Ropočevo
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Ropočevo ( sr-cyrl, Ропочево) is a neighborhood of
Sopot Sopot (; or ) is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomerania Province and has the City with powiat ri ...
, a suburb of
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. According to the 2022 census, it had a population of 2,546 inhabitants. Formerly a separate settlement, it was abolished as such in October 2019 by the
City Assembly of Belgrade The City Assembly of Belgrade ( sr-cyrl, Скупштина града Београда, Skupština grada Beograda) is the legislature of Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia. Latest election results The following are results of the 2024 Belgrad ...
, and annexed to its municipal seat, Sopot. Ropočevo was completely encircling Sopot, as two settlements already formed one urban unit. However, the government has not amended the Law on Territorial Organization accordingly, so Ropočevo remained de-jure separate, appearing as such in the 2022 census.


Location and geography

Ropočevo is located on the
Ripanj Ripanj ( sr-Cyrl, Рипањ) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Voždovac. It has a distinction of being "the largest village of Serbia" taking in account its number of population, but also b ...
Plateau of the
Kosmaj Kosmaj (Serbian Cyrillic: Космај, ) is a mountain south of Belgrade. With an elevation of 626 meters, it is the highest point of the entire Belgrade City area and is nicknamed one of two "Belgrade mountains" (the other being the mountain o ...
mountain, spreading over the altitudes from . It is situated in the spring area of Veliki Lug, a tributary to the
Kubršnica The Kubršnica ( Serbian Cyrillic: Кубршница) is a river in Šumadija region of central Serbia, a 42 km-long left and the longest tributary to the Jasenica river. The Kubršnica originates from the Venčac mountain, in the Jaseni ...
. There are several other water springs in the village area: Drmink, Alinac, Pavitine, Glogovac, etc. It spreads on both sides of the Belgrade-
Mladenovac Mladenovac ( sr-Cyrl, Младеновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2024 census results, the municipality has a population of 56,389 inhabitants, while the urban area has 22,346 inhabitants. Name Its name stem ...
railway, just north of Sopot.


Name

There are no historical documents which point to the origin of the village name. In time three popular theories developed, none of which is taken seriously in consideration. One myth claims that Despot
Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and Despot (court title), despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislat ...
, who died somewhere on the Kosmaj mountain, suffered a
death rattle A death rattle is noisy breathing that often occurs in someone near death. Accumulation of fluids such as saliva and bronchial secretions in the throat and upper airways is the cause. Those who are dying may lose their ability to swallow and may ...
on this location (Serbian ''ropac''). Another jovial story claims the same word origin, but regarding some local Turkish pasha. Third was laid by professor Milivoj Pavlović in his 1969 article "From Singidunum to Kosmaj". He claimed the name is of Celtic origin. The Serbs mixed with the local Celtic population and named the locality ''arp'', Celtic word for the slope, which in time molded into ''rop''.


History

The village was mentioned for the first time in 1528, in Ottoman documents, under the name Hrbočevo. It had 14 houses and one unmarried man. Neighboring village of Lunjevica, with 13 houses, was also mentioned. Ottoman census showed that the villagers paid a total tax of 5,260 ''
akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...
''. They paid it on wheat, barley, barley-rye mix, hemp, cabbage, beehives, watermelons, wood, pigs, wine barrels and marriages, which indicates an affluent village. Located between Ropočevo and Ralja, this village disappeared from history. In the early 18th century it was mentioned by the German travelers as Robotschewo. A notable participant in the
First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...
, Kapetan Dragić (1777-1817), was born in Ropočevo. In the 19th century, Ropočevo was much more important than modern municipal seat Sopot. It has its own municipality and was one of the largest villages in this part of
Šumadija Šumadija ( sr-Cyrl, Шумадија, ) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of t ...
. The village had a school, church and was known for its
blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gril ...
and
furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...
s. Sopot was barely mentioned up to the 1860s, when it became known for its own craftsmen and shops. In 1882, Municipality of Ropočevo filed a motion to declare Sopot ''varošica'' (small town). The motion was rejected at the time. The post office was opened in 1907 and
agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...
in 1909. The village was electrified in 1955 and reached by the asphalt road in 1956. In 1960 it was connected to the
Grocka Grocka ( sr-cyr, Гроцка, ) or Grocka na Dunavu ( sr-cyr, Гроцка на Дунаву, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 82,810 inhabitants. L ...
water supply system, but majority of homes still used water from individual wells and water springs. Phone lines were established in 1970. Tides began to turn in the rivalry between Ropočevo and Sopot after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, especially after the 1970s. Being encircled by Ropočevo, Sopot couldn't physically expand and overrun the neighboring village in population, but was becoming more important administratively. Ropočevo lost its municipal status and the newly established local community, which comprised both settlements, was named after and seated in Sopot, which attained a statistical town status by 1991.


Characteristics

The settlement is not a compact one but rather diffused, consisting of six localities: three older, Venac, Alinac, Obršina, and three younger, Lovene, Senje and Orlovac. Administratively, by the 2010s Ropočevo completely encircled Sopot, "like a ring". Two settlements were even joined in one cadaster land parcel, with .


Economy

A marble quarry was opened in the village in 1887, and was closed in 1958. By the 1990s, Ropočevo developed into the suburban agricultural and fruit-growing settlement, with 11,8% of agricultural population.


Population

Population is predominantly Serbian. It is mostly settled by the families from
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
,
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
, Gruža, Jasenica, , eastern Serbia, surroundings of
Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...
and
Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia, on the vast Sjenica- Pešter plateau and geographically located in the central part of Sandžak. The population of the municip ...
. Main family '' slavas'' are
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,
Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
, Mratindan,
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,
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
and
Aranđelovdan Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...
. The village ''slava'' is
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. Settlement grew until World War II. The village experienced a depopulation in the 1948-1981 period, with the population dropping from 2,247 in 1948 to 1,869 in 1981. Since then, the population began to grow. After reaching a peak in 2011 with a population of 2,628, Ropočevo depopulated again for the first time after 40 years, to 2,546 in 2022.


Administration

Though Ropočevo was statistically separate settlement from Sopot, the two conjoined settlements formed one local community (''mesna zajednica''), sub-municipal administrative unit. In 1975, Belgrade City Assembly filed a motion to abolish Ropočevo's status as a separate settlement, but it failed. In October 2019, city assembly finally adopted the motion and merged Ropočevo with Sopot, which by this move more than doubled its population, from 1,920 to 4,548.


References

Suburbs of Belgrade Sopot, Belgrade {{BelgradeRS-geo-stub