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

Rasina District The Rasina 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 = () , ima ...

of central Serbia. Population of the town is 1,805, and population of the municipality is 14,217 (2022 census).

History

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

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

(1806-1812) between 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 ...

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 descent 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 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 ...

NATO bombing

During the

Kosovo war The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

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 (, ) 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 in Belgrade, the Great Morava is named after ...

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

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

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

warplanes conducting attack operations. The area around the bridge was filled with hundreds of people celebrating an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 Jamie Patrick Shea (born 11 September 1953 in London) is a retired official of NATO. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium until his retirement in late September 2018 ...

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 had 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''; ) 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 town has a long tradition in the ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

References

External links

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