Bor, Serbia


Bor is a city and the administrative center of the Bor District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the city administrative area has a population of 48,615 inhabitants.
It has one of the largest copper mines in Europe – RTB Bor. It has been a mining center since 1904, when a French company began operations there. With 760 residential buildings it presents the most urban area due to number of citizens in country, and one of top-five cities in Serbia by number of buildings.

Name

The name is derived from the Serbian word Bor, meaning "pine".

Geography

Bor is surrounded by many beautiful locations such as Banjsko Polje, Brestovačka Banja spa, Borsko Jezero lake, and Stol mountain, and is very close to Mount Crni Vrh.

Climate

Bor has a humid continental climate with pleasantly warm summers, cold winters and uniformly distributed precipitation throughout the year.

Flora and fauna

The Lazar's Canyon is now home to rare plants – Crimean pine, relict species of Taxus and Serbian rhammondies – and animals like: Chamois, Golden eagles, True owl, Peregrine falcon also, endemic arthropods and bats.

History

In 1835, Miloš Obrenović invited August von Herder to the Bor region to carry out geological investigations.
In 1903, the area with the copper deposits was bought by George Weifert and in June 1904 the copper mine with the co-operation of French companies opened.
On 27 March 1941, Nazi Germany's leader Hitler ordered the attack on Yugoslavia. in accordance with Führer’s directive No. 25 which mentioned that the possession of the industrial site of the Bor copper mines was very important for military purposes. In 1943, Hungarian-Jewish forced laborers were stationed at nearby mines which covered 50 percent of the copper requirement of Nazi Germany's war industry. In the period from July 1943 to September 1944, at least 6,000 Hungarians were used. In May 1943, the total number of inmates came to about 23,000 forced laborers from Serbia.
On 17 September 1944 ), a column of about 3,000 prisoners including Kapos left the camp under the supreme command of the German armed forces which were about 1000 strong were force marched to a pontoon bridge in Smederovo and then further on to Baja.
On 19 September, a second column of about 3,000 prisoners left the camp under the supreme command of the SS-Polizei-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment Nr. 18 and were force marched via Pančevo to Baja. From Pančevo to Baja, the column was under the supreme command of a paramilitary operation echelon Deutsche Mannschaft „Hermann Göring“.
All prisoners were either used to build the south-east wall or transported by train to concentration camps such as Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Flossenbürg, Mauthausen, Oranienburg, Sachsenhausen, and Auschwitz. And last but not least, some national socialist Danube Swabian Officials including family members also took the opportunity to escape by train to Baja.
During both forced marches, there were several attacks carried out by Yugoslav partisans. Meanwhile, some prisoners took the opportunity to flee to the partisans and thus found life-saving protection. The victims of both Death marches'' were people like Gyula Trebitsch, and Miklós Radnóti.
In 1947, Bor received urban status from the political authorities. At the time its population was 11,000.
In June 2018, Bor gained the status of a city, along with Prokuplje.

Settlements

Aside from the city proper area, the city includes the following settlements:
According to the 1910, 1931 and 1971 censuses, the inhabitants of the urban area of Bor numbered 2,613 in 1910, 4,749 in 1931 and 29,118 residents in 1971.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Bor numbered 48,615 residents, while the urban area of Bor had 34,160 residents.

Ethnic groups

With a total of 32 different ethnic groups being represented among the population, Bor is one of the most ethnically mixed cities in Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the settlements in the city of Bor with an Serbian ethnic majority were: Bor, Brestovac, Donja Bela Reka, and Oštrelj. The settlements with Vlach ethnic majority were: Bučje, Gornjane, Krivelj, Luka, Metovnica, Tanda, Topla, and Šarbanovac. Ethnically mixed settlements were: Zlot and Slatina.
The ethnic composition of the city:
Ethnic group2002 census2011 census
Serbs39,98935,435
Vlachs10,0646,701
Roma1,2591,758
Macedonians540429
Romanians107293
Albanians115113
Others3,7433,886
Total55,81748,615

Ethnic groups in Bor: Serbs, Vlachs, Roma, Macedonians, Romanians, Albanians, Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Gorani, Bunjevci, Yugoslavs, Montenegrins, Croatians, Slovenians, Hungarians, Muslims, Germans, Greeks, Slovaks, Russians, Rusyns, Chinese, Ukrainians, Italians, Turks, Ashkali, Czechs, Poles, Jews, Canadians, Belarusians.

Economy

Copper mining, mainly by the biggest employer Zijin Bor Copper, is the key basis of Bor's economy. On 31 August 2018, a Chinese mining company Zijin Mining took over 63% of the shares of the company RTB Bor, in a $1.26 billion deal with the Government of Serbia. A few Canadian companies operated in Bor, like Nevsun Resources, Dundee, Rakita and Avala resources, while the new smelter and sulfuric acid plant for RTB Bor were built by Canada's SNC Lavalin. Many companies from Canada, led to Canadians settling in the city and thus formed a new ethnic group in Bor.
Apart from mining, some other companies that operate in Bor are Messer Tehnogas AD, Wolong ATB FOD, IT Center Bor, Metalka, Keramika Bor etc. In 2018, the average gross monthly wage in the city of Bor was US$750 - As of May 2018.
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity :
ActivityTotal
Agriculture, forestry and fishing67
Mining and quarrying1,976
Manufacturing2,452
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply359
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities320
Construction527
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles1,333
Transportation and storage752
Accommodation and food services319
Information and communication126
Financial and insurance activities142
Real estate activities31
Professional, scientific and technical activities526
Administrative and support service activities317
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security770
Education965
Human health and social work activities1,053
Arts, entertainment and recreation250
Other service activities172
Individual agricultural workers112
Total12,569

