City of Belgrade

"The sky above Belgrade is wide and high, unstable but always beautiful; even during winter serenities with their icy splendour; even during summer storms when the whole of it turns into a single gloomy cloud which, driven by the mad wind, carries the rain mixed with the dust of panonian plain; even in spring when it seems that it also blooms, along with the ground; even in autumn when it grows heavy with the autumn stars in swarms. Always beautiful and rich, as a compensation to this strange town for everything that isn't there, and a consolation because of everything that shouldn't be there.

But the greatest splendour of that sky above Belgrade, that are the sunsets. In autumn and in summer, they are broad and bright like desert mirages, and in winter they are smothered by murky clouds and dark red hazes. And in every time of year frequently come the days when the flame of that sun setting in the plain, between the rivers beneath Belgrade, gets reflected way up in the high celestial dome, and it breaks there and pours down over the scattered town. Then, for a moment, the reddish tint of the sun paints even the remotest corners of Belgrade and reflects into the windows, even of those houses it otherwise poorly illuminates."

Written about Belgrade by: Ivo Andric, Serbian Nobel prize laureate

Facts about Belgrade:

- Geographical Position
Belgrade is situated in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. It lies at the point where the river Sava merges into the Danube, on the slope between two alluvial planes. The river waters surround it from three sides, and that is why since ancient times it has been the guardian of river passages. Because of its position it was properly called "the gate" of the Balkans, and "the door" to Central Europe. Along the ridge of the slope, from Kalemegdan, along the Knez Mihailova street, across Terazije to Slavija, stretches the main city traffic artery.

At Knez Mihailova street, the coordinates of Belgrade are marked:
44049'14" of northern latitude
20027'44" of eastern longitude
altitude 116,75 m.

Belgrade is the intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe which lead through the Morava-Vardar valley and Nišava-Marica valley to the shores of the Aegean Sea, to Asia Minor and to the Middle East. Belgrade lies on the Danube river, the sailing route, which connects the Western Europe and Central Europe countries with the countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. By the construction of the artificial lake and the Đerdap power station, Belgrade became a river and sea port. The ships from the Black Sea sail to its docks, and with opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, Belgrade came to the center of the most important sailing route in Europe: The North Sea - Atlantic - Black Sea route.

- Climate
Belgrade has a moderate continental climate, with four seasons. Autumn is longer than spring, with longer sunny and warm periods - the so-called Indian summer. Winter is not so severe, with an average of 21 days with temperature below zero. January is the coldest month, with average temperature of 0.40C. Spring is short and rainy. Summer arrives abruptly.

The average annual air temperature, for the period from 1961 to 1990 is 11.90C. The hottest months are July (21.70C) and August (21.30C). The lowest temperature in Belgrade was recorded on January 10, 1893 (-26.20C), and the highest on August 12, 1921 and on September 9, 1946 (41.80C). From 1888 to 1995 only six days with temperature of over 400C were recorded. The average annual number of days with temperature higher than 300C - the so-called tropical days - is 31 and that of summer days with temperature higher than 250C is 95.
The characteristic of Belgrade climate is also Košava - the southeast-east wind, which brings clear and dry weather. It mostly blows in autumn and winter, in 2-3 days intervals. The average speed of Košava is 25-43 km/h but certain strokes can reach up to 130 kmh. Košava is the largest air cleaner of Belgrade.

The average annual rainfall on Belgrade and its surroundings is 685 mm. The rainiest months are May and June. The average annual insolation is 2.096 hours. The highest insolation of about 10 hours a day is in July and August, while December and January are the cloudiest, with insolation of 2 to 2.3 hours per day. The average number of snowy days is 27, snow cover lasts from 30 to 44 days, and its average thickness is 14 to 25 cm.

- Population
According to 2002 census, there were 1.576.124 citizens in the larger-city area, and 1.273.651 citizens in the inner-city area. The municipality with the greatest number of inhabitants - 217.773 of them - is Novi Beograd, while Sopot has the smallest number of inhabitants - 20.390

- Teritory
The Belgrade territory cover an area of 322.268 ha (inner-city area covers 35.996 ha), and it is administratively divided into 16 municipalities - 10 urban (Cukarica, Voždovac, Vracar, Novi Beograd, Palilula, Rakovica, Savski venac, Stari grad, Zemun, Zvezdara) and 6 suburban municipalities (Barajevo, Grocka, Lazarevac, Obrenovac, Mladenovac, Sopot).

The largest municipality is Palilula (44.661 ha), and the smallest is Vracar (292 ha).

Text source: Official Internet Site of Belgrade