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The union of Serbia and Montenegro was voted into existence by the Yugoslav parliament in February 2003.
Serbia and Montenegro, the two republics still left in the old Yugoslav federation, had agreed in March 2002 to scrap remnants of the ex-communist state formed after World War II and to create a new, looser union of Serbia and Montenegro.
The EU-brokered deal was intended to prevent further changes to Balkan borders by settling Montenegrin demands for independence.
Serbia and Montenegro is situated in South-East Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula with access to the Adriatic Sea. The length of the borders of Serbia and Montenegro is 2,585,894 km and the length of the coastline is 294 km. Serbia and Montenegro borders on Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Macedonia.
Physical Map of Serbia and Montenegro
The physical map of the country is varied. The northern part is, for the most part, flat country with rich fertile plains drained by the Danube, Tisa, Sava, and Morava River systems. The central part is hilly and mountainous and the southern part is littoral. To the east lie limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast lie ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest is an extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast. The lowest point is the Adriatic Sea and the highest point is Daravica (2,656 m).
The flag of Serbia and Montenegro has three equal horizontal bands of blue at the top, white in the middle and red at the bottom.
Climate of Serbia and Montenegro
The climate is continental (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall) in the north, continental and Mediterranean in the central portion and in the south it is Adriatic climate along the coast, hot-dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland.
Flora of higher plants in Serbia and Montenegro with approximately 4.850 of its species makes for 1.70% of the total world flora and this in only 0.035% of the total area of the world dry land. The fact that on such a small area some 2% of the total world flora is contained, ranks Serbia and Montenegro among the parts of the world rich in flora. The fauna (without some yet unexplored groups of invertebrates), in the territory of the Serbia and Montenegro covers a total of some 15.000 animal Species.
Further to its extreme abundance in gene-fund of wild plants and animals, there is also a large number of autochthonous population of nursery plants and domestic animals, obtained by centuries-long breeding. The highlands and mountain areas abound in plant species suitable for the application in pharmaceutical industry, some of which are rare or extinct in Europe. Thanks to its location on the main route of migration from continental Europe to the Mediterranean and further south to Africa, there is a large number of migrating animal species.
People of Serbia and Montenegro
Religion and language are the distinguishing factors of ethnic groups in Serbia and Montenegro. They are traditionally Orthodox Christians and speak Serbian though in different variants. Muslims, also called Bosniaks, form a slight majority in the Sandzak region, an area that straddles the southwestern border.
Education is compulsory from ages 7 to 14 and both primary and secondary education is free. A large percentage of Serbia and Montenegro's population is still engaged in agriculture. Families tend to be small and nuclear, consisting of parents and a small number of children. While some rural people still wear traditional outfits, most Yugoslavs dress in contemporary Western-style clothing. Favored foods include a variety of grilled meats and bread. Desserts range from Turkish-style baklava to Viennese-style tortes. The national drink of Serbia is a plum brandy called sljivovica, while Montenegrins drink a clear grape brandy. Locally produced wines are also popular and they are highly regarded. The nation's per capita rate of tobacco consumption is among the highest in the world. Sports attract a wide following, and national basketball and soccer teams rank highly internationally.
Arts, Culture and Music of Serbia and Montenegro
The Orthodox Church had a major influence on the early development of the arts of Serbia and Montenegro. Both states emerged from the Byzantine Empire, for which Orthodox Christianity was the state religion, and Byzantine influences appear in the country's many beautiful monasteries, including some that hold magnificent frescoes and icons. Serbian and Montenegrin art suffered when the Ottomans annexed Serbia and reduced Montenegro to a collection of mountain strongholds from the 15th to the 19th century. Western artistic movements began influencing artists and architects in Serbia and Montenegro during 19th and 20th centuries. Socialist Realism was also a force after Yugoslavia emerged from World War II in 1945 as a Communist state. Religion was discouraged during the Communist period, but since Communism's collapse in 1990 many new churches have opened. Other cultural development has been uneven since the collapse of Yugoslavia.
Literature gained great importance in the 19th century. Ivo Andric, a Yugoslav novelist who wrote The Bridge on the Drina (1945), set in Bosnia, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1961. Serbia and Montenegro have lively contemporary music industries. A type of Serbian neofolk music is popular among rural people and workers. Serbian rock groups are popular and creative. Yugoslav films were among the best produced in Communist Eastern Europe, and they are still highly regarded internationally.
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