Bijelo Polje ( cnr, Бијело Поље, ) is a town in northeastern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

on the

Lim River The Lim (Serbian Cyrillic: Лим, ) is a river that flows through Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is long.

. It has an urban population of 15,400 (2011 census). It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of northern Montenegro. Bijelo Polje is the center of Bijelo Polje Municipality (population of 46,051). It is the unofficial center of the north-eastern region of Montenegro. Bijelo Polje means 'white field' in

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

History

Bijelo Polje's Saint Peter and Paul Church is the place where the UNESCO

Miroslav's Gospel Miroslav Gospel ( sr, Мирослављево jеванђеље / Miroslavljevo jevanđelje, ) is a 362-page Serbian illuminated manuscript Gospel Book on parchment with very rich decorations. It is one of the oldest surviving documents writte ...

of Miroslav, brother of Serbian ruler

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nem ...

was written. During World War II, Bijelo Pole was a prominent location for the anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia, Montenegro in particular.

Population

Bijelo Polje is the administrative centre of the Bijelo Polje municipality, which in 2011 had a population of 46,251. The town of Bijelo Polje itself has 15,400 citizens. Population of Bijelo Polje (town): *1981 - 11,927 *1991 - 16,464 *2003 - 15,883 *2011 - 15,400 Population of Bijelo Polje (municipality): *1948 - 36,795 *1953 - 41,432 *1961 - 46,651 *1971 - 52,598 *1981 - 55,634 *1991 - 55,268 *2003 - 50,284 *2011 - 46,051 Religion (2011 census): * Orthodox (53.25%) * Islam (46.18%) * Catholic (0.17%) * Atheist (0.17%) * Christians (0.17%) Ethnic composition in 2011

Culture and sights

Bijelo Polje was the birthplace of the oral poet Avdo Međedović and of many prominent writers such as Ćamil Sijarić, Miodrag Bulatović, Risto Ratković and Dragomir Brajković as well as basketball player Nikola Peković and Swedish footballing brothers Ajsel and Emir Kujović.

Sports

The major football team is Jedinstvo, who have spent several seasons in the country's top tier. They share their Gradski stadion with lower league team OFK Borac. The town's basketball teams are Jedinstvo and KK Centar.

Transport

Bijelo Polje is connected to the rest of Montenegro by two major roads. It is situated on the main road connecting Montenegro's coast and

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

with northern Montenegro and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

( E65, E80). Bijelo Polje is also a station on Belgrade–Bar railway, the last station in Montenegro for trains leaving for Belgrade, and it serves as a regional train station. Podgorica Airport is away, and has regular flights to major

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an destinations.

Climate

Bijelo Polje has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen: ''Dfb'') with warm summers, cold winters, and abundant precipitation year round.

Notable people

* Avdo Međedović, guslar * Miodrag Bulatović, writer * Ćamil Sijarić, writer * Dragomir Brajković, writer * Risto Ratković, writer *

Nastasja Vojinović Nastasja Vojinović is a Montenegrins, Montenegrin classical violinist, soloist, and chamber musician. She is known for her work with the ''Philadelphia String Quartet'' and performances with numerous tango music, tango ensembles and Chamber musi ...

, musician * Milutin Karadžić, actor *

Ajsel Kujović Ajsel Kujović (Cyrillic: Ајсел Кујовић; born 1 March 1986) is a Swedish former Football (soccer), footballer who played as a forward (football), forward. His younger brother, Emir Kujović, plays for Swedish club Djurgårdens IF Cl ...

, footballer * Emir Kujović, footballer *

Duško Ivanović Duško Ivanović (born September 1, 1957) is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player who currently serves as head coach for Crvena zvezda of the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague. Professional playing career As a player, ...

, basketball coach * Nikola Peković, basketball player * Predrag Drobnjak, basketball player *

Suad Šehović Suad Šehović (born 19 February 1987) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for KK Budućnost, Budućnost VOLI of the ABA League and the Prva A Liga, Montenegrin League. He is the older brother of professional basketball player Sead Š ...

, basketball player *

Sead Šehović Sead Šehović ( sr-cyrl, Сеад Шеховић; born 22 August 1989) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for KK Mornar Bar, Mornar of the ABA League and the Prva A Liga, Montenegrin League. He is the younger brother of professional ...

, basketball player

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Bijelo Polje is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( uk, Бі́ла Це́рква ; ) is a city in the center of Ukraine, the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (after Kyiv, which is the administrative center, but not part of the oblast), and part of the Right Bank. It serves as the adm ...

, Ukraine *

Burhaniye Burhaniye is a coastal town and district of Balıkesir Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. The district is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Burhaniye has a port and a museum of archeology. A museum for the Turki ...

, Turkey * Hrubieszów, Poland * Maardu, Estonia *

Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...

, North Macedonia *

Svishtov Svishtov ( bg, Свищов ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipali ...

, Bulgaria

References

External links

Visit-Montenegro.com

njegos.org; accessed 12 August 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bijelo Polje Populated places in Bijelo Polje Municipality Sandžak