Culture and society

Education

Technical Faculty of Bor is a faculty of the University of Belgrade, with a tradition dating back to 1961. The Faculty was accredited as a scientific-research organisation in the area of technical-technological science in 2007. So far 1804 students graduated from this faculty, in addition to 18 students that completed specialist studies, 122 master studies and 70 students that defended doctoral theses.
Elementary schools
High schools
University education
Bor is the city where many films were produced. Because of that, city have the nickname "Boriwood". List of Serbian and international movies produced in Bor include Tears for Sale, Tilva Roš, White White World, Man Is Not a Bird, Winning of Freedom, On the Road to Katanga, Saga o tri nevina muškarca, Save Our Souls, Volja sinovljeva, Vivegam.

Sports

Bor Sports Center is an indoor sporting arena. The capacity of the arena is 3,000 people in the seating area, and 4,500 in the ground level area. The Bor Skate Plaza is the first and the biggest skate park in the Balkans. It is located next to the Karting circuit and Bor Sports Center. It is opened in 2012. Next to the Bor Skate Plaza is the Karting circuit that was built in the same year. Near to them is the stadium "4. kilometer" and Bor Hippodrome.
The most famous club in the city is definitely FK Bor football club, which spent several seasons in the top division, the Yugoslav First League, participating in the European Cup Winners Cup in the season of 1968/69, and played in the national Cup Finale in season 1967/1968 against Red Star Belgrade.
FK Bor is currently part of Bor District league, which is the Fifth tier league in Serbia, while another city club, FK Slatina Bor, is in Zone League East, the fourth-level football league in Serbia. In the season 2018–2019, three clubs from Bor will take part in the top level national league competitions. ZKK Bor will play in the First Women's Basketball League of Serbia, ZJRK Bor in Serbian First League of Handball for Women, while American football team Golden Bears Bor is in the top-level American Football League of Serbia.
Under the auspices of the Public Utility "Sportski Centar Bor" is the Bor Airport, with a paved runway, where traditional sport air show "Fly in" used to be held.
Bor has hosted 2013 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championship.

Tourism

City of Bor is surrounded by many beautiful locations. Borsko jezero is a tourist attraction for many domestic and foreign tourists, and it is less than 20 km away from the city center. It is popular in the summer, when the water temperature reaches 25 °C and it has two beaches. There is a bus line from the city center and back, during the summer.
During the winter, popular destinations for tourists are many mountains around Bor. Crni Vrh is a mountain just 30 km from the city center. Highest peak has an elevation of 1,043 m above sea level. It has several ski tracks and the ski lift. The main ski track is 1100 m long and has height span of 260 m. Just 16 km from the city center there is another mountain Stol. Its highest peak has an elevation of 1,156 meters above sea level. Like nearby Veliki Krš and Mali Krš, Stol has a number of pronounced karst formations. It is a popular destination for Mountaineering. It has a ski lift and well equipped ski trails. Mountain Rtanj in Boljevac municipality is 50 km away from Bor.
The Lazareva Pećina, which translates Lazar's Cave, is the longest explored cave in Serbia. It is located 21 km from the city center. According to 2012's Recent Landform Evolution: The Carpatho-Balkan-Dinaric Region, the cave is long. The cave is situated near the entrance of the deep canyon carved into the mountains by the river Zlotska. Bogovina cave is also near Bor, just about 30 km away.
Lazar's Canyon is located at about 10 kilometers from Bor. This is the deepest and longest canyon in eastern Serbia. Because of its steep rocky cliffs, the canyon has not yet been fully examined. Passing through canyon it is a real adventure, at times quite challenging and arduous. In many places it is necessary to clamber over the rocks.
Brestovac Spa is one of oldest spas in Serbia, located just 8 km from the city center. Health treatment are done with slightly sulphurous and oligomineral water with temperature of 20 to 41 °C. The Spa is for treatment and curing diseases and injuries to the muscles and bones. Especially relevant cured diseases are degenerative rheumatic diseases, rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, swelling and pain. And also chronic joint diseases, muscle disorders lumbago – lower back pain. More gynecological diseases, upper respiratory mucous membrane inflammation, skin conditions, increased diuresis, low level of stomach acid, digestive tract diseases. Furthermore, kidney diseases and nerve diseases. Water is rich with potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, chlorine, iodine, sulfate and also carbonate. Ways of treatment are drinking and bathing.
The Residence of Prince Miloš is a royal residence in the Brestovac Spa.
Bor zoo, is a zoo located in Bor, Serbia. It was founded in 2011, and it is one of four zoos in Serbia and is also considered to be one of the most attractive public zoos in southeastern Europe. The zoo covers an area of 2,5 hectares and holds about 140 animals representing more than 70 different wild and exotic species of animals as well as domestic and indigenous ones.
Park Museum is an "open museum" located from the city center, and through the main streets "Mose Pijade" and "Zeleni bulevar" with mining exhibits. It is possible to see them from a vehicle or from a sidewalk.
Paragliding is very popular in this part of Serbia, considering there are several excellent locations for this sport, such as mountains Crni Vrh and Stol.

Politics

Seats in the municipal parliament won in the 2018 local elections:
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Bor is twinned with: