Lebane ( sr-cyr, Лебане) is a town and municipality located in

Jablanica District The Jablanica District ( sr, Јабланички округ, Jablanički okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It expands in the south-eastern parts of Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it ...

of southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 10,062 inhabitants, while the municipality has 20,000 inhabitants.

Geography

The town is located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the rivers Jablanica and Šumanska Reka, in the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

created by the former. Just northeast of the town a larger

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

called Leskovačko polje extends toward the town of

Leskovac Leskovac (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 202 ...

, which is the district seat. The elevation of the town of Lebane is between 275.2 and 420

MASL The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

History

;Prehistory and Medieval times The favorable location and the richness of nature made Jablanica valley important place since the earliest times. Traffic affordable and fertile, Leskovac valley has provided favorable conditions for the settlement of population. Archaeological findings, of which the most important are Hissar and Caričin grad (

Iustiniana Prima Justiniana Prima (Latin: , sr, Јустинијана Прима, Justinijana Prima) was an Eastern Roman city that existed from 535 to 615, and currently an archaeological site, known as or ''Caričin Grad'' ( sr, Царичин Град), nea ...

) show that life in this area, continuously evolved from prehistoric man to date. First mention of Lebane as Hlebane dates back to 1512. ;After the liberation from the Ottomans Lebane is formed as a village of the same name after the liberation in 1878. Visiting Serbia in 1880s, M. Rakic writes about it as a "''big village populated by Serbs, in a valley, on the river Jablanica, on its left bank.''" Only when Lebane got the role of Jablanica district headquarters, it began to gradually develop in a direction of a small town. The core of this small town was a series of houses along the Jablanica which is 45m wide here (as is even now); at the end of this series are the buildings of the Court and Municipality. The main feature of this town were two huge cottonwood trees with a volume of not less than 10 m and three huge walnut tree on the right bank of the river, near the pedestrian bridge. One of these cottonwoods survived as one of the most recognizable Lebane's landmarks, in front of the Justiniana - Caričin Grad hotel, until 2008, when it was hit by a lightning and had to be removed. Lebane has always been a Christian village with about forty houses scattered on the hill near the river. In 1900 it had 67 houses with 460 inhabitants. ;World War 1 and interwar period During

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Lebane population suffered greatly from Bulgarian occupiers. Because of forcible mobilization of youth to the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were established ...

, people from Jablanica and Toplica rose to arms in

Toplica Uprising The Toplica Uprising ( sr, Топлички устанак) was a mass uprising against Bulgarian occupation force, that took place in Bulgarian occupied Serbia during the First World War. The rebels were motivated by grievances against the Bul ...

and managed to liberate large part of Southern Serbia. From 1929 to 1941, Lebane was part of the

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( mk, Вардарска бановина, Vardarska banovina; sr, Вардарска бановина, translit=Vardarska Banovina; al, Banovina e Vardarit, italics=no), was a province (banate) of the King ...

of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

. The emergence and development of the regional market in the period between the two world wars did not significantly encourage Lebane's development, so in the inter-war period it was still a rural town (eopolis) with about 1500 inhabitants. But its local importance was recognized by making it a center of Jablanica srez (corresponding to today's municipalities of Lebane,

Medveđa Medveđa ( sr-cyr, Медвеђа, ; sq, Medvegja, ) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 2,848 inhabitants, while the municipality has 7,438 ...

and

Bojnik Bojnik ( sr-cyr, Бојник) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the population of the town is 6,688 and population of the municipality was 11,073. History Much of the popul ...

). ;Modern times However, after

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and, especially, during the "Golden 70's", thanks to the numerous industrial plants built within the town, Lebane grew substantially and its population increased more than fivefold. The fastest pace of growth was in the period from 1977 to 1985, thanks to an unfortunate event – in 1976 Lebane was hit by a catastrophic flood. Then unregulated river Jablanica, swollen after a long rainy period, broke on June 6, spilled out of its banks and caused enormous material damage Lebane. Flood toll was paid and human victims (killed two people). After this tragic event, with financial help, Lebane begins to industrialize faster, and the process of industrialization has caused more versatile and faster development of the city.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the municipality has 22,000 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):

Features

The most significant historical monument in the vicinity of the town and within the boundaries of the municipality is the 6th century AD late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

or early

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

town

Justiniana Prima Justiniana Prima (Latin: , sr, Јустинијана Прима, Justinijana Prima) was an Eastern Roman city that existed from 535 to 615, and currently an archaeological site, known as or ''Caričin Grad'' ( sr, Царичин Град), nea ...

, locally better known as ''Caričin Grad'', located c. 7 km from Lebane. The town is built by the

Eastern Roman Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

to reputedly mark the location of his birth. The archaeological excavations on this site have been on-going since 1917 and large parts of the ancient settlement have since been uncovered including the impressive fortifications. In the municipality of Lebane there is ongoing discussion for the new Lebane coat of arms.

Gallery

File:Dom kulture "Radan" Lebane.jpg, ''Cultural Center Radan'' File:Црква у Лебану.jpg, ''Orthodox Church in Lebane'' File:Ruins of Iustyniana Prima - panoramio.jpg, ''Ruins of

'' File:Царичин град-Caričin grad 2.jpg, ''Empress' Town - Ruins of Justiniana Prima''

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Jablanica District Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Roman towns and cities in Serbia Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Byzantine sites in Europe