Svrljig ( sr-Cyrl, Сврљиг, ; until 1904 Derven, sr-Cyrl, Дервен, link=no) is a town and municipality located in the

Nišava District The Nišava District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , i ...

of the southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the town has a population of 6,762 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,781.

Geography

Svrljig is situated on the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Svrljiški Timok The Svrljiški Timok ( sr-Cyrl, Сврљишки Тимок, "Timok of Svrljig") is a river in Serbia, headwater of the Beli Timok. It rises north of the Mountains of Svrljig near the village of Šesti Gabar at elevation 1,078 m and flows to the ...

, 30 km east 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 ...

, the third largest city in

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 ...

. Nearby villages include

Crnoljevica Crnoljevica () is a small village near the town Svrljig, in the Nišava District in eastern Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national ...

and

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

Settlements

Aside from the town of Svrljig, the municipality includes the following settlements: *

Beloinje Beloinje is a village in Serbia, in the municipality of Svrljig in Nisava district . According to the census of 2002, there were 343 people (according to the census of 1991, there were 415 inhabitants). Demographics In the village Beloinje live 29 ...

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

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

* Davidovac *

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

* Đurinac * Galibabinac * Gojmanovac *

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

Gulijan Gulijan is a village in the Municipalities of Serbia, municipality of Svrljig, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 201 people.Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i Stanova 2002. Knjiga 1: Nacionalna ili etnička pr ...

* Guševac * Izvor *

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

* Labukovo * Lalinac *

Lozan Lozan is a village in Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Ser ...

* Lukovo * Manojlica *

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

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

* Niševac * Okolište * Okruglica * Palilula *

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

* Pirkovac *

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

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

* Radmirovac * Ribare * Slivje * Šljivovik * Tijovac * Varoš * Vlahovo * Željevo

History

Anthropology

An anthropological study by Mihailo Kostić claimed that the Svrljig province was inhabited by mostly an "olden" population, while part descends from "colonists from the second half of the 15th century". According to Petar Vlahović, Svrljig is part of the Serbian Šopi ethnographical region.

Middle Ages

Svrljig was the name of a ''

župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...

'' (county) in the Middle Ages. It is mentioned (for the first time) in the geographical list of counties and cities in the 1019–20 charters of Byzantine Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

. The settlement and its surrounding region is mentioned as part of the

Eparchy of Niš The Eparchy of Niš () is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Niš, in Serbia. It has jurisdiction over the south-eastern regions of Serbia. Since 2017, Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Niš is Arsenije Glavčić. ...

. In 1183, Svrljig and other nearby fortifications were taken over by Serbian Grand Prince

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Grand Župan#Serbia, Veliki Župan) of the Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška (region), Raš ...

. The fortification mostly dates to the medieval Serbian period. It was situated on the road which connected Niš with the road to Constantinople. An evangelion manuscript written in Svrljig in the Serbian redaction of Old Slavic dating to 1279 is preserved in fragments. After the fall of Braničevo under the Serbian king

Stefan Milutin Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Saint King, was the King of Serbia between 1282–1321, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was one ...

in 1290s Svrljig became a border region. Svrljig was conquered and plundered in 1413 by Ottoman prince

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...

. It was then part of

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 ...

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate () was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravi ...

Early modern period

The town was known as ''Isferlik'' and ''Isfirlig'' in Ottoman Turkish. It was administratively part of the

Sanjak of Vidin The Sanjak of Vidin or the Vidin Sanjak (, , ) was a sanjak in the Ottoman Empire, with Vidin as its administrative centre. It was established after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 out of the territories of the Tsardom of Vidin and in the mid-15 ...

Modern

During the

Toplica Uprising The Toplica Uprising () was a mass uprising by Serbian rebels against the Bulgarian occupation forces that took place in Bulgarian-occupied Serbia during the First World War. The rebels were motivated by grievances against the Bulgarian author ...

(1917), Serbian guerrilla bands were active in the region. In 1922, the Niš–Svrljig–Knjaževac–Zaječar highway was built. From 1929 to 1941, Svrljig was part of the

Morava Banovina The Morava Banovina or Morava Banate ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Моравска бановина, Moravska banovina), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of parts of prese ...

of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. During World War II,

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

were active in the region.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Svrljig has 14,249 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality is:

Economy

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

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Nišava District Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Cities and towns in Southern Serbia