Vranje, Pčinja, Southern and Eastern, Serbia

🇷🇸 Vranje is a city in southern Serbia and the administrative centre of the Pčinja District.

Vranje is the economical, political and cultural centre of the Pčinja District in Southern Serbia. It is the first city from the Balkans to be declared UNESCO city of Music. It is located on the Pan-European Corridor X, close to the borders with North Macedonia and Bulgaria. The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Vranje is seated in the city, as is the 4th Land Force Brigade of the Serbian Army.

History The Romans conquered the region in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC. Vranje was part of Moesia Superior and Dardania during Roman rule. The Roman fortresses in the Vranje region were abandoned during the Hun attacks in 539–544 AD; these include the localities of Kale at Vranjska Banja, Gradište in Korbevac and Gradište in Prvonek.

During the Middle Ages, in the 9th-11th centuries, the territory of modern-day Vranje was a part of Bulgaria.

The first written mention of Vranje comes from Byzantine chronicle Alexiad by Anna Comnena (1083–1153), in which it is mentioned how Serbian ruler Vukan in 1093, as part of his conquests, reached Vranje and conquered it, however only shortly, as he was forced to retreat from the powerful Byzantines. The city name stems from the Old Serbian word vran ("black"). The second mention is from 1193, when Vranje was temporarily taken by Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja from the Byzantines. Vranje definitely entered the Serbian state in 1207 when it was conquered by Grand Prince Stefan Nemanjić.

Some time before 1306, tepčija Kuzma was given the governorship of Vranje (a župa, "county", including the town and neighbouring villages), serving King Stefan Milutin. At the same time, kaznac Miroslav held the surroundings of Vranje. Next, kaznac Baldovin (fl. 1325–45) received the province around Vranje, serving King Stefan Dečanski. Next, župan Maljušat, Baldovin's son, held the župa of Vranje. By the time of the proclamation of the Serbian Empire, holders with the title kefalija are present in Vranje, among other cities. During the fall of the Serbian Empire, Vranje was part of Uglješa Vlatković's possessions, which also included Preševo and Kumanovo. Uglješa became a vassal of Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević after the Battle of Tripolje (1403); Vranje became part of Serbian Despotate.

The medieval župa was a small landscape unit, whose territory expanded with creation of new settlements and independence of hamlets and neighbourhoods from župa villages and shepherd cottages. Good mercantile relations with developing mine city Novo Brdo led to creation of numerous settlements. In 1455, Vranje was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, amid the fall of the medieval Serbian state. It was organized as the seat of a kaza (county), named Vranje, after the city and the medieval župa. In the mid-19th century, Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn stated that the population of Vranje kaza was six-sevenths Bulgarian and one-seventh Albanian, while the city population consisted of 1,000 Christian-Bulgarian families, 600 Albanian-Turkish and 50 Romani. The urban Muslim population of Vranje consisted of Albanians and Turks, of which a part were themselves of Albanian origin.

Vranje was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1878, when the town was captured by the Serbian army commanded by Jovan Belimarković. During the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–1878) most of the Muslim population of Vranje fled to the Ottoman vilayet of Kosovo while a smaller number left after the conflict. The city entered the Principality of Serbia, with little more than 8,000 inhabitants at that time. The only Muslim population permitted to remain after the war in the town were Serbian speaking Muslim Romani of whom in 1910 numbered 6,089 in Vranje. Up until the end of the Balkan Wars Vranje had a special position and role, as the transmissive station of Serbian state political and cultural influence on Macedonia. In the early 20th century, Vranje had around 12,000 inhabitants. As a border town of the Kingdom of Serbia, it was used as the starting point for Serbian guerrilla (Chetniks) who crossed into Ottoman territory and fought in Kosovo and Macedonia. In World War I, the main headquarters of the Serbian army was in the town. King Peter I Karađorđević, Prime Minister Nikola Pašić and the chief of staff General Radomir Putnik stayed in Vranje. Vranje was occupied by the Kingdom of Bulgaria on 16–17 October 1915, after which war crimes and Bulgarisation was committed on the city and wider region.

After the war, Vranje was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in one of the 33 oblasts; in 1929, it became part of the Vardar Banovina. During World War II, Nazi German troops entered the town on 9 April 1941 and transferred it to Bulgarian administration on 22 April 1941. During Bulgarian occupation, 400 Serbs were shot and around 4,000 interned. Vranje was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans on 7 September 1944.

During Socialist Yugoslavia, Vranje was organized into the Pčinja District. In the 1960s and 1970s it was industrialized. During the 1990s, the economy of Vranje was heavily affected by the sanctions against Yugoslavia and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

Geography Vranje is situated in the north-western part of the Vranje basin, on the left waterside of the South Morava.

