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The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian
ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their nation state of Serbia, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. They also form significant minorities in North Macedonia and Slovenia. There is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe and there are significant communities in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The Serbs share many cultural traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion. The Serbian language (a standardized version of Serbo-Croatian) is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the plurality in Montenegro.


Ethnology

The identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions. In the 19th century, the
Serbian national identity Serbia is the nation state of the Serbs, who are Serbia's dominant ethnic group. Serbs are also dominant in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of ...
was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. Three elements, together with the legacy of the Nemanjić dynasty, were crucial in forging identity and preservation during foreign domination: the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
, the Serbian language, and the Kosovo Myth. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs ( Croats and
Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
). The tradition of ''
slava Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian ba ...
'', the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, and is usually regarded their most significant and most solemn
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
. The origin of the
ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
is unclear. The most prominent theory considers it of Proto-Slavic origin. argued native Slavic provenance of the ethnonym, claiming that the theory advances a conclusion that the ethnonym has a meaning of a family kinship or alliance, which was also argued by a number of other scholars.


Genetic origins

According to a triple analysis – autosomal,
mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...
and paternal — of available data from large-scale studies on Balto-Slavs and their proximal populations, the whole genome SNP data situates Serbs with Montenegrins in between two Balkan clusters. Y-DNA results show that haplogroups I2a and R1a together stand for the majority of the makeup, with more than 53 percent. The aforementioned Serbian Y-chromosomes belong to lineages believed to be pre- Neolithic. Such significant levels are possibly the result of Neolithic migrations encroaching on Paleolithic populations against the Adriatic Sea. According to several recent studies Serbia's people are among the tallest in the world, with an average male height of .


History


Arrival of the Slavs

Early Slavs, especially Sclaveni and Antae, including the White Serbs, invaded and settled Southeastern Europe in the 6th and 7th century. Up until the late 560s their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, though with limited Slavic settlement mainly through Byzantine ''
foederati ''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...
'' colonies. The Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today
central Serbia Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...
was an important geo-strategical province, through which the '' Via Militaris'' crossed. This area was frequently intruded by barbarians in the 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population (Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians, Romans, Celts). White Serbs from White Serbia came to an area near Thessaloniki and then they settled area between Dinaric Alps and Adriatic coast. The region of "Rascia" ( Raška) was the center of Serb settlement and Serb tribes also occupied parts of modern-day
Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
and Montenegro. Prior to their arrival to the Balkans, Serbs were predominantly involved in agricalture, which is why they settled in areas which were cultivated even during Roman times.


Middle Ages

The first Serb states, Raška and Duklja (825–1120), were formed chiefly under the Vlastimirović and Vojislavljević dynasties respectively. The other Serb-inhabited lands, or principalities, that were mentioned included the "countries" of Paganija, Zahumlje, Travunija. With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it and replaced it as the most powerful Serbian state. Prince Stefan Nemanja (r. 1169–96) conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo, Duklja and Zachlumia. The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century. Nemanja's older son, Stefan Nemanjić, became Serbia's first recognized king, while his younger son, Rastko, founded the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
in the year 1219, and became known as Saint Sava after his death. Parts of modern-day Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and central Serbia would come under the control of Nemanjić. Over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders, from numerous smaller principalities, reaching to a unified Serbian Empire. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire. The medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
, northern Greece, Montenegro, and almost all of modern Albania. When Dušan died, his son
Stephen Uroš V Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...
became Emperor. With
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
invaders beginning their conquest of the Balkans in the 1350s, a major conflict ensued between them and the Serbs, the first major battle was the Battle of Maritsa (1371), in which the Serbs were defeated. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, the Serbian Empire broke up into several small Serbian domains. These states were ruled by feudal lords, with Zeta controlled by the Balšić family, Raška, Kosovo and northern Macedonia held by the Branković family and
Lazar Hrebeljanović Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-cyr, Лазар Хребељановић; ca. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, ...
holding today's
Central Serbia Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...
and a portion of Kosovo. Hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the
Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan ...
on the plain of Kosovo Polje, near the town of Priština. Both Lazar and
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Murad I were killed in the fighting. The battle most likely ended in a stalemate, and afterwards Serbia enjoyed a short period of prosperity under despot
Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...
and resisted falling to the Turks until 1459.


Early modern period

The Serbs had taken an active part in the wars fought in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire, and also organized uprisings; because of this, they suffered persecution and their territories were devastated – major migrations from Serbia into Habsburg territory ensued. After allied Christian forces had captured Buda from the Ottoman Empire in 1686 during the
Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
, Serbs from Pannonian Plain (present-day Hungary, Slavonia region in present-day Croatia, Bačka and Banat regions in present-day Serbia) joined the troops of the Habsburg monarchy as separate units known as Serbian Militia. Serbs, as volunteers, massively joined the Austrian side. Many Serbs were recruited during the devshirme system, a form of slavery in the Ottoman Empire, in which boys from Balkan Christian families were
forcibly converted Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which ...
to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and trained for infantry units of the Ottoman army known as the
Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
. A number of Serbs who converted to Islam occupied high-ranking positions within the Ottoman Empire, such as
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and Minister of War
field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Omar Pasha Latas. In 1688, the Habsburg army took Belgrade and entered the territory of present-day
Central Serbia Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...
. Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden called Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III Čarnojević to raise arms against the Turks; the Patriarch accepted and returned to the liberated Peć. As Serbia fell under Habsburg control, Leopold I granted Arsenije nobility and the title of duke. In early November, Arsenije III met with Habsburg commander-in-chief,
General Enea Silvio Piccolomini Enea Silvio Piccolomini (German: Johann Norbert Piccolomini; Papal States, c. 1650 – Pristina or Skopje, Ottoman Empire, 9 November 1689) was a Sienese nobleman whose lineage included two popes, and who served in the Habsburg army of Leopold ...
in
Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...
; after this talk he sent a note to all Serb bishops to come to him and collaborate only with Habsburg forces. A Great Migration of the Serbs (1690) to Habsburg lands was undertaken by Patriarch Arsenije III. The large community of Serbs concentrated in Banat, southern Hungary and the Military Frontier included merchants and craftsmen in the cities, but mainly refugees that were peasants. Smaller groups of Serbs also migrated to the Russian Empire, where they occupied high positions in the military circles. The Serbian Revolution for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815. The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire that eventually evolved towards full independence (1835–1867). During the First Serbian Uprising, led by Duke Karađorđe Petrović, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began. Led by Miloš Obrenović, it ended in 1815 with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities. Likewise, Serbia was one of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish feudalism. Serbs are among the first ethnic groups in Europe to form a nation and a clear sense of national identity.


