{"id":1562,"date":"2024-02-17T05:48:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T04:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/?page_id=1562"},"modified":"2024-02-17T05:49:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T04:49:17","slug":"serbia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/es\/serbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Serbia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-90x60.jpg 90w, https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Serbia-pexels-miguel-cuenca-19614028-374x249.jpg 374w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serbia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-pink-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e779819f08fad7870375b96cfa7e7ef7 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Serbia Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-pink-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-43c59b777e76b159370f27d0e05ffa1a wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Belgrade Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Serbia<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/landlocked-country\">landlocked country<\/a> in the west-central <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Balkans\">Balkans<\/a>. For most of the 20th century, it was a part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Yugoslavia-former-federated-nation-1929-2003\">Yugoslavia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/51\/183751-050-CFC152F0\/World-Data-Locator-Map-Serbia.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/51\/183751-050-CFC152F0\/World-Data-Locator-Map-Serbia.jpg\" alt=\"Serbia\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/51\/183751-050-CFC152F0\/World-Data-Locator-Map-Serbia.jpg\">Serbia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The capital of Serbia is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Belgrade\">Belgrade<\/a> (Beograd), a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/cosmopolitan\">cosmopolitan<\/a> city at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/confluence\">confluence<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Danube-River\">Danube<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Sava-River\">Sava<\/a> rivers; Stari Grad, Belgrade\u2019s old town, is dominated by an ancient fortress called the Kalemegdan and includes well-preserved examples of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/medieval\">medieval<\/a> architecture and some of eastern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Europe\">Europe\u2019s<\/a> most-renowned restaurants. Serbia\u2019s second city, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Novi-Sad\">Novi Sad<\/a>, lies upstream on the Danube; a cultural and educational centre, it resembles the university towns of nearby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Hungary\">Hungary<\/a> in many respects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/96\/50496-050-45B71FC9\/boundaries-Yugoslavia-1992.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/96\/50496-050-45B71FC9\/boundaries-Yugoslavia-1992.jpg\" alt=\"Yugoslavia, 1919\u201392\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/96\/50496-050-45B71FC9\/boundaries-Yugoslavia-1992.jpg\">Yugoslavia, 1919\u201392<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The historical boundaries of Yugoslavia from 1919 to 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beginning in the 1920s, Serbia was an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/integral\">integral<\/a> part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Yugoslavia-former-federated-nation-1929-2003\">Yugoslavia<\/a> (meaning \u201cLand of the South Slavs\u201d), which included the modern countries of Serbia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Croatia\">Croatia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Slovenia\">Slovenia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina\">Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Kosovo\">Kosovo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/North-Macedonia\">North Macedonia<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Montenegro\">Montenegro<\/a>. Long ruled in turn by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Ottoman-Empire\">Ottoman Empire<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Austria-Hungary\">Austria-Hungary<\/a>, these component nations combined in 1918 to form an independent federation known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Kingdom-of-Serbs-Croats-and-Slovenes\">Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes<\/a>. In 1929 that federation was formally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/constituted\">constituted<\/a> as Yugoslavia. Serbia was the dominant part in this multiethnic union, though after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-II\">World War II<\/a> the nonaligned communist government of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Josip-Broz-Tito\">Josip Broz Tito<\/a> accorded some measure of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/autonomy\">autonomy<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/constituent\">constituent<\/a> republics and attempted to balance contending interests by dividing national administrative responsibilities (e.g., for intelligence and defense) along ethnic lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Tito\u2019s death in 1980 and the collapse of communism in eastern Europe over the course of the following decade, resurgent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/nationalism\">nationalism<\/a> reopened old rifts in Yugoslav society. Serbian (and later Yugoslav) leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Slobodan-Milosevic\">Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107<\/a> attempted to craft a \u201cGreater Serbia\u201d from the former union, but his policies instead led to the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia and civil war in the early 1990s. The civil war caused the death or displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and prompted international sanctions against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/nation-state\">country<\/a>. In the late 1990s more blood was spilled when the Albanian-Muslim-dominated Serbian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/province-ancient-Roman-government\">province<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Kosovo\">Kosovo<\/a> declared independence, resulting in the intervention of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/North-Atlantic-Treaty-Organization\">North Atlantic Treaty Organization<\/a> (NATO) and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-Nations\">United Nations<\/a>, the bombing of Belgrade, and the placement of Kosovo under UN administration from mid-1999.