Belgrade

Belgrade (Serbian Beograd), city in north-central Serbia, capital of the country, at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. Deposits of coal and lead are nearby, and the city is an industrial centre in which machinery, electrical equipment, processed food, pottery, and textiles are manufactured. Belgrade is also economically important as a centre, by rail and river, for the region's exports and imports. In the city are the University of Belgrade (1863), Belgrade Arts University (1957), the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the National Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Military Museum. Film, music, and theatre festivals all take place in Belgrade. Interesting historical buildings include a 16th-century mosque dating from the rule of the Ottoman Turks, a cathedral, and a medieval citadel called the Kalemegdan.

Built on the site of an ancient stronghold, Belgrade means “white fortress”, and since the city was founded, various peoples have fought for possession of it. From the 3rd century bc to the 7th century ad, Belgrade, then known as Singidunum, was held successively by the Celts, Romans, Huns, Sarmatians, and Goths; then it was taken by the Byzantines, the Franks, the Bulgars, and again by the Byzantines. Because of its strategic position on the route between Constantinople and Vienna, the city continued throughout the Middle Ages to be the prize of hard-fought contests; and in addition, it occupied a commanding post on the Danube. The Byzantine Greeks, the Bulgars, the Serbs, and the Hungarians were all masters of Belgrade at various times from the 12th to the beginning of the 16th century. The Turks captured the city in 1521 and called it Darol-i-Jehad (“home of wars of the faith”).

In 1866 Belgrade was finally freed of a Turkish garrison, after which it gradually lost its Oriental appearance. During World War I the city was twice occupied by Austrian troops. In 1919 Belgrade became the capital of the newly created kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed the kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). German troops held the city for the greater part of World War II. After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, Belgrade became capital of the newly formed nation of Serbia and Montenegro. During the 1999 Kosovan conflict Belgrade suffered heavy bomb damage from air strikes by NATO, including an apparently accidental attack on the Chinese Embassy which killed three people and led to diplomatic tension between China and the United States. Population 1,119,020 (2002).