Bijelo Polje

This article is about the town in Montenegro. For the Bosnian village, see Bijelo Polje (Kakanj).

Bijelo Polje Бијело Поље
Bijelo Polje Location of Bijelo Polje in Montenegro
Coordinates: 43.04°N 19.75°E / 43.04; 19.75
Country	Montenegro
Settlements	98
Government
• Mayor	Tarzan Milošević (DPS)
• Ruling party	DPS - SDP
Area
• Total	924 km2 (357 sq mi)
Elevation	578 m (1,896 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	15,883
• Density	54/km2 (140/sq mi)
• Municipality	50,284
Demonym	Bjelopoljci
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	050
Area code	+382 50
ISO 3166-2 code	ME-04
Car plates	BP
Website	www.bijelopolje.co.me

Bijelo Polje (Montenegrin and Serbian Cyrillic: Бијело Поље, pronounced [bîjɛlɔː pɔ̂ʎɛ]) is a town in northeastern Montenegro on the Lim River. It has a urban population of 15,400 (2011 census). It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of North Montenegro.

Bijelo Polje is the center of municipality (population of 46,051). It is the unofficial center of the north-eastern region of Montenegro. Bijelo Polje means "White Field" in Serbo-Croatian.

History

Bijelo Polje was within the Ottoman Empire until its liberation by a multi-national force during the Balkan Wars (1912). Under Ottoman rule the city was known as Akova.

Bijelo Polje's Church of Saint Peter and Paul is the place where the famous UNESCO Miroslav's Gospel of Miroslav, brother of the Serb ruler Stefan Nemanja was written.

Population

Bijelo Polje is the administrative centre of the Bijelo Polje municipality, which in 2003 had a population of 50,284. The town of Bijelo Polje itself has 15,883 citizens. According to the latest results from 2010, Bijelo Polje has a population of 46,676.

Population of Bijelo Polje (town):

• 1981 - 11,927
• 1991 - 16,464
• 2003 - 15,883
• 2010 - 15,400

Population of Bijelo Polje (municipality):

• 1948 - 36,795
• 1953 - 41,432
• 1961 - 46,651
• 1971 - 52,598
• 1981 - 55,634
• 1991 - 55,268
• 2003 - 50,284
• 2011 - 46,051

Religion (2011 census):

• Orthodox (53.55%)
• Islam (41.57%)
• Muslim (3.61%)
• Catholic (0.17%)
• Atheist (0.17%)
• Christians (0.17%)

Ethnic composition in 2003

Ethnicity	Number	Percentage
Serbs	20,743	36.31%
Bosniaks	14,409	25.22%
Muslims	9,896	17.18%
Montenegrins	9,214	16.13%
Roma	146	0.26%
Croats	49	0.09%
Albanians	35	0.06%
Other	165	0.29%
not declared	1,033	1.81%
no data	1,514	2.65%
Total	57,124	100%

Ethnic composition in 2010

Serbs/ 16,562 (90.96%)

Montenegrins/ 8,808 (26.02%)

Bosniaks / 12,592 (17.72%)

Albanians / 57 (0,21%)

Muslims / 5,985 (5,76%)

Croats / 41 (0,12%)

Bosnians / 6 (0,1%)

Bosniaks-Muslims / 84 (0,8%)

Montenegrins-Muslims / 10 (0,6%)

Montenegrins-Serbs / 32 (0,13%)

Gorani / 5 (0,5%)

Yugoslav / 27 (0,6%)

Other / 239 (0,52%)

Culture and sights

Orahovica, Bijelo Polje

Bijelo Polje was the birthplace of the oral poet Avdo Međedović and of many prominent writers, such as Ćamil Sijarić, Miodrag Bulatović, as well as Risto Ratković, who wrote the first Montenegrin novel "Nevidbog", a story actually set in the city of Bijelo Polje. City's best known brand is Rada mineral water, vastly consumed in Montenegro during summer months.

Bijelo Polje is also the birthplace of NBA Center Nikola Peković.

Transport

Bijelo Polje is the end of the Montenegrin part of the Belgrade - Bar railway

Bijelo Polje is connected to the rest of Montenegro by two motorways. It is situated on the main road connecting Montenegro's coast and Podgorica with northern Montenegro and Serbia (E65, E80).

Bijelo Polje is also a station on Belgrade - Bar railway, the last station in Montenegro for trains leaving for Belgrade, and it serves as a regional train station.

Podgorica Airport is 130 km (81 mi) away, and has regular flights to major European destinations.

External links

• Bijelo Polje municipality
• Visit-Montenegro.com

References

• http://www.njegos.org/census/index.htm