Belgrade, Serbia

Belgrade Beograd / Београд
Capital of Serbia
City of Belgrade
Stari Grad City Hall, Cathedral of Saint Sava, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts , Kalemegdan Fortress House of the National Assembly
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Europe and Serbia
Coordinates: 44°49′N 20°28′E / 44.817°N 20.467°E / 44.817; 20.467Coordinates: 44°49′N 20°28′E / 44.817°N 20.467°E / 44.817; 20.467
Country	Serbia
District	City of Belgrade
Municipalities	17
Establishment	Prior to 279 B.C. (Singidunum)
Government
• Mayor	Siniša Mali (SNS)
• Ruling parties	SNS/SPS-PUPS/DSS
Area
• Capital of Serbia	359.96 km2 (138.98 sq mi)
• Urban	1,035 km2 (400 sq mi)
• Metro	3,222.68 km2 (1,244.28 sq mi)
Elevation	117 m (384 ft)
Population
• Capital of Serbia	1,166,763
• Rank	1st
• Density	3,241/km2 (8,390/sq mi)
• Urban	1,344,844
• District	1,659,440
• District density	514/km2 (1,330/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	11000
Area code(s)	+381 11
ISO 3166 code	RS-00
Car plates	BG
Website	www.beograd.rs

Belgrade (/ˈbɛlɡreɪd/ BELL-grade; Serbian: Beograd / Београд; Serbian pronunciation: [beǒɡrad]; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name translates to "White city". The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.34 million, while over 1.65 million people live within its administrative limits.

One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire, Frankish Empire, Bulgarian Empire and Kingdom of Hungary before it became the capital of Serbian king Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316). In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006.

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