Braničevo District

Braničevo redirects here. For the village in Golubac, see Braničevo (Golubac). For the fort in Stari Kostolac, see Braničevo fort.

Braničevski okrug Браничевски округ
—  District of Serbia  —
Location of Braničevo District in Serbia
Country	Serbia
Capital	Požarevac
Government
• Commissioner	Goran S. Petrović (DS - from 28 June 2007)
Area
• Total	3,865 km2 (1,492 sq mi)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	180,480
• Density	46.7/km2 (121/sq mi)
Municipalities	7 and 1 city
Settlements	189
- Cities and towns	7
- Villages	182
Website	http://www.danas.rs/dodaci/branicevo.59.html

The Braničevo District (pronounced [brǎnitʃɛv̞ɔ]; Браничевски округ, Braničevski okrug) expands in the north-east of Serbia. It has a population of 180,480. Seat of the District is in the city of Požarevac, a famous cross-roads, with numerous communications running through it still today. The District corresponds to the Braničevo region.

Municipalities

It encompasses the municipalities of:

• Veliko Gradište
• Požarevac
• Golubac
• Malo Crniće
• Žabari
• Petrovac
• Kučevo
• Žagubica

History

Main article: History of Serbia

Braničevci

See also: List of Medieval Slavic tribes

In the 9th century, the South Slavic Braničevci (Serbian: Браничевци, tr. Branichevtsi ; The etymology is from braniti se ("to defend"); Proto-Slavic *borniti, related to bòriti se ("to fight, struggle").) existed in this region, east of the Morava river. They were conquered by Bulgarian khan Krum in 805 AD together with the Timočani and Obodrites. The Khan annexed the territories that would serve as a frontier to Rascia and the Franks, he replaced their leaders with Bulgar administrators. In 818 during the rule of Omurtag (814-836) they, together with other tribes of the frontier, revolted because of an administrative reform that deprived them of much of their local authority and seceded from Bulgaria. They came under Frankish rule in 822. Timok and Branicevo would be of dispute between the Franks and Bulgars, the Khan sent embassies in 824 and 826 seeking to settle the border dispute, but was neglected. The Bulgarian Empire subsequently annex the region again. al-Mas'udi mentions the tribe when enumerating the Slavs in his historical works as Branicabin.

Middle Ages

A town named Braničevo also existed in the area, at the estuary of the river Mlava into Danube. The town was a seat of an Eastern Orthodox Eparchy.

During the Middle Ages, Braničevo was under Byzantine, Bulgarian and Hungarian rule. During administration of the Kingdom of Hungary, a province named Banovina of Braničevo existed in this area. In the 13th century, two independent local Bulgarian rulers, Drman and Kudelin, ruled over the region. In 1290, they were defeated by the Serbian king, Stefan Dragutin, who joined Braničevo to his Syrmian Kingdom. The region later belonged to subsequent Serbian states, until it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. In the 14th century, the region was in a possession of local rulers from the House of Rastislalić.

Ottoman occupation

During the Ottoman rule, Braničevo was part of the Sanjak of Smederevo, and since 19th century, it is again part of the Serbian state.

Culture

In the mid-nineteenth century, at the time of the Serbian state emancipation, Požarevac became, along with Kragujevac, the second metropolis of Prince Miloš Obrenović. During his lifetime, Prince Miloš Obrenović had erected monuments to his memory in Požarevac:

• the church in 1819
• palace (1825)
• new marketplace (1827)
• stud-farm - Ljubicevo in 1860.

Some of the places of cultural importance in Požarevac are:

• the National Museum (the first built after Belgrade)
• the Tulba Ethnic Park (a unique outdoor museum)
• Gallery of Paintings of Milena Pavlović-Barili (a distinguished surrealistic artist and poet).

Economy

Business facilities of this District are concentrated in the vicinity of the cities of Požarevac and Costal. The most prominent is the food-industry giant: Agricultural-industrial Combine Požarevac which provides employment to huge number of men and satisfies one quarter of the overall demands of the Republic of Serbia.

Demographics

Year	Population
1948	246,475
1961	263,344
1971	263,015
1981	263,677
1991	253,492
2002	200,503
2011	180,480

Ethnic groups (2002 census)

• Serbs = 174,818 (87.2 %)
• Vlachs = 14,083 (7.0 %)
• Roma = 3,188 (1.6 %)
• other (4.2 %)

See also

• Districts of Serbia
• Subdivisions of Serbia

References

Note: All official material made by Government of Serbia is public by law. Information was taken from official website.