Belgrade is situated in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. It
lies at the point where the river Sava merges into the Danube, on the slope between two alluvial planes. The river waters
surround it from three sides, and that is why since ancient times it has been the guardian of river passages. Because of its
position it was properly called "the gate" of the Balkans, and "the door" to Central Europe. Along the ridge of the slope,
from Kalemegdan, along the Knez Mihailova street, across Terazije to Slavija, stretches the main city traffic artery.
At Knez Mihailova street, the coordinates of Belgrade are marked:
44
49'14" of northern latitude
20 27'44" of eastern longitude
altitude 116,75 m.
Belgrade is the intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe
which lead through the Morava-Vardar valley and Niava-Marica valley to the shores of the Aegean Sea, to Asia Minor and to
the Middle East. Belgrade lies on the Danube river, the sailing route, which connects the Western Europe and Central Europe
countries with the countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. By the construction of the artificial lake and the Šerdap
power station, Belgrade became a river and sea port. The ships from the Black Sea sail to its docks, and with opening of the
Rhine-Main-Danube canal, Belgrade came to the center of the most important sailing route in Europe: The North Sea - Atlantic
- Black Sea route.
Facts about Belgrade: Natural Features
Belgrade's surroundings consist of two different natural
systems: On the north, the Pannonian depression, covered with wheat and corn, and umadija, with orchards and vineyards, south
of the rivers Sava and Danube. The highest relief forms in umadija hillside are Kosmaj (628 m) and Avala (511 m). Starting
from south, the terrain gradually descends to the north, in shapes of wide plateaus, sectioned by stream and river valleys.
High plasticity of Belgrade relief, south of the rivers Sava and Danube, makes the city spread over many hills (Banovo, Lekino,
Topcidersko, Kanarevo, Julino, Petlovo, Zvezdara, Vracar, Dedinje). North from the rivers Sava and Danube there are alluvial
plains and loessial plateaus, which are divided by a steep section, up to 30 m high. New Belgrade is situated on the left
bank of Sava, beneath a loessial plateau (Beanijska kosa), and Zemun is situated on the right bank of Danube, beneath a loessial
plateau.
The highest point of inner-city area of Belgrade, is at Torlak (Vodovac), being the Holy Trinity Church
at 303.1 m, while the lowest point is on Ada Huja (river island) at 70.15 m. The highest point of the larger-city area is
on the Kosmaj mountain (Mladenovac) at 628 m. The absolute altitude of the Meteorological Observatory - 132 m - is considered
the average altitude of Belgrade.
The Danube flows through 60 km of Belgrade area, from Stari Banovci to Grocka,
while the Sava covers 30 km from Obrenovac to its intake. The length of river banks of Belgrade is 200 km. There are 16 river
islands in that area, and the best known of them are Ada Ciganlija, Veliko ratno ostrvo and Grocanska ada.
There are many woods in the city area, and the best preserved are
the woods of Kosmaj, Avala, Trenja, Lipovica, Topcider, Obrenovacki zabran and Bojcin.
Climate
conditions
Belgrade has a moderate continental climate, with four seasons.
Autumn is longer than spring, with longer sunny and warm periods - the so-called Indian summer. Winter is not so severe, with
an average of 21 days with temperature below zero. January is the coldest month, with average temperature of 0.40C. Spring
is short and rainy. Summer arrives abruptly.
The average annual air temperature, for the period from 1961 to 1990 is
11.90C. The hottest months are July (21.70C) and August (21.30C). The lowest temperature in Belgrade was recorded on January
10, 1893 (-26.20C), and the highest on August 12, 1921 and on September 9, 1946 (41.80C). From 1888 to 1995 only six days
with temperature of over 400C were recorded. The average annual number of days with temperature higher than 300C - the so-called
tropical days - is 31 and that of summer days with temperature higher than 250C is 95.
The characteristic of Belgrade
climate is also Koava - the southeast-east wind, which brings clear and dry weather. It mostly blows in autumn and winter,
in 2-3 days intervals. The average speed of Koava is 25-43 km/h but certain strokes can reach up to 130 kmh. Koava is the
largest air cleaner of Belgrade.
The average annual rainfall on Belgrade and its surroundings is 685 mm.
The rainiest months are May and June. The average annual insolation is 2.096 hours. The highest insolation of about 10 hours
a day is in July and August, while December and January are the cloudiest, with insolation of 2 to 2.3 hours per day. The
average number of snowy days is 27, snow cover lasts from 30 to 44 days, and its average thickness is 14 to 25 cm.
Population
According to 1991 census, there were 1.602.226 citizens in the larger-city
area, and 1.168.454 citizens in the inner-city area. It is estimated that, today, around 2 million people live in Belgrade.
The municipality with the greatest number of inhabitants - 224.424 of them - is Novi Beograd, while Sopot has the smallest
number of inhabitants - 20.527
POPULATION ACCORDING TO NATIONALITY (1991 census):
Declared 1.584.336
Serbs 1.372.195
Yugoslavs 87.476
Montenegrin 42.426
Croats 16.275
Macedonians 15.039
Rom 14.220
Muslims 12.421
Albanians 4.985
Slovenes 3.655
Hungarians 2.870
Slovaks 2.845
Bulgarians
1.644
Rumanians 1.636
Russians 889
Germans 779
Czechs 625
Jews 579
Poles 380
Ukrainians 329
Rusyns
282
Greeks 279
Italians 251
Turks 239
Egyptians 128
Austrians 67
Vlachs 66
Other 1756
Not
declared 4494
Unknown 13396
