General

Geography

Serbia is situated in the Balkans – a region of South-Eastern Europe (about 80% of its territory) and at the Pannonia valley – a region in the middle Europe (about 20% of its territory). Nevertheless, as far as geography and climate are concerned, it can be considered a Mediterranean country as well.

Northern parts of the Republic belong to the valley, and southern areas are hills and mountains. There are more than 15 mountain peaks above 2000 meters of  height above the sea level, and the highest mountain top is Djeravica (on the Prokletije), 2656 meters high. The climate in Serbia is temperate continental.

Mountain relief of Serbia includes numerous canyons, gorges and caves (Resavska cave, Ceremosnja, Risovaca…) and one cannot but admire the wealth of well preserved forests giving shelter to many endemic species, as well as the wealth of the waters, brooks, springs, pastures etc.

Navigable rivers are: Danube (588km), Sava (206km), Tisa (168km), and partly Velika Morava (full length 185km). Other significantly big rivers are: Zapadna Morava (308km), Juzna Morava (295km), Ibar (272km), Drina (220km) and Timok (202km). the largest lake in Serbia is the Djerdap lake (163km2) (part belonging to Romania – 253km2).

Serbia has five national parks: Djerdap, Kopaonik, Tara, Sar-planina, and Fruska gora. All the national parks are of great climatic, health and recreational significance.

History

The first pieces of information on Serbian state date from IX century and the time of the Vlastimirovic family. The founder of the Nemanjic dynasty and at the same time of the strongest Serbian medieval state, known as Rashka, is Stefan Nemanja, head of the tribal state, who lived in XII century. Serbian medieval state was highly influenced by the Byzantium. In 1217, at the time of Stefan Prvovencani, Serbia became an independent kingdom, which reached its top in 1346, when Stefan Dusan was declared the Emperor of the Serbs and the Greeks, and Serbia was declared an Empire. In 1389, in the battle at Kosovo field, Serbian aristocracy was defeated by the Turks, who finally imposed their rule over Serbia in 1459, after they conquered Smederevo. From 1459 to 1804 Serbia was inside the borders of the Turks Empire, with the exemption of its Northern parts which were occupied by the Hapsburgs during some more or less short interims, the longest having lasted from 1718 to 1739.

National uprisings in Serbia, the first in 1804, led by Djordje Petrovic Karadjordje, and the second in 1815, led by Milos Obrenovic, enabled foundation of the autonomous Serbian principality. From 1813 to 1882 Serbia was ruled by the princes and from 1882 by the kings of the Obrenovic dynasty. Serbia got its first Constitution on 15th February 1835 (Sretenjski Ustav). Serbia was internationally acknowledged in 1878, at the Berlin Congress.

After the May Revolution in 1903, when the king and the queen, Aleksandar Obrenovic and Draga Masin, were killed, there came another dynasty, the Karadjordjevics, descendants of Karadjordje, and the first of them was King Petar Karadjordjevic. After having won in the Balkanian wars, Serbia spread to the South. Serbia gave its contribution to the victory of the Triple Entante in the First World War, although it had enormous number of people killed and enormous material losses.
In 1918, Serbia, which was then a state with acknowledged sovereignty, and Montenegro as well, became parts of The Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians, a new state who became The Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.