A Brief Look at the Capital City of Belgrade For Tourists By Ram Singh At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The capital city of Belgrade is the largest city of Serbia. The city is situated on two international waterways, at the junction of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain run into the Balkan Peninsula. The city has an estimated population of 1,630,000 (based on official estimate in 2007). Belgrade is the largest city in the region of the former Yugoslavia, the second largest city on the Danube River, and the fourth largest in Southeastern Europe after the cities of Istanbul, Athens, and Bucharest.

It is considered as one of the oldest cities in Europe with archeological remnants that prove early settlements were established as early as the 6th millennium BC. Belgrade's expansive city area was the birthplace of the largest prehistoric culture of Europe, the Vinča culture.

The city was initially discovered by the Greeks, founded and later named by the Celts as White City. The city was awarded city rights initially by the Romans before it was later permanently established from the 600s onwards.

Belgrade has its own autonomous city government and the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia. Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities with its own local council. The city covers 3.6% of the territory of Serbia, and comprises 24% of the country's population lives in the city. Belgrade is the central economic center of Serbia, and at the same time the hub of Serbian culture, education and science.

Belgrade is located at the junction of the Danube and Sava rivers, at coordinates 44°49'14" North, 20°27'44" East and lies at 116.75 meters (383 ft) above sea level. The historical center of Belgrade, Kalemegdan, is situated on the right bank of the rivers. As of the 19th century, the city has been growing to the south and east.

The city has an urban area of 360 square kilometres (139 sq mi) and total aggregate area considering its metropolitan area covers 3,223 square kilometers (1,244.4 sq mi). Based on history, Belgrade has been a primary crossroad between the West and the Orient.

Central Belgrade has a hilly terrain situated on the right bank of the Sava. The highest peak of Belgrade proper is Torlak hill with a height of 303 meters (994 ft). The mountains of Avala, 511 meters (1,677 ft), and Kosmaj, 628 meters (2,060 ft), rest south of the city. The land across the Sava and Danube is mostly flat and made up of alluvial plains and plateaus.

Belgrade has a modest continental climate. The average year-round temperature is 11.7 °C (53.1 °F). The hottest month is July with an average temperature of 22.1 °C (71.8 °F). There are 31 days, on average, in a year when the temperature is above 30 °C, and 95 days when the temperature is above 25 °C. Belgrade has an average precipitation of about 700 millimetres (27.56 in) a year. The city has an average annual number of sunny hours of 2,096. The sunniest months in a year are July and August, with an average of about 10 sunny hours a day, while December and January are the gloomiest with an average of 2–2.3 sunny hours daily. The highest official recorded temperature in Belgrade was +43.1 °C, while the lowest temperature was -26.2 °C experienced in January 10, 1893.

The Neolithic cultures were established in or near Belgrade and the Balkans as well as other parts of Central Europe and Asia Minor about 7,000 years ago. Several scholars think that the prehistoric signs here signify the earliest known form of alphabet. After many centuries, the Greek Argonauts discovered the river Sava in ancient Belgrade, which they named Cauliac, while sailing from the Black Sea going upstream. In the fourth century BC, the Scordisci - a Celtic tribe – settled in the city and has recorded the name of the community as Singidūn before becoming the romanized Singidunum in the first century AD.

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