Varvarin ( sr-cyr, Варварин, ) is a town and municipality located in the

Rasina District The Rasina District ( sr, / , ) is one of eight administrative districts of Šumadija and Western Serbia. It expands to the central parts of Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it has a population of 241,999 inhabitants. The administ ...

of central Serbia. Population of the town is 2,133, and population of the municipality is 17,772.

History

The town is notable as the site of an 1810 battle during the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

(1806-1812) between 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 ...

and a combined Russian and Serbian army. A statue to the Russian commander

Joseph Cornelius O'Rourke Count Joseph Cornelius O'Rourke (Russian: Иосиф Корнилович Орурк; also Ioseph Kornilovich O'Rourke) (1772–1849) was a Russian nobleman and military leader of Irish origin who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the r ...

and his men was erected in 1910 on the centenary of their victory in the battle, which freed the city from Turkish domination. From 1929 to 1941, Varvarin was part of the Morava Banovina of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

NATO bombing

During the

Kosovo war The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

and the break-up of Yugoslavia in the late 20th century, the area became engulfed in conflict although distant from the border. On a clear Sunday, 30 May 1999, shortly after 1 p.m., a bridge crossing the

Velika Morava The Great Morava ( sr, Велика Морава, Velika Morava, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia. Etymology According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies ...

river in Varvarin was struck by laser-guided bombs fired by one or two low-flying

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...

warplanes conducting attack operations. The area around the bridge was filled with hundreds of people celebrating an Orthodox holiday in and around the nearby church, a market place, and a fairground. No precautions against air attacks had been taken, as the town is far from Kosovo (approximately 200 km), the aged and narrow bridge was considered insignificant, and no military installations were within a radius of 20 km. Ten civilians were killed and 17 severely injured, in two attack waves a few minutes apart. Most of the casualties occurred in the second wave, when people had rushed to the bridge to help those wounded in the initial wave. Some survivors were left with permanent disabilities, To this date, NATO has refused to release further details of the airstrike – specifically the nationality of the attacking planes. In a public statement made by NATO spokesman Jamie Shea on 31 May 1999, he declared the Varvarin bridge a legitimate military target. No explanations or other statements have been issued by NATO since then. The airstrike gave rise to a lawsuit against the German government (one of the NATO countries involved in the conflict). The case was decided against the Serbian plaintiffs, but it is under appeal to Germany's highest court.Photos of the effects of NATO bombing on Varvarin bridge
NATO Tribunal

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Varvarin has a population of 17,966 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):

Twin cities

Ravne na Koroškem Ravne na Koroškem (; until 1952: ''Guštanj''; german: Gutenstein in Kärnten) is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Ravne na Koroškem, and the largest town and the capital of Slovenia's Carinthia region. The tow ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Rasina District Šumadija Municipalities and cities of Šumadija and Western Serbia