Prijepolje

Prijepolje Пријепоље
Town and municipality
Lim flowing through Prijepolje
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Prijepolje within Serbia
Coordinates: 43°23′N 19°38′E / 43.383°N 19.633°E / 43.383; 19.633Coordinates: 43°23′N 19°38′E / 43.383°N 19.633°E / 43.383; 19.633
Country	Serbia
Region	Šumadija and Western Serbia
District	Zlatibor
First time mentioned	7th of July 1343
Settlements	96
Government
• Mayor	Dragoljub Zindovic
Area
• Municipality	827 km2 (319 sq mi)
Elevation	557 m (1,827 ft)
Highest elevation	1,734 m (5,689 ft)
Lowest elevation	440 m (1,440 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Town	13,330
• Municipality	37,059
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	31300
Area code	+381 33
Car plates	PP
Website	www.prijepolje.rs

Prijepolje (Serbian Cyrillic: Пријепоље, pronounced [pri̞jě̞ːpɔ̝ʎe̞]) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of the western Serbia. The municipality of Prijepolje has a population of 37,059 people, while the town itself has a population of 13,330. It is one of the most proximate cities to the Adriatic sea in the Republic of Serbia, less than 150 miles from the sea.

One possible meaning of the name Prijepolje is "Prija's field", where Prija is the owner of polje, the "field" in English. However, a more likely theory is that the name originates from the location of Prijepolje and its relationship to the travels of caravans. When those caravans were passing through the area which would become Prijepolje, they would arrive at the settlement "before the fields", where the present day neighborhoods of Ivanje and Velika Župa are located. "Prije" means "before", and "polje" means "field", hence, the location might be called Prijepolje.

Prijepolje was established as a settlement in 1234, the same year the Mileševa Monastery was built. Prior to its establishment as a settlement, the area was occupied as far back as the stone age. First settled by Illyrians, who migrated to the area after being forced out of the northern plains, they retreated to the more defensible and less accessible mountainous regions. Later arrivals were the Celts, with whom the Illyrians intermarried. With the arrival by the Romans, the Illyrians were again forced to flee, and after the Romans, the Slavs settled in the area, intermixing with some of the earlier Illyrians. The Goths, Huns, Gepids, Langobards and Avars also passed through this area. The most interesting archaeological site in the territory is the Roman necropolis near the modern settlement of Kolovrat where pieces of ancient glass, silver, ceramics, and gold have been unearthed.