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 Leskovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Лесковац) is a city and municipality located in southern Serbia at 43.00° North, 21.95° East. It is the administrative center of the Jablanica District of Serbia. Leskovac is accessible from Belgrade by the E75 motorway to Thessaloniki in Greece.
[edit] HistoryArcheological finds from 2005 show that Triballians lived in the area before the Romans came in the 1st century, there are several graves found at the Hisar Hill.  In 1860, Leskovac was the second largest city (after Belgrade) in the Principality of Serbia but was ruled as a kaza (township) until 1878. In 1867 the Principality secured the removal of Ottoman army garrisons from the cities, acquiring sovereingty, which was internationally recognised at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Full independence from the Ottoman Balkans initially had a negative impact on trade. However, by the end of the 19th century, the town of Leskovac was famous across the Balkans for its workshops which turned hemp into rope. Leskovac was known as Leskofça during Ottoman rule and was bounded to Niş sanjak until 1878.
 The city, initially known as Dubočica, was once known as "Little Manchester", because of its 19th century textile industry which was second only to that of Manchester, England. The city continued to be a major textile center until the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, but due to the economic isolation of Serbia resulting from ethnic wars, its remote location, and failure to privatize the mills, the industry collapsed resulting in depression of the economy in the area. [3] [edit] World War IIDuring World War II, the city was part of Nedić's Serbia. It was heavily bombed by the Allies in 1944, with estimates of civilian casualties varying from over a thousand to six thousand.[4][5] Fitzroy Maclean the head of the British military mission to the Partisans wrote ..... as we watched the whole of Leskovac seemed to rise bodily in the air in a tornado of dust and smoke and debris, and a great rending noise fell on our ears. ..... What was left of Leskovac lay enveloped in a pall of smoke; several buildings seemed to be burning fiercely. Even the Partisans seemed subdued. This was part of Operation Ratweek to attack the enemy withdrawal, and air reconnaissance had confirmed the presence of a strong concentration of armour and motor transport there, although he said the use of 50 ‘Heavies’ or Flying Fortresses did seem rather like taking a sledge-hammer to crack a walnut. [6]. [edit] Kosovo ConflictOn 12 April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia a bridge near Leskovac (Grdelička klisura) was destroyed by a NATO aircraft as a passenger train was crossing. The act was highly condemned with the bridge being struck twice (the train itself having been bombed from the first attack).  [edit] Population through history
[edit] Demographics of the municipality  Ethnic groups in the municipality (2002 census):
[edit] Demographics of the townIn 2002 the town's population was 94,758of whom the majority are primarily Serbs (89,125). Other significant ethnic groups are Roma (4,327), Macedonians (168), Yugoslavs (108), and others (including Greeks, Bulgarians, etc). In January 2007, there were an estimated 500 persons of Chinese origin living in Leskovac. [7] At one time the second largest city in Serbia, today Leskovac is blighted by economic problems with many working age people migrating out of the area. [8] [edit] Subdivisions The city proper of Leskovac is divided into the following local communities (месне заједнице or mesne zajednice):[1]
[edit] Events [edit] RostiljijadaRostiljijada-(Barbecue week) - is a grill-meat festival that has been organized in Leskovac for many years, which takes place each year at the beginning of September. During the event, the main bulevard is closed for traffic, night and day for five days, and all its way there are grill-stands constructed, to create many temporary restaurants. Many visitors from all over Serbia and many tourists come to Leskovac to enjoy a good grill and entertainment. The organisers hold competitions, such as in making the biggest burger - the pljeskavica. The festival is the highlight of the season in Leskovac. [edit] International CarnivalIn 2009 Leskovac officially became a International Carnival city, admitted by The Association of European Carnival cities, which has over 50 members from Europe and America. The Leskovac Carnival is held in a time of Rostiljijada festival. Around 1200 people take part in the carnival, of which one third part from abroad. The City Government considers to separation this event in 2010. as a special tourist event which gonna be introduced as a special offer of the city. [edit] Theater MarathonTheater Marathon, takes place every year in November and lasts 9 days. It is running performances of National Theaters from all over Serbia. This event takes place in Nardonom Theater in Leskovac. [edit] Leskovac Internatonal Film FestivalFirst International film festival was held in 2008. The idea of the film in the city is not that new. In 1996, a group of enthusiasts, with chairman Rade Jovic, organized the Festival which were shown films of domestic production. Today, many years later, Leskovac host an International Film Festival. The Festival presents awards in 3 categories: - "Golden hazelnuts" - Best Director - "Hazelnut leaf" - critics awards - "Vox populi" - Audience Award. [edit] EnvironmentLeskovac is the first city in Serbia which has a sanitary landfill. Željkovac depot spreads over 80 hectares and is made by all European standards. In the landfill there is a center for atmospheric water purification, center for the selection and disposal systems for the detection of all types of pollution. Company Por Werner and Weber for Serbia, began construction of the center for collecting and recycling waste, and is the first city in the Balkans, where starting this job. [edit] Bekannte Bürger* Miodrag Stojković, Genetiker * Jelena Božilović, Wissenschaftler, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main * Gojko Mitic, Schauspieler * Maja Miljković, Basketball-Spieler * Darko Filipović, Sänger * Mija Kulic, Ingenieur, Maler, Talkmaster [edit] Twin cities[edit] Notes
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