Serbia

Located in central Serbia, 39 kilometers (24 miles) southwest of Kraljevo and 40.9 kilometers (25.4 miles) east of Ivanjica, is the 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery known as Studenica Monastery. Among the biggest and wealthiest Serb Orthodox monasteries is this one.The monastery was established in 1190 by Stefan Nemanja, who established the medieval Serb state. The Church of the King and the Church of the Virgin, both constructed of white marble, are housed within the fortified walls of the monastery. The monastery is most famous for its collection of Byzantine-style fresco paintings from the 13th and 14th centuries. The Republic of Serbia protects Studenica, which was designated a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979. In 1986, UNESCO added the monastery to its list of World Heritage Sites, describing it as follows: The Virgin's Church is a basilica with a single nave and a dome. There are vestibules on the north and south ends, a three-sided apse at the eastern end, and an enlarged narthex facing west.A sizable exonarthex was introduced in the 1230s. White marble slabs were used to construct the facades, while tuff stones were used to revette the interior of the church. The Church's exterior elegantly blends Byzantine and Romanesque architectural styles. After these two types were combined, a specific architectural style known as the Raška School was created.    

Serbia's largest city and capital is Belgrade. It is situated at the meeting point of the Danube and Sava rivers, as well as the intersection of the Balkan Peninsula and the Pannonian Plain.According to the 2022 census, there are 1,685,563 people living in the Belgrade metropolitan area.It is the third most populated city on the Danube River and one of the largest cities in Southeast Europe.One of the world's and Europe's oldest cities still inhabited is Belgrade. In the sixth millennium BC, the Vinča culture—one of the most significant prehistoric societies in Europe—emerged in the Belgrade region. The area was occupied by Thraco-Dacians in antiquity, and the city was founded by Celts after 279 BC, when they called it Singidūn. In the middle of the second century, the Romans, led by Augustus, conquered it and granted it Roman city powers.Before becoming the capital of the Serbian king Stefan Dragutin in 1284, it was occupied by the Slavs in the 520s and passed through the Byzantine, Frankish, Bulgarian, and Kingdom of Hungary empires on multiple occasions. During Stefan Lazarević's rule, Belgrade was the capital of the Serbian Despotate; however, in 1427, Đurađ Branković, his successor, gave it back to the Hungarian monarch. A common church custom to this day is the ringing of noon bells to encourage the Hungarian soldiers during the siege of the Ottoman Empire in 1456.  The Ottomans overran Belgrade in 1521, and the Sanjak of Smederevo took its seat there. It was regularly under Ottoman and Habsburg control, and during the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, the majority of the city was destroyed.Belgrade has its own autonomous city government and is a distinct territorial unit in Serbia.Elected to four-year terms, the 110 members of the City of Belgrade Assembly. The city administration, which oversees daily administrative operations, is controlled and supervised by a 13-member City Council that is chosen by the Assembly and led by the mayor and his deputy. It is separated into 14 Secretariats, each of which oversees a distinct portfolio of professional services, organizations, and institutions, such as traffic or health care.

The administrative hub of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia, is the city of Subotica, which is located in Central Europe. Subotica, which was once the biggest city in the Vojvodina area, is currently the second-biggest city in the province, behind Novi Sad. According to the 2022 census, there are 94,228 people living in the city's urban area, which includes the nearby village of Palić, and 123,952 people living in the metro area, which is the city's administrative center.Over the years, the city's name has undergone numerous changes. The city was first recorded in writing in 1391 under the name Zabotka or Zabatka. As a result, the city is now known as "Szabadka" in Hungarian.Skok claims that the word "szabadka" came from the Slavic diminutive sobotka, which means "a place that had a market fair on Saturday" (such as Szombathely or Nagyszombat). However, the Bunjevci changed the word's ending from -ka to -ica, another Slavic diminutive. In the 1740s, Maria Theresa of Austria, the Archduchess of Austria, inspired the town's name. Originally known as Sent-Maria in 1743, it changed its name to Maria-Theresiapolis in 1779. In addition to being used in several languages, these two formal names were spelled in a variety of ways, most frequently the German Maria-Theresiopel or Theresiopel.While Subotica itself is a significant industrial and transportation hub in Serbia, the surrounding area is primarily agricultural. Owing to the nearby farmlands, Subotica is home to some of the nation's most well-known food production enterprises, including the candy factory "Pionir," the cereal maker "Fidelinka," the milk producer "Mlekara Subotica," and the manufacturer of strong alcoholic beverages "Simex."Subotica is home to an impressive array of structures constructed in the Hungarian Secession style, which is a unique variation of Art Nouveau.Traditional Hungarian motifs were blended with art nouveau vegetal embellishments and symbolic symbols in the Hungarian Secession style. The architectural expression of Subotica was found in the works of Ferenc Raichle, Marcell Komor, and Dezső Jakab. Among the best examples of this architectural style in Europe are famous structures like the Reichel Palace and the Subotica Synagogue.

The capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, is the second-biggest city in Serbia after Belgrade. It is situated on the boundary of the Bačka and Syrmia geographical areas in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain. The city, which is the fifth largest of all the cities on the Danube, is situated on its banks and faces the northern slopes of Fruška Gora. It is the biggest city on the Danube that does not serve as the capital of a sovereign state.The city proper area has 260,438 residents, according to the 2022 census[3], while the urban area, which includes the nearby villages of Petrovaradin and Sremska Kamenica, has 306,702 residents. The city's Informatika Agency reports that 415,712 people called Novi Sad home in 2025.As per the 2022 census, there are 260,438 people living in the city proper area, while 306,702 people live in the urban area, which includes the nearby settlements of Petrovaradin and Sremska Kamenica. As per the city's Informatika Agency, Novi Sad's population in 2025 was 415,712. When Serb merchants established a colony across the Danube from the Petrovaradin Fortress, a key Habsburg military installation, Novi Sad was born in 1694. Known historically as the Serbian Athens, it developed into a significant hub for trade, commerce, and culture in the decades that followed.The 1848 Revolution severely damaged the city, but it was later rebuilt and repaired. Novi Sad is now a major industrial and financial hub for the Serbian economy, along with Belgrade, the country's capital.In 2019 and 2022, Novi Sad served as both the European Youth Capital and the European Capital of Culture.In 2023, it was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts. The Government and Provincial Assembly of Vojvodina are located in Novi Sad, which serves as the administrative hub of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The city assembly serves as the representational body for the city's administrative bodies, while the mayor and municipal government define the executive bodies. Direct elections are used to select the mayor and members of the municipal assembly. There are eleven members of the city government and 78 seats in the city assembly. Members of the city legislature and the mayor are chosen to serve