Obrenovac

Obrenovac (, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 68,882 inhabitants, while the urban area has 25,380 inhabitants. The old name for Obrenovac was Palež.

The largest Serbian thermal power plant, TPP Nikola Tesla, is located on the outskirts of the municipality. Stubline transmitter, one of the most powerful broadcasting stations ever built, is also situated in this municipality.

Obrenovac was submerged and completely evacuated during the 2014 Southeast Europe floods.

Geography

Obrenovac is situated 30 km south-west of central Belgrade near bends of the river Sava to the north. The river Kolubara flows to the east of the town on its way to join the Sava.

Total land area of the municipality of Obrenovac is . Apart from the town, it consists of the following villages:

On 11 April 1815, during the Second Serbian Uprising, the town was burned to the ground by Serbian forces in a battle against Ottomans. It was restored in 1859 by prince of Serbia Miloš Obrenović, after whom it was named. Church of the Holy Spirit was built in Obrenovac in 1870 and has a status of a protected cultural monument.

The Day of the Municipality is December 20, the date of the decree of Prince Miloš Obrenović by which the name of Obrenovac was instituted, and its patron day is the Holy Trinity.

Obrenovac was Serbian town which suffered the greatest damage by the unprecedented floods in May 2014. Most of the population has been evacuated to safety. Sudden surge of water from Kolubara river on May 15 devastated the town, killing at least 14 persons, with several persons still missing.

Demographics

According to the 2022 census results, the municipality of Obrenovac has a population of 68,882 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

{|class="wikitable"

! Ethnic group

! Population

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Serbs||align="right"|62,401

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Romani||align="right"|1,426

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Yugoslavs||align="right"|126

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Montenegrins||align="right"|119

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Macedonians||align="right"|81

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Croats||align="right"|76

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Russians||align="right"|53

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Bulgarians||align="right"|42

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Hungarians||align="right"|25

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Albanians||align="right"|24

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Muslims||align="right"|19

|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Others||align="right"|1,040

|style="background:#F0F0F0;"|Unknown||align="right"|3,450

|style="background:#F0F0F0;"|Total||align="right"|68,882

Economy

The largest Serbian thermal power plant TPP Nikola Tesla is located on the outskirts of the town; its chimney is widely visible as the surrounding area is generally flat.

Stubline transmitter was until the air-raids in 1999 one of the most powerful broadcasting transmitters in the world capable of broadcasting with 2 MW.

Touristic facilities include the Zabran forest on the right bank of the Sava. It is located outside of the urban zone of Obrenovac, northeast of the town and west of the Kolubara's mouth into the Sava. It is also accessible by boat as it has a peer. The forest has a long trim trails and arranged excursion sites. The pathways and bicycle path connect Zabran and the beach Perilo on the Sava. Under the name Obrenovački Zabran, the area is protected as the natural monument. The forest is one of the rare remaining autochthonous high forests in the floodplains of the Sava and Kolubara river. It influences the microclimate and mitigates the bad aftermaths of the Obrenovac's high level of industrialization.

The area was protected on 29 November 2013 and covers and is separated from Sava by the embankment (dolma) with promenade. Present forests developed after the area was cut clean in 1941 and 1942, and are mostly short-lived sprout forests of low quality. More quality groves of pedunculate oak and narrow-leafed ash, once omnipresent and dominant in the entire Sava valley, are preserved for its genetic importance. Also dwindling is the presence of other species of higher quality, like silver poplar, grey poplar, European white elm, field elm and European wild pear. Autochthonous species are threatened by the later introduced and fast spreading species, like American ash, Canadian poplar, box elder, common milkweed, common ragweed, annual fleabane and, especially invasive, desert false indigo. They are gradually being replaced with the older species.

Not far from the Zabran is the hotel "Obrenovac", located at the entry into the town from the Belgrade direction. The hotel has thermal springs, outdoor and indoor Olympic swimming pools, aqua park and sports complex. The spa with sulfuric water is active since c.1900.

In the village of Skela, in the western section of the municipality, there is a popular attraction of ethno-yard which includes the mini-zoo. Other green areas include another protected natural monument, "Group of pedunculate oaks at Jozić cabin", which are over 200 years old, Arboretum with exotic and autochthonous plants, and the Natural History Home.

On the location of the old landfill along the Kolubara river, an arboretum was planted on . It contains over 600 plants from 40 deciduous and 20 coniferous species, both autochthonous and allochthonous (China, Japan, Korea, America), including an orchard with old, Serbian varieties. Species include paulownia, metasequoia, larch, taxodium, liquidambar, koelreuteria, sweet maple, poplar, willow, ash and oak. The arboretum was destroyed during the 2014 floods and was replanted. A Natural Exhibition Home was built, with several permanent exhibitions, including one on moths and butterflies, and the canal with a small bridge was dug. The orchard contains chestnut, almond, medlar, old varieties of apples (, ) and pears ().

There is a green market in the centre of the town, and also flea market (as of August 2006) to the south of the town on the Valjevo road. The most famous football club from Obrenovac is FK Radnički Obrenovac; its stadium is beside the Belgrade road. The oldest school in the town is found next to Topolice. It carries the name of Jovan Popović. The school was built by Miloš Obrenović.

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Activity

! Total

|Agriculture, forestry and fishing||align="right"|22

|Mining and quarrying||align="right"|9

|Manufacturing||align="right"|4,782

|Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply||align="right"|1,980

|Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities||align="right"|438

|Construction||align="right"|929

|Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles||align="right"|2,473

|Transportation and storage||align="right"|1,275

|Accommodation and food services||align="right"|582

|Information and communication||align="right"|169

|Financial and insurance activities||align="right"|223

|Real estate activities||align="right"|31

|Professional, scientific and technical activities||align="right"|446

|Administrative and support service activities||align="right"|7,400

|Public administration and defense; compulsory social security||align="right"|573

|Education||align="right"|978

|Human health and social work activities||align="right"|1,042

|Arts, entertainment and recreation||align="right"|252

|Other service activities||align="right"|268

|Individual agricultural workers||align="right"|405

|- class="sortbottom"

|Total||align="right"|24,178

Education

The first elementary school in Obrenovac was established in 1824 and is one of the oldest schools in Serbia. Now there are 10 elementary schools in the municipality, as well as the Gymansium (established in 1922), Technical High School, and Agricultural High School.

Sports

Local football club Radnički (Workers) has competed in the First League of Serbia and Montenegro, the country's top tier at the time, between 2002 and 2004.

Public transport

Three bus lines connect Obrenovac with Belgrade: 860, 860E and 861A.

International cooperation

Obrenovac is twinned with the following cities and municipalities:

Kumanovo, North Macedonia
Staré Mesto, Slovakia
Bergen, Norway

Notable people

Vladan Batić, former Minister of Justice
Zoran Radojičić, former member of the National Assembly of Serbia
Milan Stanković