Modern period

In the early 1830s, Serbia gained autonomy and its borders were recognized, with Miloš Obrenović being recognized as its ruler. Serbia is the fourth modern-day European country, after France, Austria and the Netherlands, to have a codified legal system, as of 1844. The last Ottoman troops withdrew from Serbia in 1867, although Serbia's and Montenegro's independence was not recognized internationally until the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Serbia fought in the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
of 1912–13, which forced the Ottomans out of the Balkans and doubled the territory and population of the
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
. In 1914, a young Bosnian Serb student named Gavrilo Princip
assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...
, which directly contributed to the outbreak of World War I. In the fighting that ensued, Serbia was invaded by Austria-Hungary. Despite being outnumbered, the Serbs defeated the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer, which marked the first
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
victory over the Central Powers in the war. Further victories at the battles of Kolubara and the Drina meant that Serbia remained unconquered as the war entered its second year. However, an invasion by the forces of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria overwhelmed the Serbs in the winter of 1915, and a subsequent withdrawal by the Serbian Army through Albania took the lives of more than 240,000 Serbs. Serb forces spent the remaining years of the war fighting on the Salonika front in Greece, before liberating Serbia from Austro-Hungarian occupation in November 1918. Serbia suffered the biggest casualty rate in World War I. Following the victory in WWI Serbs subsequently formed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes with other
South Slavic peoples South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hun ...
. The country was later renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and was led from 1921 to 1934 by King Alexander I of the Serbian
Karađorđević dynasty The Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl, Динасија Карађорђевић, Dinasija Karađorđević, Карађорђевићи / Karađorđevići, ) or House of Karađorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Кућа Карађорђевић, Kuća Karađ ...
. During World War II, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers in April 1941. The country was subsequently divided into many pieces, with Serbia being directly occupied by the Germans. Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) were targeted for extermination as part of genocide by the Croatian ultra-nationalist, fascist Ustaše. The Ustaše view of national and racial identity, as well as the theory of Serbs as an inferior race, was under the influence of Croatian nationalists and intellectuals from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
Jasenovac camp Jasenovac () was a concentration and extermination camp established in the village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The concentration camp, one of the ...
was notorious for the barbaric practices which occurred in it.
Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...
and Jastrebarsko concentration camp were specially formed for children. Serbs in the NDH suffered among the highest casualty rates in Europe during the World War II, while the NDH was one of the most lethal regimes in the 20th century.
Diana Budisavljević Diana Budisavljević (; 15 January 1891 – 20 August 1978) was an Austrian humanitarian who led a major relief effort in Yugoslavia during World War II. From October 1941, on her initiative and involving many co-workers, she organized and provi ...
, a humanitarian of Austrian descent, carried out rescue operations from Ustaše camps and saved more than 15,000 children, mostly Serbs. More than half a million Serbs were killed in the territory of Yugoslavia during World War II. Serbs in occupied Yugoslavia subsequently formed a resistance movement known as the
Yugoslav Army in the Homeland The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
, or the Chetniks. The Chetniks had the official support of the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
until 1943, when Allied support shifted to the Communist Yugoslav Partisans, a multi-ethnic force, formed in 1941, which also had a large majority of Serbs in its ranks in the first two years of war. Over the entirety of the war, the ethnic composition of the Partisans was 53 percent Serb. During the entire course of the WWII in Yugoslavia, 64.1% of all Bosnian Partisans were Serbs. Later, after the fall of Italy in September 1943, other ethnic groups joined Partisans in larger numbers. At the end of the war, the Partisans, led by
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
, emerged victorious. Yugoslavia subsequently became a Communist state. Tito died in 1980, and his death saw Yugoslavia plunge into economic turmoil. Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 1990s, and a series of wars resulted in the creation of five new states. The heaviest fighting occurred in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose Serb populations rebelled and declared independence. The war in Croatia ended in August 1995, with a Croatian military offensive known as Operation Storm put a stop to the
Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...
rebellion and causing as many as 200,000 Serbs to flee the country. The
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
ended that same year, with the Dayton Agreement dividing the country along ethnic lines. In 1998–99, a conflict in Kosovo between the Yugoslav Army and Albanians seeking independence erupted into full-out war, resulting in a 78-day-long NATO bombing campaign which effectively drove Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo. Subsequently, more than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians fled the province. On 5 October 2000, Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosević Slobodan ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name which means "free" (''sloboda'' / meaning "freedom, liberty") used among other South Slavs as well. It was coined by Serbian liberal politician Vladimir Jovanović w ...
was overthrown in a bloodless revolt after he refused to admit defeat in the
2000 Yugoslav general election General elections were held in Yugoslavia on 24 September 2000.Dieter Nohlen & Philip StöverP (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1678 They included the presidential election, which was held using the two-round system, with a second ...
.


Demographics

Modern demographic distribution of ethnic Serbs throughout homeland and native regions, as well as in Serbian ethnic diaspora, represents an outcome of several historical and demographic processes, shaped both by
economic migrations An economic migrant is someone who emigration, emigrates from one region to another, including crossing international borders, seeking an improved standard of living, because the conditions or job opportunities in the migrant's own region are insuf ...
and
forced displacements Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
during the recent Yugoslav Wars (1991–1999).


Balkans

There are nearly 8 million Serbs living in their native homelands, within the geographical borders of former Yugoslavia. In Serbia itself, around 6 million people identify themselves as ethnic Serbs, and constitute about 83% of the population. More than a million live in Bosnia and Herzegovina (predominantly in the Republika Srpska), where they are one of the three constituent ethnic groups. Serbs in Croatia and Montenegro also have recognized collective rights, and number some 186,000 and 178,000 people, respectively, while another estimated 96,000 live in the disputed area of Kosovo. Smaller minorities exist in Slovenia and North Macedonia, some 36,000 and 39,000 people, respectively. Outside of the former Yugoslavia, but within their historical and migratory areal, Serbs are officially recognized as national minority in Albania, Romania (18,000), Hungary (7,000), as well as in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.


Diaspora

There are over 2 million Serbs in
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
throughout the world; some sources put that figure as high as 4 million. There is a large diaspora in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, France, Italy,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and United Kingdom. Outside Europe, there are significant Serb communities in the United States, Canada,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, South America and Southern Africa. The existence of a large diaspora is mainly a consequence of either economic or political (
coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
or expulsions) reasons. There were several waves of Serb emigration: * The first wave took place since the end of the 19th century and lasted until World War II and was caused by economic reasons; particularly large numbers of Serbs (mainly from peripheral ethnic areas such as
Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
, Montenegro,
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, and
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...
) emigrated to the United States. * The second wave took place after the end of World War II. At this time, members of royalist
Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
and other political opponents of communist regime fled the country mainly going overseas ( United States and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
) and, to a lesser degree, United Kingdom. * The third wave, by far the largest, consisted of economic emigration beginning in the 1960s when several Western European countries signed bilateral agreements with Yugoslavia, allowing the recruitment of industrial workers to those countries; this lasted until the end of the 1980s. The major destinations for migrants were West Germany, Austria, and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and to a lesser extent France and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. That generation of diaspora is collectively known as ''gastarbajteri'', after German '' gastarbeiter'' ("guest-worker"), since most of the emigrants headed for German-speaking countries. These migrations left some parts of Serbia sparsely populated. * Later emigration took place during the 1990s, and was caused by both political and economic reasons. The Yugoslav wars caused many Serbs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to leave their countries in the first half of the 1990s. The economic sanctions imposed on Serbia caused an economic collapse with an estimated 300,000 people leaving Serbia during that period, 20% of which had a higher education.


