Žitorađa


Žitorađa is a village and municipality located in the Toplica District of the southern Serbia. The municipality includes 30 settlements. According to the 2011 census, the population of the municipality is 16,368 inhabitants.

Geography

Žitorađa is 35 km to the south-west from Niš. It lies 10 km from Corridor 10, which connects Serbia with North Macedonia, Greece and further east.

Settlements

Aside from the town of Žitorađa, the municipality includes the following settlements:
The village has its origins in the Eastern Roman town "Ad Herculum", which existed in the 4th century. The archaeological site of the Byzantine town is known as Žitoradsko kale, located on the Pasjača mountain, while a "Latin church" dating to the period is located in Glašince.
The primary school was founded in 1873. In 1877, the region was liberated from the Ottoman Empire. This event is considered the founding year of Žitorađa municipality.

Demographics

The municipality had 16,368 people, according to the 2011 census.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:
Ethnic groupPopulation%
Serbs14,73590.02%
Roma1,3668.35%
Montenegrins1130.69%
Macedonians110.07%
Others1430.87%
Total16,368

Economy

The economy of Žitorada is mostly based on agriculture. There are 23,300 hectares of arable land. The farm “December
1st” has the capacity of 30,000,000 fattened pigs per year, and it is one of the most successful in the whole of Serbia.
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity :
ActivityTotal
Agriculture, forestry and fishing100
Mining and quarrying-
Manufacturing201
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply10
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities29
Construction138
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles260
Transportation and storage30
Accommodation and food services22
Information and communication5
Financial and insurance activities5
Real estate activities-
Professional, scientific and technical activities45
Administrative and support service activities20
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security119
Education243
Human health and social work activities138
Arts, entertainment and recreation28
Other service activities23
Individual agricultural workers266
Total1,685

Gallery

Trivia

The village was the site of the pre-ceremonial wedding of Serbian folk singer Svetlana Ražnatović "Ceca", who was born in the village, and Željko Ražnatović "Arkan", a notorious career criminal and paramilitary leader, on 19 February 1995. The whole wedding was broadcast nationwide on RTV Pink.

Notable people