Braničevo District

Braničevo District Браничевски округ / Braničevski okrug Districtul Braničevo
District of Serbia
Images from the Braničevo District
Location of the Braničevo District within Serbia
Coordinates: 44°37′N 21°11′E
Country	Serbia
Region	Southern and Eastern Serbia
Administrative center	Požarevac
Government
• Commissioner	Aleksandar Đokić
Area
• Total	3,865 km2 (1,492 sq mi)
Population  (2022 census)
• Total	156,367
• Density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	RS-11
Municipalities	7 and 1 city
Settlements	189
- Cities and towns	7
- Villages	182
Website	branicevski.okrug.gov.rs

The Braničevo District (Serbian Cyrillic: Браничевски округ, romanized: Braničevski okrug, pronounced [brǎnitʃɛv̞skiː ôkruːɡ]; Romanian: Districtul Braničevo) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. According to the 2022 census results, it has a population of 156,367 inhabitants. The administrative center of the district is Požarevac.

It is named after the village of Braničevo.

History

Further information: History of Serbia

In the 9th century, a Slavic tribe known as Braničevci are mentioned living in the region. In this time, the town named Braničevo also existed in the area, at the estuary of the river Mlava into Danube. In the Early Middle Ages, Braničevo became a part of the First Bulgarian Empire. After the conquest of Bulgaria, the Byzantines established the Theme of Sirmium in the wider region south of the river Danube.

By the 12th century, Braničevo was the centre of a Byzantine doukaton (duchy) governed by a doux (duke). The region saw significant fighting between the Byzantines and Hungarians. With the rise of the Second Bulgarian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia, Byzantium's position in Braničevo became untenable. It appears to have finally slipped from their control in 1198. It was a frequent object of contention between the Bulgars, Serbs and Hungarians thereafter.

In the 13th century the Hungarians established the Banate of Braničevo (Hungarian: Barancsi Bánság), but later in the century two local Bulgarian rulers, Darman and Kudelin, became independent and ruled over Braničevo and Kučevo. In 1291, they were defeated by the Serbian king, Stefan Dragutin, who joined Braničevo to his Syrmian Kingdom. Under his rule the town of Braničevo became a seat of the Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church. 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. 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).

Municipalities

The district encompasses the municipalities of:

Municipalities of the Braničevo district

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

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1948	246,859	—
1953	259,329	+5.1%
1961	263,780	+1.7%
1971	263,466	−0.1%
1981	264,182	+0.3%
1991	253,992	−3.9%
2002	200,806	−20.9%
2011	183,625	−8.6%
2022	156,367	−14.8%
Source:

According to the 2011 census results, the Braničevo District has a population of 183,625 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic composition of the Braničevo district:

Ethnic group	Population	%
Serbs	155,255	84.55%
Vlachs	13,238	7.21%
Romani	4,629	2.52%
Romanians	728	0.40%
Macedonians	282	0.15%
Montenegrins	242	0.13%
Croats	189	0.10%
Yugoslavs	160	0.09%
Hungarians	108	0.06%
Others	8,794	4.79%
Total	183,625

See also

• Administrative divisions of Serbia
• Districts of Serbia

Sources

• Bataković, Dušan T., ed. (2005). Histoire du peuple serbe [History of the Serbian People] (in French). Lausanne: L’Age d’Homme. ISBN 9782825119587.
• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (1991) [1983]. The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472081497.
• Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (1994) [1987]. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472082604.
• Uzelac, Aleksandar B. (2011). "Tatars and Serbs at the end of the Thirteenth Century". Revista de istorie Militara. 5–6: 9–20.

External links

• Official website