Language

Serbs speak Serbian, a member of the South Slavic group of languages, specifically the Southwestern group. Standard Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian, and therefore
mutually intelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
with Standard Croatian, Standard Montenegrin, and Standard Bosnian (see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian), which are all based on the
Shtokavian dialect Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige dialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin standards. It ...
. Serbian is an official language in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and is a recognized minority language in Montenegro (although spoken by a plurality of population), Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Older forms of literary Serbian are
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
of the Serbian recension, which is still used for ecclesiastical purposes, and Slavonic-Serbian—a mixture of Serbian,
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
and Russian used from the mid-18th century to the first decades of the 19th century. Serbian has active digraphia, using both
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. Serbian Latin was created by
Ljudevit Gaj Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; hu, Gáj Lajos; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian Linguistics, linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement. Biography Origi ...
and published in 1830. His alphabet mapped completely on Serbian Cyrillic which had been standardized by Vuk Karadžić a few years before. Loanwords in the Serbian language besides common internationalisms are mostly from Greek, GermanЛексикон страних речи и израза / Милан Вујаклија, Просвета, Београд (1954) and Italian, while words of Hungarian origin are present mostly in the north. There are some Turkish loanwords used (but mostly in rural areas) and they are mostly related to food. A considerable number of those words are actually Persian in origin but entered Serbian through Ottomans and are therefore considered ''Turkisms''. There is considerable usage of French words as well, especially in military related terms. One Serbian word that is used in many of the world's languages is " vampire" (''vampir'').


Culture

Literature, icon painting, music, dance and medieval architecture are the artistic forms for which Serbia is best known. Traditional Serbian visual art (specifically
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es, and to some extent icons), as well as ecclesiastical architecture, are highly reflective of Byzantine traditions, with some Mediterranean and Western influence. Many Serbian monuments and works of art have been lost forever due to various wars and peacetime marginalizations. In modern times (since the 19th century) Serbs also have a noteworthy
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
and works of philosophy. Notable philosophers include Svetozar Marković,
Branislav Petronijević Branislav "Brana" Petronijević (sometimes styled as Petronievics) (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранислав "Брана" Петронијевић; 6 April 1875 – 4 March 1954) was a Serbian philosopher and paleontologist. His major work is the two- ...
,
Ksenija Atanasijević Ksenija Atanasijević (Xenia Atanassievich) (1894–1981) was the first recognised major female Serbian philosopher, and the first female professors of Belgrade University, where she graduated. She wrote about Giordano Bruno, ancient Greek phi ...
,
Radomir Konstantinović Radomir Konstantinović ( sr-cyr, Радомир Константиновић; 1928−2011) was Serbian writer and philosopher. His most famous work is a philosophical treatise ''"Filosofija palanke"'' (''The small town philosophy''). He won the pr ...
, Nikola Milošević, Mihailo Marković,
Justin Popović Justin Popović ( sr-cyr, Јустин Поповић, ; 6 April 1894 – 7 April 1979) was a Serbian Orthodox theologian, archimandrite of the Ćelije Monastery, Dostoyevsky scholar, writer, an advocate of anti-communism and a critic of the pr ...
and Mihailo Đurić.


