnik Surdulica, which play in the Serbian SuperLiga.

See also

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Notes and references

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Notes
  • ^1 Zmaj Jova street is named after Jovan Jovanović Zmaj. Serbian variations of nouns are such that the street is spelled as "Zmaj Jove" (as opposed to having an "a" letter at the end) in the context of the sentence in the OK Radio article on the Milić family from Surdulica.[7]
References
  1. ^ "Municipalities of Serbia, 2006". Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  2. ^ "Census 2022: Total population, by municipalities and cities". popis2022.stat.gov.rs.
  3. ^ Mitrović, Andrej (2007). Serbia's Great War, 1914–1918. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-55753-477-4.
  4. ^ "CNN: Children reported killed when NATO bomb missed target". April 28, 1999. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  5. ^ "RTS: Surdulica, deset godina kasnije" (in Serbian). April 27, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Human Rights Watch. Kosovo: Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign". February 1, 2000. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Dušan Đorđević (March 24, 2014). "OK Radio: Bombardovanje odnelo šestoro Milića" (in Serbian). Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  8. ^ "NATO 'hit old people's home'". BBC News. May 31, 1999.
  9. ^ "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Republički zavod za statistiku. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  11. ^ "MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
Sources
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Surdulica.
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