Bela Palanka
|
Бела Паланка Bela Palanka |
|||||
|
|||||
| Basic data | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State : | Serbia | ||||
| Okrug : | Pirot | ||||
| Coordinates : | 43 ° 13 ' N , 22 ° 19' E | ||||
| Height : | 394 m. i. J. | ||||
| Residents : | 8,626 (2002) | ||||
| Telephone code : | (+381) 18 | ||||
| License plate : | PI | ||||
Bela Palanka (Бела Паланка) is a town and municipality in the Pirot district in south-east central Serbia . The administrative seat of the municipality is the city of Bela Palanka.
In 2002 the city had 8,626 inhabitants, while the population of the parish was 14,381. The name "Bela Palanka" means "White City".
The city is located 25 km west of Pirot on the European route 80 , which runs from Niš on the Belgrade – Preševo motorway ( European route 75 ) in an easterly direction via Pirot and Dimitrovgrad across the border to Sofia ( Bulgaria ).
Bela Palanka is located at approx. 300 m altitude in the valley of the Nišava , the Nišava flows through the middle of the city. The border with Bulgaria runs 40 km to the northeast. The neighboring municipality is Opština Knjaževac .
The municipality of Bela Palanka, which includes 46 villages, has an area of 517 km².
history
In Roman times the city was on the Via Militaris , between Naissus ( Niš ) and Serdica ( Sofia ). Originally it was a Dacian settlement called Aiadava or Aeadaba . Thereafter, Thracians settled in the region. After the Romans in 75 BC Chr. Moesia conquered, they built a castrum, which initially under the name Ulpianorum and later under the name Remesiana was known (Moesi).
Remesiana was a bishopric as early as the 4th century . Bishop Nicetas of Remesiana , venerated as a saint, was a leader in the Christianization of the region.
In the 11th century, Bela Palanka was a station on the People's Crusade , a forerunner of the First Crusade . The People's Crusade, also known as the Peasants ' Crusade and the Peasants' Crusade , lasted around six months - from April to October 1096 .
On October 13, 1944, Bela Panka was the scene of the so-called Belgrade Operation in World War II . It was a “major offensive by the Red Army with the support of Yugoslav partisans and Bulgarian armed forces . It led to the capture of the city of Belgrade in 1944 and threatened the withdrawal of the German armed forces from the Balkans . "
