Kraljevo

Kraljevo

Краљево (Serbian)
Kraljevo Краљево (Serbian)
City
	City of Kraljevo
	From top: National Museum of Kraljevo, The church of the Holy Trinity, Main pedestrian street, Maglič Fortress, Morava Airport, Žiča Monastery, Archive in Kraljevo
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of the city of Kraljevo within Serbia
	Coordinates: 43°43′25″N 20°41′15″E / 43.72361°N 20.68750°E
Country	Serbia
Region	Šumadija and Western Serbia
District	Raška
Settlements	92
Government
• Mayor	Predrag Terzić (SNS)
Area
• Rank	2nd in Serbia
• Urban	24.43 km2 (9.43 sq mi)
• Administrative	1,529.55 km2 (590.56 sq mi)
Elevation	192 m (630 ft)
Population (2022 census)
• Rank	9th in Serbia
• Urban	61,490
• Urban density	2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
• Administrative	110,196
• Administrative density	72/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	36000
Area code	+381(0)36
ISO 3166 code	SRB
Car plates	KV
Website	www.kraljevo.rs

Kraljevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Краљево, pronounced [krǎːʎɛʋɔ] ^ⓘ) is a city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar, in the geographical region of Šumadija, between the mountains of Kotlenik in the north, and Stolovi in the south.

In 2022 the city urban area has a population of 61,490 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 110,196 inhabitants. With an area of 1530 km², it is the largest municipality (after Belgrade) in Serbia by area.

Name

Formerly known as Rudo Polje (Рудо Поље), Karanovac (Карановац) and Rankovićevo (Ранковићево), Kraljevo received its present name, meaning "the King's Town", from King Milan I of Serbia in honor of his own coronation and six Serbian kings that had been crowned in that area. The modern coat of arms of the city features seven crowns symbolizing the seven kings.

History and sights

The "lower" Ibar region is thought to be the first area where Serbs began to develop cultural, political and economic life. Since the end of the 11th century, the center of Grand Principality of Serbia was in the region of Raška, with state capital in the ancient fortress of Ras, near modern Novi Pazar. There are numerous monasteries in the Kraljevo area, Studenica (1188), Gradac and Stara Pavlica. There is also a medieval fortress known as Maglič. Monastery of Žiča (1219) was the original seat of Serbian Archbishop was used for the crowning of Serbian kings.

The village of Rudo Polje, from which Kraljevo arose, was settled during the 14th century. This area was occupied by the Turks between 1458 and 1459.^{[citation needed]}

During the Turkish rule Rudo Polje became known as Karanovac. Karanovac became an important settlement during the war between Austria and Turkey in the period between 1718 and 1739. After 1718, a border between Austria and Turkey was established along right bank of river Morava. During the first uprising of the Serbs in 1805, Karanovac was heavily damaged and most of the Muslim population left, leaving the Serbs to continue development of the city during the period following the uprising.^{[citation needed]}

Gospodar Vasin konak (Master Vasa's mansion), built in 1830, the oldest preserved building

Josip Broz Tito in Kraljevo in 1951.

After the Second Serbian uprising, Karanovac was liberated in 1819 under the rule of Prince Miloš Obrenović. In that period the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was built; Gospodar Vasin konak, a mansion used by wealthy guests, as well as a number of significant public buildings. Kraljevo received the first urban plan, and became an important economic city.

In 1882 King Milan Obrenović, establishing the Kingdom of Serbia, in honor of his coronation, changed Karanovac name to Kraljevo, and gave the order for restoration of rather dilapidated monastery Žiča.

In 1919, Nikolaj Velimirović, was consecrated Bishop of Žiča and spent a brief period in the city. He returned again in 1935, and stayed until 1941. He rebuilt and enlarged the monastery.

During World War II Kraljevo was occupied by the German army. In October 1941, joint forces of Chetniks and Partisans besieged and attacked German forces in Kraljevo during the Siege of Kraljevo. In retaliation the Wehrmacht carried out the Kraljevo massacre, killing 2,000 residents of the city. A memorial complex constructed in the 1970s today commemorates the site of the massacre. In November 1944, heavy battles were fought in Kraljevo and its surrounding areas culminating in the city's liberation on 29 November 1944.

During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 the Lađevci Airport located near Kraljevo was bombed.

