Serbia

The Republic of Serbia (Serbian: ????????? ??????, Republika Srbija) is a republic in south-eastern Europe which is united with Montenegro in a loose commonwealth known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Serbia

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Serbia is located in the Balkans (a historically and geographically distinct region of southeastern Europe) and in the Pannonian Plain (an region of central Europe). It shares borders with Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Romania. Serbia is landlocked, although access to the Adriatic is available through neighbouring Montenegro, and the Danube River provides shipping access to inland Europe and the Black Sea.

Related Topics:
Balkans - Europe - Pannonian Plain - Albania - Montenegro - Bosnia-Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Hungary - Republic of Macedonia - Romania - Landlocked - Adriatic - Danube River - Black Sea

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Serbia's terrain ranges from the rich, fertile plains of the northern Vojvodina region, limestone ranges and basins in the east, and, in the southeast, ancient mountains and hills. The north is dominated by the Danube River. A tributary, the Morava River, flows through the more mountainous southern regions.

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The Serbian climate varies between a continental climate in the north, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland.

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See also: List of cities in Serbia and Montenegro

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Mountains

• Div?ibare
• Tara
• Zlatibor
• Kopaonik
• Brezovica

Districts

Main article: Districts of Serbia

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A district is called ????? / Okrug in Serbian. The Republic of Serbia is divided into 29 districts and the city of Belgrade. Each okrug is made up of several ??????? / Op?tina (municipalities), the closest equivalent of which would be an English borough, with the difference that all of Serbia is divided into op?tina, not just urban areas.

Related Topics:
Serbian - English - Borough

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List of districts:

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• Bor
• Brani?evo
• Jablanica
• Kolubara
• Ma?va
• Moravica
• Ni?ava
• P?inja
• Pe?
• Pirot
• Podunavlje
• Pomoravlje
• Prizren
• Ra?ka
• Rasina
• ?umadija
• Toplica
• Zaje?ar
• Zlatibor
• North Ba?ka
• South Ba?ka
• West Ba?ka
• North Banat
• Central Banat
• South Banat
• Srem
• Kosovo
• Kosovo-Pomoravlje
• Kosovska Mitrovica
• Belgrade

Administrative subdivisions

See also: Regions of Serbia

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Serbia is made up of 108 municipalities. It has two autonomous provinces: Kosovo and Metohija in the south (with 30 municipalities), which is presently under the administration of the United Nations, and Vojvodina in the north (with 54 municipalities).

Related Topics:
Kosovo and Metohija - United Nations - Vojvodina

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The part of Serbia that is neither in Kosovo nor in Vojvodina is called Central Serbia. Central Serbia is not an administrative division (unlike the two autonomous provinces), and it has no regional government of its own. In English this region is often called "Serbia proper" to denote "the part of the Republic of Serbia not including the provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo", as the Library of Congress puts it http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/yugoslavia/yu_glos.html. This usage was apparently also employed in Serbo-Croatian during the Yugoslav era (in the form of "u?a Srbija" literally: narrow Serbia). Its use in English is purely geographical without any particular political meaning being implied.

Related Topics:
Central Serbia - English - Serbia proper - Library of Congress - Serbo-Croatian

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Some political parties in Serbia (notably Democratic Party of Serbia and Sumadija Coalition) propose creation of new administrative units of Serbia. According to these proposals, Serbia would be divided into 6 regions: Vojvodina (capital city: Novi Sad), Kosovo (capital city: Pri?tina), Sumadija (capital city: Kragujevac), Podunavlje (capital city: Ni?), Podrinje (capital city: U?ice), and Belgrade City Region.

Related Topics:
Democratic Party of Serbia - Sumadija Coalition - Vojvodina - Novi Sad - Kosovo - Pri?tina - Sumadija - Kragujevac - Podunavlje - Ni? - Podrinje - U?ice - Belgrade

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Nature preservation

Serbia has five national parks and many national nature reserves.

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National parks:

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• Fru?ka Gora (250 km²)
• Kopaonik (120 km²)
• Tara (220 km²)
• ?erdap (Iron Gate) (640 km²)
• ?ar-planina (390 km²)

Nature parks:

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• Prokletije (1000 km²)
• Gornje Podunavlje (100 km²)
• Stara Planina (1420 km²)
• Golija (750 km²)
• Ku?ajske planine (1150 km²)

Special nature reservations:

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• Deliblatska Pe??ara (300 km²)
• Obedska Bara (98.20 km²)
• Luda?ko Jezero (5.93 km²)
• Obedska Bara (175.01 km²)
• Stari Begej ? Carska Bara (17.67 km²)

Nature monuments:

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• ?avolja Varo? (0.64 km²)