Pirot

Pirot Пирот
—  Municipality and Town  —
Panoramic view on Pirot
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Pirot within Serbia
Coordinates: 43°10′N 22°36′E
Country	Serbia
District	Pirot
Settlements	72
Government
• Mayor	Vladan Vasić (SDP)
Area
• Municipality	1,232 km2 (476 sq mi)
Population (2011 census)
• Town	38,432
• Municipality	57,911
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	18300
Area code	+381 10
Car plates	PI
Website	www.pirot.rs

Pirot is a town and municipality located in south-eastern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 38,432, while the population of the municipality is 57,911. The town is the administrative center of the Pirot District.

It is known for the Pirot Kilim (Pirotski ćilim), a traditional woven carpet, highly regarded in Serbian culture.

In its vicinity is the Church of St. Petka, and the monastery of St. John the Theologian from the late fourteenth century. These churches display a fine example of medieval Serbian architecture.

Administration

The municipality has over 70 settlements, among Pirot itself. In 2011, the municipality has 57,911 inhabitants.

Geography

The municipality, which has the area of 1,235 km² (476.84 sq mi), has several , several mountains are situated: Stara Planina, Vlaška Planina, Belava, Suva Planina, etc. The following rivers flow through Pirot: the Nišava, Jerma, Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukov Lake.

History

Prehistoric and Roman times

Thracians lived in Pirot prior to the Roman conquest and Romanization of Serbia in the 1st century BC.

The first mentions of Pirot are found in the 2nd century AD, when the town was called Turres. At the Maglić monastery of village Blato, an 2nd century AD stone depiction of the Thracian horseman was found in September 2008.

An inscription dating to 211 AD, mentions the Thracian cult of Sebazianos (Sabazios), the theophoric name corresponds with the variations seen in Pautalia. The inscription was dedicated by a horion (cult society), headed by a leader (high priest), these were not Roman citizens.

The first written account mentioning Pirot was the 4th century Roman itinerary knowns as Tabula Peutingeriana. An antique settling in this area was named Tures (Latin for “towers”). Firstly, it was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here over night, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settling advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) rule

According to the written accounts On the Constructions by Procopius of Caesarea, writing during the reigning of the emperor Justinian I (527 – 565), the reigning emperor ordered reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from Niš to Sofia, probably including the tower of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlment was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.

Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, termas (public bathrooms), a necropolis (graveyard), and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement existed on the site called Majilka. Although Byzantium successfully defended itself from the barbaric tribes’ raids, the Balkans were teeming with the Slavs in the second half of the 6th century and at the beginning of the 7th century. The Slavs soon became a crucial ethnical element on the peninsula.

Sclaveni

Main article: Sclaveni

The Slav subgroup of Sclaveni (eponymous) started raiding Byzantine towns in the 520s and are mentioned as having attacked Thrace in 549. In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace and Illyricum, pillaging cities and settling down.

Boris I of Bulgaria conquers the area after the Bulgaro-Serbian Wars (839-842).

High and Late Middle Ages

Pirot Fortress, built in 14th century by Duke Momcilo.

In the early 11th century it becomes part of the Theme of Sirmium, a main administrative unit of the Byzantine Empire, formed by Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). He also forms the Archbishopric of Ochrid, an autonomous church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople (1018). The region was then part of the Archbishopric of Niš.

In 1182-1183, the joint Serb-Hungarian army took control of Pirot area, Stefan Nemanja, together with Frederick Barbarossa passed through Pirot and were enthusiastically welcomed by its citizens. The region is shortly thereafter part of the Uprising of Asen and Peter after 1190s.

In 1214-1216 Serbian Grand Prince (later King) Stefan Nemanjić retook possession of the region of Pirot, and with the autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1217, the region is ecclesiastically part of the Serbian church.

Dušan the Mighty becomes the first Emperor of Serbia in 1346, and the town is part of this realm until the death of the second Emperor, Uroš the Weak, his son, in 1371. It is then part of Moravian Serbia, under Tsar Lazar, and the Serbian Despotate under Stefan Lazarević, his son.

In the 14th century, Serbian duke Momčilo raises the Pirot Fortress (Momčilov Grad, Momčilo's town).

By 1411-12, Ottoman Musa had conquered Pirot and its surroundings from Stefan Lazarević (r. 1389-1427).

Ottoman rule

Pirot was known as Şehirköy in Turkish and belonged to the Sanjak of Niš.

• April 7, 1831, site of a battle in the Bosnian uprising
• 1846–1864, part of the Niš Eyalet
• 1864–1878, part of the Danube Vilayet.

Principality of Serbia

Main articles: Serbian revolution and Principality of Serbia

Brands

• Pirot carpet
• Pirot cheese
• ironed sausage
• Pirot opanak

Tourism

• Pirot Fortress, dating to the 14th century Serbian Empire
• Temska Monastery, 16th-century Orthodox monastery
• Zavoj lake
• National Park Old Mountain
• Mountain home

Gallery

• 

  Southeastern walls of Pirot Fortress.

• 

  Monument to Captain Milutin Karanović and others died in Serbo-Turkish War on 1877.

• 

  Post card from Pirot on 1900.

• 

  The District Hall.

• 

  The central pedestrian area in the town.

• 

  The courthouse in Pirot.

• 

  The National Employment Service building in Pirot.

• 

  Nišava River in Pirot.

• 

  Church of the Nativity of Christ.

• 

  Fountain in town.

References

• Pirot Official web site of municipality of Pirot (government)
• Pirot.org Independent web portal & forum about municipality of Pirot
• TV Pirot Local television station
• Pirotske novine Local newspapers