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/which-country-is-larger-quiz\"> Britannica QuizWhich Country Is Larger? Quiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milo\u0161evi\u0107 was later defeated in presidential elections and arrested and tried before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/International-Court-of-Justice\">International Court of Justice<\/a> for war crimes, but the rump Yugoslavia remained unstable, as Montenegro threatened to declare independence before negotiating an agreement that maintained the country\u2019s unification in a loose federation. In 2003, after the ratification of the pact by the parliaments of Serbia, Montenegro, and Yugoslavia, the renamed Serbia and Montenegro replaced Yugoslavia on the European map. In 2006 this loose federation came to an end, as Montenegro and Serbia were recognized as independent nations. Meanwhile, multilateral talks to determine Kosovo\u2019s future status failed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/yield\">yield<\/a> a solution acceptable to both Serbs and Kosovars. Despite Serbia\u2019s opposition, Kosovo formally seceded in February 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likening the strife and dissolution that ravaged the country during the 1990s to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/childrens-game\">children\u2019s game<\/a>, Serbian poet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Vasko-Popa\">Vasko Popa<\/a> once wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. <a href=\"https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=inline&amp;utm_medium=mendel&amp;utm_campaign=evergreen\">Subscribe Now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re not smashed to bits,<br>If you\u2019re still in one piece and get up in one piece,<br>You can start playing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the early 21st century, Serbia was putting behind it the tragedy of its recent past to rebuild as a singular, independent country on a new Balkan Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Land<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/84\/95684-050-3C182EB9\/Serbia-map-features-locator.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/84\/95684-050-3C182EB9\/Serbia-map-features-locator.jpg\" alt=\"Serbia, map\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/84\/95684-050-3C182EB9\/Serbia-map-features-locator.jpg\">Serbia, map<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bounding the country to the west are the Republic of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina\">Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a> and the Slavonian region of the Republic of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Croatia\">Croatia<\/a>. Serbia adjoins <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Hungary\">Hungary<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Romania\">Romania<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Bulgaria\">Bulgaria<\/a> to the east, North Macedonia to the south, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Montenegro\">Montenegro<\/a> to the southwest. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Kosovo\">Kosovo<\/a>, which Serbia does not recognize as an independent country, lies to the south as well, along the northeastern border of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Albania\">Albania<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Relief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The landforms of Serbia, a landlocked country, fall into regional groupings that roughly parallel the republic\u2019s major political divisions. The plains of the northern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Vojvodina\">Vojvodina<\/a> region generally lie at elevations between 200 and 350 feet (60 to 100 metres) above <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/sea-level\">sea level<\/a>. The Fru\u0161ka Gora hills interrupt these plains on the west, stretching along a triangle of land between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Danube-River\">Danube<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Sava-River\">Sava<\/a> rivers. Their highest point is 1,765 feet (540 metres). Much of the Vojvodina is blanketed by portions of a former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/plateau\">plateau<\/a> that rose up to 100 feet (30 metres) above the territory\u2019s floodplains; the remnants are composed of fine particles of loess deposited by winds during the last glacial period in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/28\/6228-050-844EE797\/corn-hills-region-west-Sumadija-Bor-Serbia.jpg\">\u0160umadija, Serbia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cultivating corn in the wooded hills of the \u0160umadija region, west of Bor, Serbia. In the right foreground is a plum tree, the fruit of which is used to make slivovitz, a plum brandy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hills and high mountains characterize the central body of Serbia. Its western margins include sections of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Dinaric-Alps\">Dinaric Alps<\/a>, and its eastern borderlands are part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Carpathian-Mountains\">Carpathian<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Rhodope-Mountains\">Rhodope<\/a> mountain systems. Between these flanking mountains lie the \u0160umadija hills, the core of the medieval Serbian state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The granite ridge of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Kopaonik-Mountains\">Kopaonik Mountains<\/a>, in Serbia\u2019s southwestern Dinaric zone, reaches 6,617 feet (2,017 metres). This is a tectonically active region notable for earthquakes. To the east the Carpathians are nearly as high; one peak in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Balkan-Mountains\">Balkan Mountains<\/a> (Stara Planina) bordering Bulgaria attains an elevation of more than 7,000 feet (2,100 metres). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/Summits\">Summits<\/a> of the \u0160umadija hills range from 2,000 to 3,500 feet (600 to 1,100 metres).