Vranje is at base of the mountains Pljačkovica (1,231 metres (4,039 feet)), Krstilovice (1,154 metres (3,786 feet)) and Pržar (731 metres (2,398 feet)). The Vranje river and the city are divided by the main road and railway line, which leads to the north Leskovac (70 km), Niš (110 km (68 miles)) and Belgrade (347 km (216 miles)), and, to the south Kumanovo (56 km (35 miles)), Skopje (91 km (57 miles)) and Thessalonica (354 km (220 miles)). It is 70 km (43 mi) from the border with Bulgaria, 40 km (25 mi) from the border with North Macedonia.

Vranje is the economical, political, and cultural centre of the Pčinja District in South Serbia. The Pčinja District also includes the municipalities of Bosilegrad, Bujanovac, Vladičin Han, Preševo, Surdulica, and Trgovište. It is located on the Pan-European Corridor X.

Municipalities and settlements The city of Vranje consists of two city municipalities: Vranje and Vranjska Banja. Their municipal areas include the following settlements:

Municipality of Vranje: • Aleksandrovac • Barbarušince • Barelić • Beli Breg • Bojin Del • Bresnica • Buljesovce • Buštranje • Crni Lug • Čestelin • Ćukovac • Ćurkovica • Davidovac • Dobrejance • Donja Otulja • Donje Punoševce • Donje Trebešinje • Donje Žapsko • Donji Neradovac • Dragobužde • Drenovac • Dubnica • Dulan • Dupeljevo • Golemo Selo • Gornja Otulja • Gornje Punoševce • Gornje Trebešinje • Gornje Žapsko • Gornji Neradovac • Gradnja • Gumerište • Katun • Klašnjice • Koćura • Kopanjane • Kruševa Glava • Krševica • Kupinince • Lalince • Lepčince • Lukovo • Margance • Mečkovac • Mijakovce • Mijovce • Milanovo • Milivojce • Moštanica • Nastavce • Nova Brezovica • Oblička Sena • Ostra Glava • Pavlovac • Pljačkovica • Preobraženje • Ranutovac • Rataje • Ribnice • Ristovac • Roždace • Rusce (Vranje) • Sikirje • Smiljević • Soderce • Srednji Del • Stance • Stara Brezovica • Strešak • Stropsko • Struganica • Studena • Surdul • Suvi Dol • Tesovište • Tibužde • Trstena • Tumba • Urmanica • Uševce • Viševce • Vlase (Vranje) • Vranje • Vrtogoš • Zlatokop

Municipality of Vranjska Banja: • Babina Poljana • Bujkovac • Crni Vrh • Duga Luka • Izumno • Klisurica • Korbevac • Korbul • Kriva Feja • Kumarevo (Vranje) • Leva Reka • Lipovac • Nesvrta • Panevlje • Prvonek • Prevalac • Sebevranje • Slivnica • Stari Glog • Toplac • Vranjska Banja.

Economy Vranje is located in southern Serbia, on Corridor X near the border with North Macedonia and Bulgaria. The distance from Thessalonica international harbor is 285 km (177 mi); distance from the international airports of Skopje and Niš are 90 km (56 mi). Vranje has a long tradition of industrial production, trade, and tourism and is rich in natural resources, such as forests and geothermal resources.

Until the second half of the 20th century Vranje was a craftsman town. The crafts included weaving, water-milling, and carriages craft. With the beginning of industrialization in the 1960s, many of these crafts disappeared. In those years, many factories were opened, such as the Tobacco Industry of Vranje (Serbian: Дуванска индустрија Врање), Simpo, Koštana (shoe factory), Yumco (cotton plant), Alfa Plam (technical goods), SZP Zavarivač Vranje and others.

The most common industries in the city of Vranje are timber industry, clothing, footwear and furniture, food and beverages, agricultural, textile industry, chemical industry, construction industry, machinery and equipment, and business services. There are more than 2,500 small- and medium-size companies. To potential investors there are industrial sites, with plan documents and furnished infrastructure. Among the companies with business locations in the city are British American Tobacco, Simpo, Sanch, Mladenovic D.O.O, Kenda Farben, Danny style, OMV and Hellenic Petroleum.

As of September 2017, Vranje has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia.

Historical statistics As of 1961, there were 1,525 employees; in 1971, there were 4,374 employees; and in 1998, there were 32,758 employees. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, and due to sanctions imposed on FR Yugoslavia during the rule of Slobodan Milošević, the number of employees began to drop; factories which employed a large number of people closed, among whom are Yumco and Koštana. As of 2010, there were only 18,958 employed inhabitants and 7,559 unemployed. As of 2010, the city of Vranje has 59,278 available workers. In 2010, the City Council passed the "Strategy of sustainable development of the city of Vranje from 2010 to 2019", for the achievement of objectives through a transparent and responsible business partnership with industry and the public.

As of 2020, a total of 24,509 people were employed. A total of 5,921 people (19.46%) were unemployed.

Culture institutions: • National Museum (in former Pasha's residence, built in 1765) • Youth Cultural Centre • National Library • Centre for Talents • Theater "Bora Stanković" • Tourist organization of Vranje.

Sport The city has one top-flight association football team, Dinamo Vranje.