Vrnjačka Banja

Vrnjačka Banja

Врњачка Бања (Serbian)
Vrnjačka Banja Врњачка Бања (Serbian)
Town and municipality
	Vrnjačka Banja
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of the municipality of Vrnjačka Banja within Serbia
	Coordinates: 43°37′25″N 20°53′37″E
Country	Serbia
Region	Šumadija and Western Serbia
District	Raška
Settlements	14
Government
• Mayor	Boban Đurović (SNS)
Area
• Town	19.06 km2 (7.36 sq mi)
• Municipality	239 km2 (92 sq mi)
Elevation	217 m (712 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Town	10,065
• Town density	530/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
• Municipality	27,527
• Municipality density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	36210
Area code	+381(0)36
Car plates	ВБ
Website	www.vrnjackabanja.gov.rs

Vrnjačka Banja (Serbian Cyrillic: Врњачка Бања) is a town and municipality located in the Raška District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 10,065 inhabitants, while the population of the municipality is 27,527 inhabitants.

Vrnjačka Banja is known as the spa town, on account of the many hot springs here with temperatures measuring exactly that of the human body (37.5 degrees Celsius).

Settlements

Aside from the town of Vrnjačka Banja, the municipality includes the following settlements:

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1948	15,916	—
1953	17,394	+1.79%
1961	18,820	+0.99%
1971	21,940	+1.55%
1981	24,768	+1.22%
1991	25,875	+0.44%
2002	26,492	+0.21%
2011	27,527	+0.43%
Source:

According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Vrnjačka Banja has 27,527 inhabitants. Population density on the territory of the municipality is 115.2 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Ethnic groups

Most of its population are ethnic Serbs (96.2%) and 36.6% of the municipality’s population is urban. The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Ethnic group	Population	%
Serbs	26,482	96.20%
Roma	334	1.21%
Montenegrins	107	0.39%
Macedonians	33	0.12%
Yugoslavs	30	0.11%
Others	541	1.97%
Total	27,527

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):

Activity	Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	157
Mining and quarrying	-
Manufacturing	1508
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	59
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	231
Construction	408
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1061
Transportation and storage	269
Accommodation and food services	1019
Information and communication	53
Financial and insurance activities	60
Real estate activities	43
Professional, scientific and technical activities	200
Administrative and support service activities	110
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security	418
Education	465
Human health and social work activities	800
Arts, entertainment and recreation	106
Other service activities	204
Individual agricultural workers	74
Total	7,247

Tourism

Situated in a great park full of trees with particularly charming houses, Vrnjačka Banja is the most celebrated and most popular spa town of Serbia and at same time, a very attractive recreation center. Surrounding Vrnjačka Banja are UNESCO protected medieval buildings. Other nearby landmarks include the first court of the Serbian Archbishop, the Žiča Monastery and Sopoćani Monastery which both date back to the thirteenth century and the twelfth century Studenica Monastery all of which are located in Ibar River Valley.

It owes its reputation to its therapeutic effects known already to the Roman troops in the second century AD. It was upgraded by the Czech Baron Herder in 1835 after Prince Miloš Obrenović wanted it to be like Karlovy Vary, it has since received people from all of southern Europe, who came to rest or for treatment. Summers are pleasant, and the winter is mild. Natural springs can be found on five mineral water sources well positioned in the park. The warm water (36 degrees Celsius) is ideal for massage and cool (17 degrees Celsius) sufficiently reviving.

There are seven mineral springs +1 Legend in Vrnjačka Banja, from which first four are used for medical treatment:

Topla voda (36.5°C)
Snežnik (17°C)
Slatina (24°C)
Jezero (27°C)
Beli izvor
Borjak
Vrnjačko vrelo

The hotels are numerous and have swimming pools and halls for games. In winter, it is convenient for skiing on the Goč, just a few kilometres away. In the summer, Vrnjačka Banja is transformed into one of greatest cultural centres in Serbia: literary soirées in a city library, classical concerts under the column capitals and the festival of the cinema scenario. The restaurants are often on the border of a water current and offer terraces under the trees of the park.

The largest Opanak in the world, in the Guinness World Records since 2006, is the 3.2m shoe, size 450, weighing 222 kg (489 lb), made by opančar Slavko Strugarević, from Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia.

A number of modernistic buildings inspired by Art-Nouveau by architect Mihajlo Mitrović can be found in Vrnjačka Banja.