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

Toplica District The Toplica District ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Топлички округ, Toplički okrug, ) is an administrative district in southern Serbia, named after the river Toplica. As of the 2022 census, the district has a population of 77,341 inhabitants, ma ...

of southern Serbia. The municipality includes 30 settlements. According to the 2022 census, the population of the municipality is 13,782 inhabitants.

Geography

Žitorađa is 35 km to the south-west from

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

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

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

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 Držanovac is a village in the municipality of Žitorađa, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map ...

* Dubovo * Glašince * Gornje Crnatovo * Gornji Drenovac * Grudaš * Jasenica * Kare * Konjarnik * 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 (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. This event is considered the founding year of Žitorađa municipality. In the Expulsion of the Albanians during 1877 and 1878, many

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

were forced to leave Žitorađa and its surroundings and became muhaxhirs.

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. 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.

Notable people

* Ivica Dačić (b. 1966), Serbian politician (

Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia (, abbr. SPS) is a populist political party in Serbia. Ivica Dačić has led SPS as its president since 2006. SPS was founded in 1990 as a merger of the League of Communists of Serbia and Socialist Alliance ...

), current

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

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

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, one of the best selling Serbian recording artists with more than 7 million records sold, and the world record holder for most attended concerts. * Miodrag "Miki" Rakić (1975-2014), Serbian politician who played key role in reconciliation of SPS and DS and the formation of NDS and SNS, he was a 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