Art, music, theatre, and cinema

During the 12th and 13th centuries, many icons, wall paintings and manuscript miniatures came into existence, as many Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches such as Hilandar, Žiča, Studenica, Sopoćani, Mileševa,
Gračanica Gračanica () may refer to: Places Bosnia and Herzegovina *Gračanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town and municipality in Tuzla *Gračanica (Bugojno), a village in Central Bosnia *Gračanica, Gacko, a village in Republika Srpska *Gračanica, Proz ...
and
Visoki Dečani The Visoki Dečani Monastery ( sr, Манастир Високи Дечани, Manastir Visoki Dečani, sq, Manastiri i Deçanit) is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan, Kosovo. It was founded in the first half of ...
were built. The architecture of some of these monasteries is world-famous. Prominent architectural styles in the Middle Ages were
Raška architectural school Raška architectural school ( sr, Рашка школа архитeктуре), also known as the Raška style (Рашки стил, ''Raški stil''), or simply as the Raška school, is an ecclesiastical architectural style that flourished in the ...
, Morava architectural school and Serbo-Byzantin architectural style. During the same period UNESCO protected
Stećak Stećak (, ) or Stećci in plural form (, ) is the name for monumental medieval tombstones, that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the border ...
monumental medieval tombstones were built. The Independence of Serbia in the 19th century was soon followed with Serbo-Byzantine Revival in architecture.
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
and rococo trends in Serbian art emerged in the 18th century and are mostly represented in icon painting and portraits. Most of the Baroque authors were from the territory of Austrian Empire, such as
Nikola Nešković Nikola Nešković (c. 1729 – 1785) was a Serbian religious painter of the 18th century. He is the author of over a thousand works, including many icons, frescos, and portraits. He is the grandfather of Jovan Sterija Popović. Biography Neško ...
, Teodor Kračun,
Teodor Ilić Češljar Teodor Ilić Češljar ( sr-cyr, Теодор Илић Чешљар) was a Serbian Rococo, late baroque painter from Vojvodina (then part of the Austrian Empire) best known for being the creator of the ''Royal Doors'' from Ostojićevo. Biography ...
, Zaharije Orfelin and
Jakov Orfelin Jakov Orfelin (Cyrillic Serbian: Јаков Орфелин, born in Vukovar or Sremski Karlovci, Habsburg monarchy, c. mid-eighteenth century – Arad, Habsburg Monarchy, 20 October 1803) was a Serbian Baroque painter. He made iconostasis ...
. Serbian painting showed the influence of
Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...
and
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
as seen in works by Konstantin Danil and
Pavel Đurković Pavle or Pavel Đurković (1772, Baja, Austria-Hungary – 1830, Odessa, Russia) was a Serbian painter, portraitist and iconographer who distinguished himself in the iconography of monasteries and portraits of great personalities (mostly Serbs). Hi ...
. Many painters followed the artistic trends set in the 19th century Romanticism, notably Đura Jakšić, Stevan Todorović, Katarina Ivanović and Novak Radonić. Since the mid-1800s, Serbia has produced a number of famous painters who are representative of general European artistic trends. One of the most prominent of these was Paja Jovanović, who painted massive canvases on historical themes such as the '' Migration of the Serbs'' (1896). Painter Uroš Predić was also prominent in the field of Serbian art, painting the ''
Kosovo Maiden The Kosovo Maiden or Maiden of the Blackbird Field ( sr, Косовка девојка / ) is the central figure of a poem with the same name, part of the Kosovo cycle in the Serbian epic poetry. In it, a young beauty searches the battlefield for ...
'' and ''
Happy Brothers ''Happy Brothers, Their Poor Mother!'', sr-Cyrl, Весела браћа, жалосна им мајка! (often referred to simply as ''Happy Brothers''), sr-Cyrl, Весела браћа is an 1887 oil painting by the Serbian artist Uroš P ...
''. While Jovanović and Predić were both realist painters, artist
Nadežda Petrović Nadežda Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Надежда Петровић; 11/12 October 1873 – 3 April 1915) was a Serbian painter and one of the women war photography pioneers in the region. Considered Serbia's most famous expressionist and fauvist, ...
was an
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and fauvist and
Sava Šumanović Sava Šumanović ( sr-Cyrl, Сава Шумановић; 22 January 1896 – 30 August 1942) was a Serbian painter. He is considered to be one of the most important Serbian painters of the 20th century. Šumanović's opus includes around 800 pa ...
was an accomplished Cubist. Painters Petar Lubarda,
Vladimir Veličković Vladimir Veličković ( sr-cyr, Владимир Величковић; 11 August 1935 – 29 August 2019) was a Serbian painter who spent much of his adult life in Paris. Biography Veličković graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Bel ...
and
Ljubomir Popović Ljubomir "Ljuba" Popović (14 October 1934 – 12 August 2016) was a Serbian surrealist painter. He is renowned for his many erotic and unconventionally juxtaposed subject matters. Biography Born in Tuzla, Bosnia, Popović studied Fine Arts i ...
were famous for their
surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
. Marina Abramović is a world-renowned performance artist, writer, and art filmmaker. Traditional Serbian music includes various kinds of
bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
, flutes, horns, trumpets,
lutes A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer ...
,
psalteries A psaltery ( el, ψαλτήρι) (or sawtry, an archaic form) is a fretboard-less box zither (a simple chordophone) and is considered the archetype of the zither and dulcimer; the harp, virginal, harpsichord and clavichord were also inspired by ...
,
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
and cymbals. The kolo is the traditional collective folk dance, which has a number of varieties throughout the regions. The first Serbian composers started working in the 14th and 15th century, like
Kir Stefan the Serb Kir Stefan the Serb (second half of the 14th and 15th century) was a Serbian monk, protopsaltos, musicologist, choirmaster and more importantly, composer of the chants developed within the sphere of the activities of Byzantine culture in the Serb ...
. Composer and musicologist Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is considered one of the most important founders of modern Serbian music. Other noted classical composers include
Kornelije Stanković Kornelije Stanković ( sr, Корнелије Станковић, Kornelije Stanković, ; 23 August 1831 in Buda16 April 1865) was a Serbian composer, melographer, conductor, pianist and musical writer. He is notable for his four volumes of harmo ...
,
Stanislav Binički Stanislav Binički ( sr-cyr, Станислав Бинички, ; 27 July 1872 – 15 February 1942) was a Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue. A student of German composer Josef Rheinberger, he became the first director of the Opera ...
,
Petar Konjović Petar Konjović ( sr-cyr, Петар Коњовић, , 5 May 1883 – 1 October 1970) was a Serbian composer and academic. Education and career While a pedagogy student in Čurug, Konjović self-taught himself the art of compositure and conductin ...
,
Miloje Milojević Miloje Milojević (Serbian Cyrillic: Милоје Милојевић; 27 October 1884, Belgrade – 16 June 1946, Belgrade) was a Serbian composer, musicologist, music critic, folklorist, music pedagogue, and music promoter. Biography T ...
,
Stevan Hristić Stevan Hristić ( sr-cyr, Стеван Христић; 19 June 1885 – 21 August 1958) was Serbian composer, conductor, pedagogue, and music writer. A prominent representative of the late romanticist style in Serbian music of the first half o ...
, Josif Marinković,
Luigi von Kunits Ludwig Paul Maria "Luigi" von Kunits (20 July 1870 – 8 October 1931) was a Canadian conductor, composer, violinist, and pedagogue. Born in Austria, he studied at the Vienna Conservatory. He later moved to Canada where he was the founding cond ...
, Ljubica Marić and
Vasilije Mokranjac Vasilije Mokranjac (Belgrade, 11 September 1923 – Belgrade, 27 May 1984) was a Serbian composer, professor of composition at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He was one of the most promi ...
. Well-known musicians include Zdravko Čolić, Arsen Dedić,
Predrag Gojković-Cune Predrag ( sr-cyr, Предраг) is a Slavic masculine given name, predominantly borne by ethnic Slavs, derived from ''pre-'' ("very, much") and ''-drag'' ("dear, beloved"), both common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "very beloved". ...
,
Toma Zdravković Tomislav "Toma" Zdravković (; 20 November 1938 – 30 September 1991) was a Serbian pop-folk singer-songwriter and recording artist. Zdravković was an outstanding figure on the Serbian folk scene; a true bohemian and a poet, he lived up to hi ...
,
Milan Mladenović Milan Mladenović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Младеновић; 21 September 1958 – 5 November 1994) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian musician best known as the frontman of the Yugoslav art rock band Ekatarina Velika. Early life Born to Serbian f ...
, Radomir Mihailović Točak, Bora Đorđević,
Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga Momčilo Bajagić (; born 19 February 1960), better known under pseudonym Bajaga (), is a Serbian rock musician. He is best known as the leader of the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, as well as a former member of the ...
, Đorđe Balašević, Ceca and others. Serbia has produced many talented filmmakers, the most famous of whom are Slavko Vorkapić, Dušan Makavejev, Živojin Pavlović, Slobodan Šijan, Goran Marković, Goran Paskaljević, Emir Kusturica,
Želimir Žilnik Želimir Žilnik ( sr-cyr, Желимир Жилник; ; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Žilnik was born in 194 ...
, Srđan Dragojević,
Srdan Golubović Srdan Golubović ( sr-cyr, Срдан Голубовић; born August 24, 1972) is a Serbian film director. Biography Golubović's father was a film director Predrag Golubović. His first feature film '' Absolute 100'' participated in main prog ...
and
Mila Turajlić Mila Turajlić (Serbian Cyrillic: Мила Tураjлић; born 1979) is a Serbian filmmaker. She directed and produced award-winning films ''The Other Side of Everything'' and ''Cinema Komunisto''. Background Turajlić was born in Belgrade, S ...
. Žilnik and
Stefan Arsenijević Stefan Arsenijević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Арсенијевић; born 11 March 1977 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian film director and scriptwriter. Biography He is a graduate of the Ninth Belgrade Gymnasium. He studied ...
won the Golden Bear award at Berlinale, while Mila Turajlić won the main award at IDFA. Kusturica became world-renowned after winning the Palme d'Or twice at the Cannes Film Festival, numerous other prizes, and is a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia. Several Americans of Serb origin have been featured prominently in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
. The most notable of these are Academy Award winners Karl Malden,
Steve Tesich Stojan Steve Tesich ( sr, Стојан Стив Тешић, Stojan Stiv Tešić; September 29, 1942 – July 1, 1996) was a Serbian-American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979 for ...
, Peter Bogdanovich, Tony-winning theatre director Darko Tresnjak,
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning director
Marina Zenovich Marina Zenovich is an American filmmaker known for her biographical documentaries. Her films include ''LANCE'', '' Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind'', '' Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic'' and '' Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired'', which won tw ...
and actors Iván Petrovich,
Brad Dexter Brad Dexter (born Boris Michel Soso; April 9, 1917 – December 12, 2002) was an American actor and film producer. He is known for tough-guy and western roles, including the 1960 film ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), and producing several fil ...
, Lolita Davidovich,
Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...
and
Stana Katic Stana Katic (; born ) is a Canadian-American actress and producer. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series ''Castle'' (2009–2016) and Agent Emily Byrne in the thriller series '' Absentia'' (2017–2020). Early lif ...
.