Kraljevo City Museum

One prominent feature of the area is the Coronation church which belongs to the Žiča monastery. Seven Serbian kings are said to have been crowned (the seven crowns on the city coat of arms represent this assumption) in the church. The church is Byzantine in style, and has been partially restored, with only the main tower remaining from the original building dating to 1210, when it was founded by Saint Sava, the patron saint of Serbia.

The famous monastery of Studenica, 39 km (24 mi) south west of Kraljevo, stands high among the south-western mountains, overlooking the Studenica, a tributary of the Ibar. It consists of a group of old-fashioned timber and plaster buildings, a tall belfry, and a diminutive church of white marble, founded in 1190 by King Stefan Nemanja, who became a monk and was canonized as Saint Simeon. The carvings around the north, south and west doors have been partially defaced by the Turks. The inner walls are decorated with Byzantine frescoes, among which only a painting of the Last Supper, and the portraits of five saints remain from the original artwork. The dome and narthex are modern additions.

The silver shrine of Saint Simeon sits within the church, along with many gold and silver ornaments, church vessels and old manuscripts, and a set of vestments and a reliquary, believed by the monks to have been the property of Saint Sava who founded the first hospital in Studenica in the 13th century.

In various historical periods, Kraljevo was part of various administrative formats within Serbia, for example in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as part of Northern Serbia, during the time of Kingdom of Yugoslavia as part of the Moravian Banovina, etc., and today it is officially part of Sumadija & Western Serbia Region

2010 earthquake

Kraljevo was shaken by a M_w 5.4 earthquake on 3 November 2010. Two people died and over 100 suffered light injuries. A number of buildings suffered damage, and several hundreds, chiefly older buildings, were rendered unusable.^[4]^[5] There were several weaker aftershocks including a 4.3 M_w earthquake on November 4.^[6]^[7]

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1948	12,735	—
1953	16,968	+33.2%
1961	24,195	+42.6%
1971	36,484	+50.8%
1981	53,318	+46.1%
1991	58,361	+9.5%
2002	58,847	+0.8%
2011	64,175	+9.1%
2022	57,432	−10.5%
Source: ^[8]

According to the 2022 census, a total of 57,432 people live in the city proper, while 110,196 live in the administrative area.

The city of Kraljevo has 41,358 households with 3,03 members on average, while the number of homes is 53,367.^[9]

Religion structure in the city of Kraljevo is predominantly Serbian Orthodox (120,240), with minorities like Muslims (932), Atheists (487), Catholics (286), Protestants (82) and others.^[10] Most of the population speaks Serbian language (122,007).^[10]

The composition of population by sex and average age:^[10]

Male - 61,585 (41.02 years) and
Female - 63,903 (43.45 years).

A total of 53,137 citizens (older than 15 years) have secondary education (49.78%), while the 15,281 citizens have higher education (14.31%). Of those with higher education, 9,326 (8.73%) have university education.^[11]

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition in the city of Kraljevo, according to the 2011 census:^[12]

Ethnic group	Population 2011	%
Serbs	120,267	95.84%
Romani	1,266	1.01%
Macedonians	224	0.18%
Croats	162	0.13%
Yugoslavs	106	0.08%
Muslims	44	0.04%
Russians	40	0.03%
Bulgarians	33	0.03%
Hungarians	30	0.02%
Slovenes	29	0.02%
Others	3,287	2.62%
Total	125,488

Settlements

At 1,530 square kilometres (591 sq mi) Kraljevo is the largest municipality of Serbia by area. Apart from the urban area, the city administrative area includes 92 settlements:

Of those, Adrani, Centar, Čibukovac, Grdica, Higijenski Zavod, Jarčujak, Konarevo, Mataruge, Mataruška Banja, Metikoš, Ratina, Ribnica, Stara Čaršija, Vitanovac, Vrba, Zaklopača, Zelena gora and Žiča lie within the proper city limits.

