Svrljig ( sr-Cyrl, Сврљиг, ; until 1904 Derven, sr-Cyrl, Дервен, link=no) is a town and municipality located in the

Nišava District The Nišava 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 = () , i ...

of the southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the town has a population of 6,762 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,781.

Geography

Svrljig is situated on the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Svrljiški Timok, 30 km east from

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

, the third largest city in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Nearby villages include Crnoljevica and Prekonoga.

Settlements

Aside from the town of Svrljig, the municipality includes the following settlements: * Beloinje * Bučum * Burdimo * Crnoljevica * Davidovac * Drajinac * Đurinac * Galibabinac * Gojmanovac * Grbavče * Gulijan * Guševac * Izvor * Kopajkošara * Labukovo * Lalinac * Lozan * Lukovo * Manojlica * Mečji Do * Merdželat * Niševac * Okolište * Okruglica * Palilula * Periš * Pirkovac * Plužina * Popšica * Prekonoga * Radmirovac * Ribare * Slivje * Šljivovik * Tijovac * Varoš * Vlahovo * Željevo

History

Anthropology

An anthropological study by Mihailo Kostić claimed that the Svrljig province was inhabited by mostly an "olden" population, while part descends from "colonists from the second half of the 15th century". According to Petar Vlahović, Svrljig is part of the Serbian Šopi ethnographical region.

Middle Ages

Svrljig was the name of a ''

župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...

'' (county) in the Middle Ages. It is mentioned (for the first time) in the geographical list of counties and cities in the 1019–20 charters of Byzantine Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

. The settlement and its surrounding region is mentioned as part of the Eparchy of Niš. In 1183, Svrljig and other nearby fortifications were taken over by Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja. The fortification mostly dates to the medieval Serbian period. It was situated on the road which connected Niš with the road to Constantinople. An evangelion manuscript written in Svrljig in the Serbian redaction of Old Slavic dating to 1279 is preserved in fragments. After the fall of Braničevo under the Serbian king

Stefan Milutin Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Saint King, was the King of Serbia between 1282–1321, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was one ...

in 1290s Svrljig became a border region. Svrljig was conquered and plundered in 1413 by Ottoman prince Musa Çelebi. It was then part of Stefan Lazarević's Serbian Despotate.

Early modern period

The town was known as ''Isferlik'' and ''Isfirlig'' in Ottoman Turkish. It was administratively part of the Sanjak of Vidin.

Modern

During the Toplica Uprising (1917), Serbian guerrilla bands were active in the region. In 1922, the Niš–Svrljig–Knjaževac–Zaječar highway was built. From 1929 to 1941, Svrljig was part of the Morava Banovina 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 ...

. During World War II,

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

were active in the region.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Svrljig has 14,249 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality is:

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Nišava District Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Cities and towns in Southern Serbia