Literature

Most literature written by early Serbs was about religious themes. The founders of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
wrote various gospels, psalters,
menologies Menologium (), also written menology, and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. From its derivation from Greek , ''menológion'', from μήν ''m ...
, hagiographies, along with essays and sermons. At the end of the 12th century, two of the most important pieces of Serbian medieval literature were created– the
Miroslav Gospels 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 written ...
and the
Vukan Gospels Vukan's Gospel ( Vukanovo jevanđelje) is a 13th-century Serbian illuminated manuscript (Gospel Book) in Serbian recension of Church Slavonic. It is one of the oldest preserved Serbian medieval books, with more than 189 pages. It was produced ...
, which combined handwritten Biblical texts with painted initials and small pictures. The
Crnojević printing house The Crnojević printing house ( sr, Штампарија Црнојевића, Štamparija Crnojevića) or Cetinje printing house ( sr, Цетињска штампарија, Cetinjska štamparija), was the first printing house in Southeastern Eur ...
was the first printing house in Southeastern Europe and is considered an important part of Serbian cultural history. Notable
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
-influenced authors were
Andrija Zmajević Andrija Zmajević ( cyrl, Андрија Змајевић; 6 June 1628 - 7 September 1694) was a Baroque poet, the Archbishop of Antivari and a theologian. Biography Zmajević was born in Perast, in the Bay of Kotor, at the time part of the Republ ...
,
Gavril Stefanović Venclović Gavril is a variant of the name Gabriel, may refer to: *Gavril Atanasov, Macedonian icon painter from Berovo in the 19th century *Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni (1746–1821), Romanian clergyman who served as Metropolitan of Moldavia *Gavril Balint (born ...
, Jovan Rajić, Zaharije Orfelin and others.
Dositej Obradović Dositej Obradović ( sr-Cyrl, Доситеј Обрадовић; 17 February 1739 – 7 April 1811) was a Serbian writer, biographer, diarist, philosopher, pedagogue, educational reformer, linguist, polyglot and the first minister of education ...
was the most prominent figure of the Age of Enlightenment, while the most notable Classicist writer was Jovan Sterija Popović, although his works also contained elements of Romanticism. Modern Serbian literature began with Vuk Karadžić's collections of
folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
s in the 19th century, and the writings of Njegoš and
Branko Radičević Aleksije "Branko" Radičević ( sr-Cyrl, Алексије Бранко Радичевић, ; 28 March 1824 – 1 July 1853) was a Serbian poet who wrote in the period of Romanticism. Biography Branko Radičević was born in Slavonski Brod on 1 ...
. The first prominent representative of Serbian literature in the 20th century was Jovan Skerlić, who wrote in pre–World War I
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
and helped introduce Serbian writers to literary modernism. The most important Serbian writer in the inter-war period was Miloš Crnjanski. The first Serb authors who appeared after World War II were Mihailo Lalić and
Dobrica Ćosić Dobrica Ćosić ( sr, Добрица Ћосић, ; 29 December 1921 – 18 May 2014) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician, writer, and political theorist. Ćosić was twice awarded the prestigious NIN award for literature and Medal of Pushkin f ...
. Other notable post-war Yugoslav authors such as Ivo Andrić and Meša Selimović were assimilated to Serbian culture, and both identified as Serbs. Andrić went on to win the
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
in 1961. Danilo Kiš, another popular Serbian writer, was known for writing ''
A Tomb for Boris Davidovich ''A Tomb for Boris Davidovich'' (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian: ''Grobnica za Borisa Davidoviča / Гробница за Бориса Давидовича'') is a collection of seven short stories by Danilo Kiš written in 1976 (transla ...
'', as well as several acclaimed novels. Amongst contemporary Serbian writers,
Milorad Pavić Milorad Pavić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад Павић, ; 15 October 1929 – 30 November 2009) was a Serbian novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary historian. Born in Belgrade in 1929, he published a number of poems, short stories ...
stands out as being the most critically acclaimed, with his novels ''
Dictionary of the Khazars ''Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel'' ( sr-cyrl, Хазарски речник, rtl=yes, ) is the first novel by Serbian writer Milorad Pavić, published in 1984. Originally written in Serbian, the novel has been translated into many ...
'', ''Landscape Painted with Tea'' and ''The Inner Side of the Wind'' bringing him international recognition. Highly revered in Europe and in South America, Pavić is considered one of the most intriguing writers from the beginning of the 21st century. Charles Simic is a notable contemporary Serbian-American poet, former
United States Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Contemporary writer Zoran Živković authored more than 20 prose books and is best-known for his SF works which have been published in 23 countries.


Education and science

Many Serbs have contributed to the field of science and technology. There are more Serbian scientists and scholars working abroad than in the Balkans. At least 7000 Serbs who have a PhD are working abroad. Serbian American scientist, inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla is regarded as one of the most important inventors in history. He is renowned for his contributions to the discipline of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th century. Seven Serbian American engineers and scientists known as ''Serbo 7'' took part in construction of the Apollo spaceship. Physicist and physical chemist Mihajlo Pupin is best known for his landmark theory of modern electrical filters as well as for his numerous patents, while Milutin Milanković is best known for his theory of long-term climate change caused by changes in the position of the Earth in comparison to the Sun, now known as Milankovitch cycles. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic is a Serbian American biomedical engineer focusing on engineering human tissues for regenerative medicine,
stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
research and modeling of disease. She is one of the most highly cited scientists of all times. Notable Serb mathematicians include Mihailo Petrović,
Jovan Karamata Jovan Karamata ( sr-cyr, Јован Карамата; February 1, 1902 – August 14, 1967) was a Serbian mathematician. He is remembered for contributions to analysis, in particular, the Tauberian theory and the theory of slowly varying function ...
and
Đuro Kurepa Đuro Kurepa (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђуро Курепа, ; 16 August 1907 – 2 November 1993) was a Yugoslav mathematician. Throughout his life, Kurepa published over 700 articles, books, papers, and reviews and over 1,000 scientific reviews. He l ...
. Mihailo Petrović is known for having contributed significantly to differential equations and phenomenology, as well as inventing one of the first prototypes of an analog computer. Roger Joseph Boscovich was a Ragusan physicist, astronomer, mathematician and polymath of paternal Serbian origin (although there are competing claims for Bošković's nationality) who produced a precursor of atomic theory and made many contributions to astronomy and also discovered the absence of atmosphere on the Moon. Jovan Cvijić founded modern geography in Serbia and made pioneering research on the geography of the
Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, Dinaric race and
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
. Josif Pančić made contributions to botany and discovered a number of new floral species including the
Serbian spruce ''Picea omorika'', common name Pančić spruce or Serbian spruce ( sr, Панчићева оморика, Pančićeva omorika, ), is a species of coniferous tree endemic to the Drina River valley in western Serbia, and eastern Bosnia and Herzego ...
. Biologist and physiologist
Ivan Đaja Ivan Đaja ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Ђаја, french: Jean Giaja; 21 July 1884 – 1 October 1957) was a Serbian biologist, physiologist, author and philosopher. He was founder of the Chair for physiology at the Serbian Institute for Physiology, rec ...
performed research in the role of the adrenal glands in thermoregulation, as well as pioneering work in hypothermia. Valtazar Bogišić is considered to be a pioneer in the sociology of law and sociological jurisprudence.


