Surdulica

Surdulica Сурдулица
Town and municipality
Residential area in Surdulica
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Surdulica within Serbia
Coordinates: 42°41′N 22°10′E / 42.683°N 22.167°E / 42.683; 22.167Coordinates: 42°41′N 22°10′E / 42.683°N 22.167°E / 42.683; 22.167
Country	Serbia
Region	Southern and Eastern Serbia
District	Pčinja
Settlements	41
Government
• Mayor	Novica Tončev (Grupa Građana)
Area
• Municipality	628 km2 (242 sq mi)
Elevation	526 m (1,726 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Town	11,400
• Municipality	20,319
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	17530
Area code	+381(0)17
Car plates	SC
Website	www.surdulica.rs

Surdulica (Serbian Cyrillic: Сурдулица) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. The population of the town is 11,400, while the municipality has 20,319 inhabitants.

The town stands at 480 m above sea level; it is surrounded by mountains to the north by Čemernik and to the south by Vardenik; the highest peak Strešer stands at 1875 meters high. Some twenty kilometres along the river Vrla and up the mountains there is a highland called Vlasina. In the 1950s, a man made dam created a lake called Vlasinsko Jezero (Vlasina Lake) which is famous for its peat floating islands which were harvested by local farmers. The highland of Vlasina is unique natural reserve with rich wildlife in particular the many rare species of migrating birds that use this unique place as a stop on their migrating way north or south. The lake is rich with fish and is one of largest reservoirs of clean water in that part of the country. The surrounding soil is lush and green resembling the Devon Downs or Argentine pampas. It presents great potential for cattle breeding and dairy production. It has distinct four seasons with long snowy winters and brief hot summers. There are also two streams running from the mountains and joining at the town of Surdulica. This is where the Romanovce River joins the Vrla River on their way to South Morava and thence to the Danube and the Black Sea.

Historically, the town by its modern name was first mentioned in texts from 1530 by Benedict Kuripešić. Following the revolutions of Serbia and the last Turks out of the town in 1877, it soon started to grow and develop in the hands of the independent nation of Serbia. Today, it is an industrial town with beautiful nature and plenty of wildlife.

From 1929 to 1941, Surdulica was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.