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):^[13]

Activity	Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	371
Mining and quarrying	156
Manufacturing	11,532
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	482
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	520
Construction	1,843
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	4,913
Transportation and storage	1,976
Accommodation and food services	1,356
Information and communication	678
Financial and insurance activities	371
Real estate activities	123
Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,235
Administrative and support service activities	561
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security	2,338
Education	2,360
Human health and social work activities	2,529
Arts, entertainment and recreation	493
Other service activities	646
Individual agricultural workers	817
Total	35,298

Tourism

Since 1990 an annual regatta called "Joyful descend" (Veseli spust) is held on the Ibar river. The course is 25 km (16 mi) long, starts at the Maglič fortress and ends in Kraljevo. It is held in the early July and in 2017 it was attended by over 300 boats and 5,000 people. Inaugural regatta in 1990 had 150 participants, but the number grew to 10,000 in 2004–06 and 20,000 in 2008.^[14]^[15]

Sport

The most popular sports in Kraljevo are basketball, volleyball and football. The volleyball club OK Ribnica is playing in top-tier Volleyball League of Serbia. The basketball club KK Sloga is playing in the second-tier Basketball League of Serbia B, while the association football club FK Kablar Sijaće Polje is playing in regional league of Serbia.^{[citation needed]}

Climate

Climate data for Kraljevo (1991–2020, extremes 1961–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	20.0 (68.0)	25.5 (77.9)	30.3 (86.5)	32.1 (89.8)	35.0 (95.0)	39.2 (102.6)	43.6 (110.5)	41.0 (105.8)	37.3 (99.1)	33.8 (92.8)	28.6 (83.5)	22.0 (71.6)	43.6 (110.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	4.7 (40.5)	7.9 (46.2)	13.0 (55.4)	18.3 (64.9)	22.8 (73.0)	26.6 (79.9)	29.0 (84.2)	29.4 (84.9)	24.0 (75.2)	18.4 (65.1)	12.0 (53.6)	5.7 (42.3)	17.7 (63.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	0.6 (33.1)	2.9 (37.2)	7.2 (45.0)	12.2 (54.0)	16.6 (61.9)	20.5 (68.9)	22.4 (72.3)	22.3 (72.1)	17.3 (63.1)	12.1 (53.8)	7.0 (44.6)	1.8 (35.2)	11.9 (53.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−2.9 (26.8)	−1.4 (29.5)	2.1 (35.8)	6.2 (43.2)	10.5 (50.9)	14.3 (57.7)	15.7 (60.3)	15.6 (60.1)	11.6 (52.9)	7.1 (44.8)	2.9 (37.2)	−1.4 (29.5)	6.7 (44.1)
Record low °C (°F)	−24.0 (−11.2)	−23.6 (−10.5)	−15.7 (3.7)	−6.3 (20.7)	−1.6 (29.1)	2.9 (37.2)	7.0 (44.6)	3.1 (37.6)	−1.8 (28.8)	−5.6 (21.9)	−17.4 (0.7)	−19.2 (−2.6)	−24.0 (−11.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	44.8 (1.76)	47.0 (1.85)	61.0 (2.40)	63.6 (2.50)	83.7 (3.30)	91.7 (3.61)	73.6 (2.90)	61.0 (2.40)	60.4 (2.38)	62.9 (2.48)	49.0 (1.93)	53.4 (2.10)	752.1 (29.61)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	13.2	13.1	12.7	12.6	14.7	11.9	10.4	8.4	10.6	10.7	10.4	13.9	142.6
Average snowy days	9.0	7.8	4.8	0.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	2.9	7.7	33.3
Average relative humidity (%)	81.8	75.4	68.5	66.6	69.9	69.0	66.1	66.2	72.0	77.4	79.0	83.0	72.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours	64.4	89.8	141.8	171.1	212.3	247.1	279.6	272.4	185.0	139.6	85.2	51.4	1,939.7
Source: Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia^[16]^[17]

Famous residents

NBA player Vlade Divac started his career in Kraljevo, while playing for Sloga basketball club (his wife is from Kraljevo). He now donates to the club. Another NBA player, Nenad Krstić was born in Kraljevo, and played for "Mašinac" basketball club from Kraljevo. Kraljevo is the birthplace of Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micić. In Kraljevo was born Serbian international footballer Aleksandar Luković. Nebojša Dugalić, actor. Predrag Živković Tozovac, music cantautor, Dragan Kalafatović, young chess prodigy, Miloš Pribičević, Serbias most notourious bookmaker, Stefan Jovanović, rapper from Ribnica, Luka Voštinić, owner of Michelin rival Pro Guma and Danilo Pantović, movie director.