Žitorađa ( sr-cyr, Житорађа, ) is a village and municipality located in the

Toplica District The Toplica District ( sr, Топлички округ, Toplički okrug, ) is an administrative district in southern Serbia, named after the river Toplica. With a population of 91,754, it has the smallest population of all Serbian districts. It ...

of the southern Serbia. The municipality includes 30 settlements. According to the 2011 census, the population of the municipality is 16,368 inhabitants.

Geography

Žitorađa is 35 km to the south-west from

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, whi ...

. It lies 10 km from Corridor 10, which connects Serbia with

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and further east.

Settlements

Aside from the town of Žitorađa, the municipality includes the following settlements: * Badnjevac * Đakus * Debeli Lug * Donje Crnatovo * Donji Drenovac * Držanovac * Dubovo * Glašince * Gornje Crnatovo * Gornji Drenovac * Grudaš * Jasenica *

Kare Kare or KARE may refer to: * Kare (Žitorađa), a village in Serbia * Kare language, several languages with the name * Kare (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Kare Kauks (born 1961), Estonian singer * Kåre or Ka ...

Konjarnik Konjarnik ( sr-cyr, Коњарник, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is divided between Belgrade's municipalities of Voždovac and Zvezdara Zvezdara ( sr-cyr, Звездара, ) is a municipality of the cit ...

* Lukomir * Novo Momčilovo * Pejkovac * Podina * Rečica * Samarinovac * Smrdić * Stara Božurna * Staro Momčilovo * Studenac * Toponica * Vlahovo * Voljčince * Zladovac

History

The village has its origins in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) town "Ad Herculum" (Ad Hercules), which existed in the 4th century. The archaeological site of the Byzantine town is known as Žitoradsko kale, located on the Pasjača mountain, while a "Latin church" dating to the period is located in Glašince. The primary school was founded in 1873. In 1877, the region was liberated from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. This event is considered the founding year of Žitorađa municipality.

Demographics

The municipality had 16,368 people, according to the 2011 census.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The economy of Žitorada is mostly based on agriculture.Žitorađa Official site, Information (PDF)
/ref> There are 23,300 hectares of arable land. The farm “December 1st” has the capacity of 30,000,000 fattened pigs per year, and it is one of the most successful in the whole of Serbia. The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):

Gallery

File:Žitorađa, panorama.jpg, ''Town panorama'' File:Vlahovo, panorama 04.jpg, ''Vlahovo village panorama'' File:Crkva Svetog Vasilija, Vlahovo 004.jpg, ''Church in Vlahovo'' File:Žitorađa, centar 01.jpg, ''Town center'' File:Hala sportova, Žitorađa 05.jpg, ''Town Sports Hall'' File:Izvor, Žitorađa 001.jpg, ''Water basin in Žitorađa''

Trivia

The village was the site of the pre-ceremonial wedding of Serbian folk singer Svetlana Ražnatović "Ceca", who was born in the village, and Željko Ražnatović "Arkan", a notorious career criminal and paramilitary leader, on 19 February 1995.Laurence Mitchell, "Serbia, 2nd", p. 49 The whole wedding was broadcast nationwide on

RTV Pink Pink is a privately owned, national radio station and TV channel in Serbia. Pink is the leading commercial station in the Serbian television broadcast market. Pink's parent company is the Belgrade-based Pink International Company Pink Interna ...

Notable people

Ivica Dačić Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyr, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as first deputy prime minister of Serbia and minister of foreign affairs since 2022, roles which he previously served under governments of Mirk ...

(b. 1966), Serbian politician (

Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia. It is led by Ivica Dačić. It was founded in 1990 as the direct successor to ...

), current

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

* Svetlana "Ceca" Ražnatović (b. 1973), Serbian folk singer popular throughout former Yugoslavia and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. * Miodrag "Miki" Rakić (1975-2014), Serbian politician, who played key role in reconciliation of SPS and DS, forming of NDS and SNS, former vice president of DS and chief of staff of president Boris Tadic

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zitorada Populated places in Toplica District Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Roman towns and cities in Serbia