Kostolac ( sr-Cyrl, Костолац) is a town 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 ...

and one of two city municipalities which constitute the City of

Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čač ...

. It is situated on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river. The remains of

Viminacium Viminacium (also ''Viminatium)'' was a major city, military camp, and the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman province of Moesia (modern-day Serbia). Following the division of Moesia in 87, following Domitian's Domitian's Dacian War, Dacian War, i ...

, the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

Superior, are located near Stari Kostolac, some 2 km to the east of Kostolac. Kostolac is also a center of the area called Stig and home of thermal power plants and coal mines.

History

A 1.5 million year old mammoth skeleton was uncovered in the Viminacium site in June 2009. A

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Kostolac culture Kostolac ( sr-Cyrl, Костолац) is a town in Serbia and one of two Municipalities and cities of Serbia#List of cities and city municipalities, city municipalities which constitute the City of Požarevac. It is situated on the Danube river. Th ...

is named after the town. The tribes of

Autariatae The Autariatae or Autariatai (alternatively, Autariates; , ''Autariatai''; ) were an Illyrian people that lived between the valleys of the Lim and the Tara, beyond the Accursed Mountains, and the valley of West Morava. Their territory was lo ...

and

Scordisci The Scordisci (; ) were an Iron Age cultural group who emerged after the Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe, and who were centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morav ...

are thought to have merged into one in this area after 313BC, since excavations show that the two groups made burials at the same exact grave field in Pecine, near Kostolac. Nine graves of Autariatae dating to 4th century BC and scattered Autariatae and

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic graves around these earlier graves show that the two groups mixed rather than made war and this resulted in the lower Morava valley becoming a Celto-Thracio-Illyrian interaction zone. The Celtic Invasions of Greece in 279 BC formed the sub-Celtic group of Scordisci who would according to Strabo, defeat and push the powerful Triballians towards the

Getae The Getae or Getai ( or , also Getans) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania, throughout much of Classical Antiquity. The main source of informa ...

, the Scordisci self-rule in different regions of Serbia gradually ended with the Roman conquest of the Balkans in the 1st century AD.

, a major city of the Roman province of

, and the capital of

Moesia Superior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballia ...

was situated 20 km east to the present centre, in the area of ''Stari Kostolac'' (Old Kostolac). Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII ''Claudia'', and hosted for some time the IV ''Flavia Felix''. It was destroyed in 440 by the

Hun A Hun is a member of the Huns, a confederation of nomadic tribes in Western Asia and Europe in late antiquity. Hun or huns may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hun, a British subcultural stereotype, see Hun subculture * Hun, a charac ...

s, but rebuilt by

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

. During

Maurice's Balkan campaigns Maurice's Balkan campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by Byzantine emperor, Roman Emperor Maurice (emperor), Maurice (reigned 582–602) in an attempt to defend the Balkans, Balkan provinces of the Byzantine Empire, Roman Empi ...

, Viminacium saw destruction by the Avars and

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

in 584 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, destroying Avar reputation for invincibility.

Đorđe Vajfert Đorđe Vajfert ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Вајферт, ; 15 July 185012 January 1937) was a Serbs, Serbian industrialist, List of governors of national banks of Serbia and Yugoslavia, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia and after 1920 the Natio ...

opened coal mines in Kostolac. During World War II, Germans constructed first power plant "Mali Kostolac" ("small Kostolac"). After the war, people from everywhere came to build it.

Settlements

Aside from the town of Kostolac, the city municipality includes the following settlements: * Klenovnik * Ostrovo * Petka *

Selo Kostolac Selo Kostolac ( sr-Cyrl, Село Костолац, lit=Village Kostolac) or Stari Kostolac ( sr-Cyrl, Стари Костолац, lit=Old Kostolac) is a village in the municipality of Kostolac, city of Požarevac, Serbia , image_flag ...

Features

* Ostrovo, the biggest island of Serbia is located near Kostolac.

Tourism

In Kostolac is the archaeological site of

, a former Roman outpost with wide streets, luxurious villas, extensive baths and an amphitheater, just recently opened to the public.

Industry

Kostolac has two thermal power plants which comprise the TPP Kostolac. These are: * TPP "Kostolac A" – with 2 blocks – total available capacity of 310 MW and production of 716 GWh * TPP "Kostolac B" – with 2 blocks – total available capacity of 700 MW and production of 3,027 GWh In addition to electric power, TPP "Kostolac A" produces heating energy for heating of Kostolac and Požarevac.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 13,637 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

References

External links

Municipality of Požarevac
{{Authority control Populated places in Braničevo District Municipalities of Požarevac