Names

There are several different layers of Serbian names. Serbian given names largely originate from Slavic roots: e.g., Vuk, Bojan, Goran,
Zoran Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia. Notable people with this given na ...
, Dragan, Milan, Miroslav, Vladimir,
Slobodan Slobodan ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name which means "free" (''sloboda'' / meaning "freedom, liberty") used among other South Slavs as well. It was coined by Serbian liberal politician Vladimir Jovanović w ...
,
Dušan Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name ...
, Milica,
Nevena Nevena () is a feminine given name popular in South Slavic languages. The name is the feminine form of the masculine name Neven, which means Calendula officinalis. The name is composed of two parts ''Ne-'' (not) and ''-ven'' (from "venuti" - to f ...
, Vesna,
Radmila Radmila is a popular given female name in Serbia. It is derived from the Slavic words ''rada'' (the feminine of ''rade'' meaning "happiness") and ''mila'' ("sweet"). Nicknames Rada, Radka, Radushka, Radica, Lala, Mila, Mi Famous bearers *Radm ...
. Other names are of Christian origin, originating from the bible ( Hebrew, through Greek), such as Lazar,
Mihailo Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name ''Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević ( fl. 1050–d. ...
, Ivan, Jovan, Ilija,
Marija Marija is a feminine given name, a variation of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Depending on phonological rules concerning consecutiv ...
, Ana, Ivana. Along similar lines of non-Slavic Christian names are Greek ones such as: Stefan,
Nikola Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...
,
Aleksandar Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
,
Filip Filip () is a masculine given name and a surname, cognate to Philip. In Croatia, the name Filip was among the most common masculine given names in the 2000s. Notable people with the name include: ; Given name * Filip Barović (born 1990), Monten ...
, Đorđe, Andrej,
Jelena Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. It is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helen, which is of uncertain origin. Diminutives of the name include Jelica, Jelka, Jele, Jela, Lena, Lenotschka, Jeca, Lenka, and Alena. Not ...
, Katarina, Vasilije, Todor, while those of Latin origin include: Marko,
Antonije Antonije is a Serbian given name. Notable people with this name include the following: *Antonije Abramović (1919–1996), Montenegrin Eastern Orthodox priest * Antonije Bagaš (fl. 1366 – 1385), Serbian nobleman *Antonije Isaković (1923–2002 ...
,
Srđan Srđan (Срђан); ; ; ) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name, usually written as ''Srdjan'' when the letter đ is unavailable. It is usually considered to be a form of the name Sergius, honoring the Christian martyr and saint Sergius. In ...
,
Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
, Petar, Pavle, Natalija,
Igor Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...
(through Russian). Most Serbian surnames are paternal, maternal, occupational or derived from personal traits. It is estimated that over two thirds of all Serbian surnames have the suffix ''
-ić Surname conventions and laws vary around the world. This article gives an overview of surnames around the world. English-speaking countries Gaelic Surnames Spanish-speaking countries Argentina In Argentina, normally only one family nam ...
'' (-ић) (), a Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create patronymics. Thus the surname
Petrović Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Петровић, ;) is a South Slavic language patronymic surname literally meaning ''Peter's son'', equivalent to the English last name of Peterson. In Eastern Slavic naming customs its counterpart is "Petrovich". The surn ...
means the "son of Petar" (from a male progenitor, the root is extended with possessive ''-ov'' or ''-ev''). Due to limited use of international typewriters and unicode computer encoding, the suffix may be simplified to ''-ic'', historically transcribed with a phonetic ending, ''-ich'' or ''-itch'' in foreign languages. Other common surname suffixes found among Serbian surnames are ''-ov'', ''-ev'', ''-in'' and ''-ski'' (without ''-ić'') which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Other, less common suffices are ''-alj/olj/elj'', ''-ija'', ''-ica'', ''-ar/ac/an''. The ten most common surnames in Serbia, in order, are
Jovanović Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Јовановић, ) is the most common Serbian surname. It derives from '' Jovan'', which is comparable to John in English. The part ''ov'' designates possession: ''Jovanov'' means ''John's''. The suffix ''ić'' is a dimin ...
,
Petrović Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Петровић, ;) is a South Slavic language patronymic surname literally meaning ''Peter's son'', equivalent to the English last name of Peterson. In Eastern Slavic naming customs its counterpart is "Petrovich". The surn ...
,
Nikolić Nikolić (), meaning "son of Nikola", is a common South Slavic surname and is found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Austria and Serbia. Nikolić is the third most frequent surname in Serbia, and is also common in Croatia, with 6,35 ...
,
Marković Marković ( sr-Cyrl, Марковић, ) is a common family name in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Austria and Serbia. It is a patronym of '' Marko'', the local variant of the common European name "Marcus" or "Mark". Marković is the ...
,
Đorđević Đorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђевић, ; also transliterated Djordjevic) is a Serbian surname, a patronymic derived from the given name ''Đorđe'' ("'' George''", from Ancient Greek ''Georgios'' meaning "farmer"). It is predominantly worn by et ...
, Stojanović,
Ilić Ilić is a surname derived from the South Slavic masculine given name Ilija (itself derived from biblical Elijah). Ilić is the seventh most frequent surname in Serbia. Notable people with the surname include: * Aleksandar Ilić (disambiguation ...
,
Stanković Stanković ( sr-cyr, Станковић, ) is a common surname derived from the South Slavic masculine given name Stanko. Stanković is the eighth most frequent surname in Serbia, and is also common in Croatia, with 2,842 carriers (2011 census). ...
,
Pavlović Pavlović (Serbo-Croatian) or Pavlovič (in Slovenian and Slovak) is a surname of South Slavic origin stemming from the male given name Pavao, Pavle or Pavel, which are all Slavic variants of Paul. It was formed using the patronymic suffix -ov ...
and Milošević.


