Belgrade

Belgrade
Belgrade (Serbo-Croatian Beograd), capital and largest city of Serbia and Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), in the republic of Serbia, located at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. Deposits of coal and lead are located nearby, and the city is an industrial center in which machinery, electrical equipment, processed food, pottery, and textiles are manufactured. Belgrade is economically important also as a center, by rail and river, for the region's export and import trade. Built on the site of an ancient stronghold, Belgrade means “white fortress.” A medieval citadel, the Kalemegdan, still exists in the city, although much of the structure was renovated in the 18th century; today it houses a military museum. Also located in Belgrade are the University of Belgrade (1863), Belgrade Arts University (1957), the National Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, a 19th-century Orthodox cathedral, and the seat of the Serbian Academy of Sciences.

From the founding of the city, 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 (present-day İstanbul) and Vienna, the city continued throughout the Middle Ages to be the prize of hard-fought contests; in addition, Belgrade occupied a commanding post on the Danube River. The Byzantine Greeks, the Bulgars, the Serbs, and the Magyars (Hungarians) were masters of Belgrade at various times from the 12th century to the beginning of the 16th century. The Ottomans captured the city in 1521 and called it Darol-i-Jehad (“home of wars of the faith”). In 1867 Belgrade was finally freed of an Ottoman garrison. During World War I (1914-1918) 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 (1939-1945). From 1945 to 1992 it was the capital of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (as the country was called beginning in 1963). In 1992, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro formed the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), with Belgrade as its capital. In February 2003 the FRY changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro. Population (1998 estimate) 1,594,483.