Bijelo Polje ( cnr, Бијело Поље, ) is a town in northeastern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

on the Lim River. It has an urban population of 15,400 (2011 census). It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of northern Montenegro. Bijelo Polje is the center of Bijelo Polje 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 Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

History

Bijelo Polje's Saint Peter and Paul Church is the place where the UNESCO

Miroslav's Gospel Miroslav Gospel ( sr, Мирослављево jеванђеље / Miroslavljevo jevanđelje, ) is a 362-page Serbian illuminated manuscript Gospel Book on parchment with very rich decorations. It is one of the oldest surviving documents written ...

of Miroslav, brother of Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja was written. During World War II, Bijelo Pole was a prominent location for the anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia, Montenegro in particular.

Population

Bijelo Polje is the administrative centre of the Bijelo Polje municipality, which in 2011 had a population of 46,251. The town of Bijelo Polje itself has 15,400 citizens. Population of Bijelo Polje (town): *1981 - 11,927 *1991 - 16,464 *2003 - 15,883 *2011 - 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 (53.25%) * Islam (46.18%) * Catholic (0.17%) * Atheist (0.17%) * Christians (0.17%) Ethnic composition in 2011

Culture and sights

Bijelo Polje was the birthplace of the oral poet

Avdo Međedović Avdo Međedović ( – 1955) was a '' guslar'' (gusle player and oral poet) from Sandžak, modern-day Montenegro. He was the most versatile and skillful performer of all those encountered by Milman Parry and Albert Lord during their research on t ...

and of many prominent writers such as Ćamil Sijarić, Miodrag Bulatović,

Risto Ratković Risto Ratković (3 September 1903 – 18 June 1954) was a Serbian avant-garde ( surrealist) writer and diplomat. Biography He was born in an impoverished trading family in Bijelo Polje in Montenegro. He finished Gymnasium in Novi Pazar, and in ...

and

Dragomir Brajković Dragomir Brajković ( sr-cyr, Драгомир Брајковић; 10 December 1947 – 29 November 2009) was a Montenegrin Serb writer, journalist, editor of Radio Belgrade, poet and member of the Association of Writers of Serbia. Biography He ...

as well as basketball player Nikola Peković and Swedish footballing brothers Ajsel and Emir Kujović.

Sports

The major football team is Jedinstvo, who have spent several seasons in the country's top tier. They share their Gradski stadion with lower league team OFK Borac. The town's basketball teams are Jedinstvo and KK Centar.

Transport

Bijelo Polje is connected to the rest of Montenegro by two major roads. It is situated on the main road connecting Montenegro's coast and Podgorica with northern Montenegro and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

( E65, E80). Bijelo Polje is also a station on Belgrade–Bar railway, the last station in Montenegro for trains leaving for

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

, and it serves as a regional train station. Podgorica Airport is away, and has regular flights to major

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an destinations.

Climate

Bijelo Polje has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen: ''Dfb'') with warm summers, cold winters, and abundant precipitation year round.

Notable people

guslar The gusle ( sr-cyrl, гусле) or lahuta ( sq, lahutë) is a single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by ...

* Miodrag Bulatović, writer * Ćamil Sijarić, writer *

, writer *

, writer * Nastasja Vojinović, musician * Milutin Karadžić, actor * Ajsel Kujović, footballer * Emir Kujović, footballer * Duško Ivanović, basketball coach * Nikola Peković, basketball player * Predrag Drobnjak, basketball player *

Suad Šehović Suad Šehović (born 19 February 1987) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for Budućnost VOLI of the ABA League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional bas ...

, basketball player * Sead Šehović, basketball player

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Bijelo Polje is twinned with: *

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( uk, Бі́ла Це́рква ; ) is a city in the center of Ukraine, the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (after Kyiv, which is the administrative center, but not part of the oblast), and part of the Right Bank. It serves as the adm ...

, Ukraine *

Burhaniye Burhaniye is a coastal town and district of Balıkesir Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. The district is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Burhaniye has a port and a museum of archeology. A museum for the Turkish ...

, Turkey *

Hrubieszów Hrubieszów (; uk, Грубешів, Hrubeshiv; yi, הרוביעשאָוו, Hrubyeshov) is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of around 18,212 (2016). It is the capital of Hrubieszów County within the Lublin Voivodeship. Throug ...

, Poland * Maardu, Estonia *

Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...

, North Macedonia * Svishtov, Bulgaria

References

External links

Visit-Montenegro.com

njegos.org; accessed 12 August 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bijelo Polje Populated places in Bijelo Polje Municipality Sandžak