Religion

Serbs are predominantly
Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
. The
autocephaly Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...
of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
, was established in 1219, as an Archbishopric, and raised to the Patriarchate in 1346. It is led by the Serbian Patriarch, and consists of three archbishoprics, six metropolitanates and thirty-one eparchies, having around 10 million adherents. Followers of the church form the largest religious group in Serbia and Montenegro, and the second-largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The church has an archbishopric in North Macedonia and dioceses in Western Europe, North America, South America and Australia. The identity of ethnic Serbs was historically largely based on Orthodox Christianity and on the Serbian Church in particular. The conversion of the South Slavs from paganism to Christianity took place before the Great Schism. After the Schism, those who lived under the Orthodox sphere of influence became Orthodox and those who lived under the Catholic sphere of influence became Catholic. With the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, some Serbs converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. This was particularly, but not wholly, the case in
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
. Since the second half of the 19th century, a small number of Serbs converted to Protestantism, while historically some Serbs were Catholics (especially in Bay of Kotor and
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
; e.g. Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik). In a personal correspondence with author and critic dr. Milan Šević in 1932,
Marko Murat Marko Murat ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Мурат; December 30, 1864 – October 14, 1944) was a Serbian painter from Dubrovnik who spent 20 years of his life in Belgrade, becoming a leading member of the Serbian and Yugoslav art scene at the time, b ...
complained that Orthodox Serbs are not acknowledging the Catholic Serb community on the basis of their faith. The remainder of Serbs remain predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christians.


Symbols

Among the most notable national and ethnic symbols are the flag of Serbia and the
coat of arms of Serbia The coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the coat of arms determined by the Law on the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Serbia of June 16, 1882. It was officially readopted by the National Assembly in 2004 and later slightly redes ...
. The flag consists of a red-blue-white
tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...
, rooted in Pan-Slavism, and has been used since the 19th century. Apart from being the national flag, it is also used officially in Republika Srpska (by Bosnian Serbs) and as the official ethnic
Flag of Serbs of Croatia The flag of the Serbs of Croatia ( sr, Застава Срба у Хрватској /Zastava Srba u Hrvatskoj) is the official symbol of the Serb national minority in Croatia. It was introduced into official use throughout the country on 9 ...
. The coat of arms, which includes both the Serbian eagle and
Serbian cross The Serbian Cross ( sr, Cрпски крст / Srpski krst) is a national symbol of Serbia, part of the coat of arms and flag of Serbia, and of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is based on the tetragrammic cross emblem/flag of the Byzantine Palaio ...
, has also been officially used since the 19th century, its elements dating back to the Middle Ages, showing Byzantine and Christian heritage. These symbols are used by various Serb organisations, political parties and institutions. The
Three-finger salute Three-finger salute may refer to: *Three-finger salute (Serbian), a salute used by Serbs * Three-finger salute (Sicilian), a salute used by Sicilian nationalists and separatists *Three-finger salute (pro-democracy), a gesture originally from the Hu ...
, also called the "Serb salute", is a popular expression for ethnic Serbs and Serbia, originally expressing
Serbian Orthodoxy The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...
and today simply being a symbol for ethnic Serbs and the Serbian nation, made by extending the thumb, index, and middle fingers of one or both hands.


Traditions and customs

Traditional clothing varies due to diverse geography and climate of the territory inhabited by the Serbs. The traditional footwear, '' opanci'', is worn throughout the Balkans. The most common folk costume of Serbia is that of Šumadija, a region in central Serbia, which includes the national hat, the
Šajkača The ''šajkača'' ( sr-Cyrl, шајкача, ) is the Serbian national hat or cap. Traditionally worn by men in the Serbian countryside, it is named after Serb river troops known as '' šajkaši'', who protected the Austrian Empire against the O ...
. Older villagers still wear their traditional costumes. The traditional dance is the circle dance, called '' kolo''. Zmijanje embroidery is a specific technique of embroidery practised by the women of villages in area Zmijanje on mountain
Manjača Manjača ( sr-cyrl, Мањача) is a name of a mountain located 22 km south of the city Banja Luka, in northern part of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its highest peak is high peak ''Velika Manjača''. History The region was a ...
and as such is a part of the
UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
. Pirot carpet is a variety of flat tapestry woven rug traditionally produced in
Pirot Pirot ( sr-cyr, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 38,785, while the population of the city administrative area ...
, a town in southeastern Serbia. ''
Slava Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian ba ...
'' is the family's annual ceremony and veneration of their patron saint, a social event in which the family is together at the house of the patriarch. The tradition is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity. Serbs usually regard the Slava as their most significant and most solemn
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
. Serbs have their own customs regarding Christmas, which includes the sacral tree, the ''
badnjak Badnjak may refer to: *Badnjak (Serbian), a Christmas tradition in Serbia *Badnjak (Croatian) Badnjak (), refers to a log brought into the house and placed on the fire on the evening of Christmas Eve, a central tradition in Croatian Christmas cele ...
'', a young oak. On Orthodox Easter, Serbs have the tradition of Slavic Egg decorating.
Čuvari Hristovog groba Čuvari Hristovog Groba ( sr-cyr, Чувари Хрстовог гроба; "Guardians of Christ's Grave") refers to a religious/cultural practice of guarding a representation of Christ's grave on Good Friday in the Church of St. Nicholas by the ...
is a religious/cultural practice of guarding a representation of Christ's grave on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
in the Church of St. Nicholas by the Serbian Orthodox inhabitants in the town of Vrlika.


Cuisine

Serbian cuisine is largely heterogeneous, with heavy Oriental, Central European and Mediterranean influences. Despite this, it has evolved and achieved its own culinary identity. Food is very important in Serbian social life, particularly during religious holidays such as Christmas, Easter and feast days, i.e., ''slava''. Staples of the Serbian diet include bread, meat, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Traditionally, three meals are consumed per day. Breakfast generally consists of eggs, meat and bread. Lunch is considered the main meal, and is normally eaten in the afternoon. Traditionally, Domestic or turkish coffee is prepared after a meal, and is served in small cups. Bread is the basis of all Serbian meals, and it plays an important role in Serbian cuisine and can be found in religious rituals. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offer
bread and salt Bread and salt is a welcome greeting ceremony in some Slavic, Nordic, Baltic, Balkan and other European cultures as well as in Middle Eastern cultures. It is also shared with some non-Slavic nations—Lithuanians, Latvians (both Baltic), Roman ...
to guests, and also ''
slatko Slatko ( sr, / ; mk, слатко, slatko; bg, сладко, sladko; meaning "sweet") is a thin fruit preserve made of fruit or rose petals in Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbian cuisine. Almost any kind of fruit can be used, like wild strawb ...
'' (fruit preserve). Meat is widely consumed, as is fish. Serbian specialties include '' kajmak'' (a dairy product similar to
clotted cream Clotted cream ( kw, dehen molys, sometimes called scalded, clouted, Devonshire or Cornish cream) is a thick cream made by heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this t ...
), ''
proja Proja (Cyrillic: ''Проја'', ) is a Serbian dish made of corn flour, baking powder, sunflower oil, sparkling water and salt. Proya is an alternative name used in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has been popular in times of widespread poverty, mos ...
'' (cornbread), ''
kačamak Kačamak is a kind of maize porridge made in parts of Western Asia and Southeastern Europe. Its name is derived from the Turkish word ''kaçamak'', meaning escapade. It is also known as bakrdan (бакрдан) in North Macedonia. History The di ...
'' (corn-flour porridge), and ''
gibanica Gibanica ( sr-cyr, Гибаница, ) is a traditional pastry dish popular all over the Balkans. It is usually made with cottage cheese and eggs. Recipes can range from sweet to savoury, and from simple to festive and elaborate multi-layered ...
'' (cheese and kajmak pie). Ćevapčići, caseless grilled and seasoned sausages made of minced meat, is the
national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...
of Serbia.
Šljivovica Slivovitz is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). If anyone else has a dictionary of some Slavic language that translates your word for slivovitz as "plum brandy", please a ...
(Slivovitz) is the national drink of Serbia in domestic production for centuries, and plum is the national fruit. The international name ''Slivovitz'' is derived from Serbian. Plum and its products are of great importance to Serbs and part of numerous customs. A Serbian meal usually starts or ends with plum products and Šljivovica is served as an aperitif. A saying goes that the best place to build a house is where a plum tree grows best. Traditionally, Šljivovica (commonly referred to as " rakija") is connected to Serbian culture as a drink used at all important rites of passage (birth, baptism, military service, marriage, death, etc.), and in the Serbian Orthodox patron saint celebration (''slava''). It is used in numerous folk remedies, and is given certain degree of respect above all other alcoholic drinks. The fertile region of Šumadija in central Serbia is particularly known for its plums and Šljivovica. Serbia is the largest exporter of Slivovitz in the world, and second largest plum producer in the world. Winemaking tradition in modern-day Serbia dates back to the Roman times in the 3rd century, while Serbs have been involved in winemaking since the 8th century.


Sport

Serbs are known for their sporting achievements, and have produced a number of talented athletes. The Hungarian citizen
Momčilo Tapavica Momčilo Tapavica ( sr-Cyrl, Момчило Тапавица; hu, Tapavicza Momcsilló ; 14 October 1872 – 10 January 1949) was an all-around sportsperson, competing in tennis, weightlifting, wrestling. Tapavica achieved his best result i ...
was the first Slav and Serb to win an Olympic medal, in the
1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
. Over the years Serbia has been home to many internationally successful football players such as Dragan Džajić (officially recognized as "the best Serbian footballer of all times" by Football Association of Serbia; 1968 Ballon d'Or third place), Rajko Mitić, Dragoslav Šekularac and more recent likes of Dragan Stojković,
Dejan Stanković Dejan Stanković ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Станковић, , born 11 September 1978) is a Serbian professional manager and former player. He currently manages Italian club Sampdoria. He captained the Serbia national team from 2007 until 201 ...
, Nemanja Vidić (two-time Premier League Player of the Season and member of FIFPro World XI),
Branislav Ivanović Branislav Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Ивановић, ; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian former professional footballer. A versatile defender, Ivanović played as a right back, although he can also play as a centre back. Ivanovi ...
(Serbia's most capped player) and Nemanja Matić. Radomir Antić is a notable football coach, best known for his work with Serbia national football team, the national team, Real Madrid C.F. and FC Barcelona. Serbia has developed a reputation as one of the world's biggest exporters of expat footballers. A total of 22 Serbian players have played in the National Basketball Association, NBA in the last two decades, including three-time List of NBA All-Stars, NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković, Predrag "Peja" Stojaković, NBA All-Star and both FIBA Hall of Fame, FIBA and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, NBA Hall of Fame inductee Vlade Divac, and the 2020–21 NBA season, 2020–21–2021–22 NBA season, 2022 NBA Most Valuable Player Award winner Nikola Jokić. Serbian players that made a great impact in Europe include four members of the FIBA Hall of Fame from the 1960s and 1970s – Dragan Kićanović, Dražen Dalipagić, Radivoj Korać, and Zoran Slavnić – as well as recent stars such as Dejan Bodiroga (2002 All-Europe Player of the Year), Aleksandar Đorđević (1994 and 1995 Mr. Europa), Miloš Teodosić (2009–10 Euroleague MVP), Nemanja Bjelica (2014–15 Euroleague MVP), and Vasilije Micić (2020–21 Euroleague MVP). The "Serbian coaching school" produced many of the most successful European coaches of all times, such as Željko Obradović (a record nine Euroleague titles), Božidar Maljković (four Euroleague titles), Aleksandar Nikolić (three Euroleague titles), Dušan Ivković (two Euroleague titles), and Svetislav Pešić (one Euroleague title). The most notable Serbian Tennis, tennis player is Novak Djokovic. He is a twenty-one-time Grand Slam (tennis), major champion, a four-time Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year, Laureus Sportsman of the Year, and has been year-end World No. 1 on a record seven occasions. Ana Ivanovic (champion of 2008 French Open) and Jelena Janković were both ranked No. 1 in the WTA rankings, while Nenad Zimonjić and Slobodan Živojinović were ranked No. 1 in doubles. Notable Serbia men's national water polo team, water polo players are Vladimir Vujasinović, Aleksandar Šapić, Vanja Udovičić, Andrija Prlainović and Filip Filipović (water polo), Filip Filipović. Other noted Serbian athletes, including Olympic and world champions and medalists, are: swimmer Milorad Čavić, volleyball player Nikola Grbić, handball player Svetlana Kitić, long-jumper Ivana Španović, shooter Jasna Šekarić, Canoe sprint, sprint canoer Marko Tomićević, judoka Nemanja Majdov and taekwondoist Milica Mandić. A number of sportspeople of Serb origin represented other nations, such as tennis players Daniel Nestor, Jelena Dokic, Milos Raonic and Kristina Mladenovic, NHL player Milan Lucic, NBA All-star Pete Maravich, wrestler Jim Trifunov, sprint canoer Natasa Dusev-Janics, soccer player Miodrag Belodedici, artistic gymnast Lavinia Miloșovici, racquetball player Rhonda Rajsich and racing driver Bill Vukovich.


Historiography


See also

* List of Serbs


Notes


References


Sources


Primary sources

* * * * * * * *


Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Byzantine Illiricum - The Slavs Settlement (History of Balkan, part 1, Official chanel)

Byzantine Dalmatian – The Arrival of Serbs (History of Balkan, part 1, Official chanel)

Project Rastko – Serbian cultural and historical research society
{{Authority control Serb people, Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina Ethnic groups in Croatia Ethnic groups in Hungary Ethnic groups in Montenegro Ethnic groups in Romania Ethnic groups in Serbia, Ethnic groups in Slovenia Ethnic groups in North Macedonia Serbian people, Society of Serbia Slavic ethnic groups South Slavs Ethnoreligious groups in Europe Ethnic groups in the Balkans