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serbia\u2019s northeastern border follows the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Iron-Gate\">Iron Gate<\/a> (\u00d0erdap) gorge of the Danube River, the most spectacular such feature in Europe. For a distance of 60 miles (100 km), the Danube flows across the Carpathian range, its bed dropping 90 feet (30 metres). The gorge consists of four narrow constrictions connected by three basins. Before the flooding that followed completion of the joint Yugoslav-Romanian \u00d0erdap hydroelectric dam in 1972, rocky outcrops confined the river at one point to a width of only 300 feet (90 metres). Upstream, in the Vojvodina plains, the Danube <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/attains\">attains<\/a> widths of up to 2 miles (3 km) and depths of 45 feet (14 metres) or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Drainage of Serbia<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serbia\u2019s drainage is primarily to the Danubian system and flows into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Black-Sea\">Black Sea<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Tisza-River\">Tisa River<\/a> is the most prominent tributary of the Danube in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Vojvodina\">Vojvodina<\/a>, entering the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/province-ancient-Roman-government\">province<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Hungary\">Hungary<\/a> south of the city of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Szeged\">Szeged<\/a>. Runoff from the southern slopes of the Fru\u0161ka Gora flows into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Sava-River\">Sava River<\/a>, a major western tributary of the Danube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Morava-River-Serbia\">Morava<\/a>, or Velika Morava, River is the largest stream entirely within Serbia. It has a length of 290 miles (470 km) and flows northward into the Danube, draining two-fifths of Serbian territory. Tributaries of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Vardar-River\">Vardar River<\/a> tap a small section of southeastern Serbia; the river itself flows southward across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/North-Macedonia\">North Macedonia<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Aegean-Sea\">Aegean Sea<\/a>. The valleys of the Morava and Vardar rivers have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/constituted\">constituted<\/a> a major route between central <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Europe\">Europe<\/a> and the eastern Mediterranean since prehistoric times. A railroad and modern highway now follow this ancient path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other than reservoirs behind hydroelectric dams, Serbia has no appreciable lakes. Its largest natural body of water is Lake Pali\u0107 in the Vojvodina, with a surface area of less than 2 square miles (5 square km).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Soils<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three principal soil types characterize the region, corresponding to its major divisions in landforms and climate. The subhumid plains and tablelands of the Vojvodina north and east of the Danube are characterized by organically rich black earth soils (chernozems) derived from the decaying root systems of countless generations of native grasses. In the forested hills and mountains south of the Danube, the soils tend to be less-fertile and weakly acidic brown <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Podzol\">podzolics<\/a>. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/cultivated\">cultivated<\/a> areas these have been enriched by the incorporation of nutrients from fodder crops and animal manures. Infertile podzol soils predominate in the mountains and are characterized by an ash-coloured upper layer resulting from the leaching of all but their insoluble quartz particles by the acids generated in the slow decay of pine needles and other litter of the forest floors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Climate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Differences in elevation, proximity to the sea, and exposure to wind lead to significant climatic differences within Serbia. In general, however, the climate is continental, with cold, relatively dry winters and warm, humid summers. The difference between average temperatures in January and July in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Belgrade\">Belgrade<\/a> is 40 \u00b0F (22 \u00b0C).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Vojvodina most clearly exhibits <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/characteristics\">characteristics<\/a> of the continental climate. July temperatures average about 71 \u00b0F (22 \u00b0C), and January temperatures hover around 30 \u00b0F (\u22121 \u00b0C). Summer temperatures in mountainous areas of Serbia are notably cooler, averaging about 64 \u00b0F (18 \u00b0C). Air masses from eastern and northern Europe predominate throughout the year. Only occasionally do Mediterranean air masses reach Serbia from the southeast or south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Precipitation in Serbia ranges from 22 to 75 inches (560 to 1,900 mm) per year, depending on elevation and exposure. The lowest amounts are found in the Vojvodina. Most precipitation falls during the warm half of the year, with maximums occurring in late spring and late autumn. Winter precipitation tends to fall as snow, with 40 days of snow cover in northern lowlands and 120 days in the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plant and animal life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vegetation of Serbia forms a transition between central European and Mediterranean types. Before Austrian agricultural colonization began in the 18th century, the dry Vojvodina plains were a grassland steppe. However, it is evident that forests at one time dominated the region. Only about 5 percent of the area is now covered by trees, mostly in the higher parts of the Fru\u0161ka Gora and in wetlands <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adjacent\">adjacent<\/a> to the Danube and Sava.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Up to one-third of Serbia proper is in broad-leaved forest, mostly oak and beech. The regional name <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Sumadija\">\u0160umadija<\/a> literally means \u201cforested area,\u201d but large areas that were formerly wooded long have been cleared and put to cultivation. In mountainous areas trees cover two-fifths or more of the territory, depending on elevation and soil thickness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serbia has a rich <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/diversity\">diversity<\/a> of wild animals. Among larger mammals, deer and bear abound in forested areas. Wild pigs (<em>Sus scrofa<\/em>) are a distinctive feature of beech forests in the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All information come from <a href=\"http:\/\/Netherlands, country located in northwestern Europe, also known as Holland. \u201cNetherlands\u201d means low-lying country; the name Holland (from Houtland, or \u201cWooded Land\u201d) was originally given to one of the medieval cores of what later became the modern state and is still used for 2 of its 12 provinces (Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland). A parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, the kingdom includes its former colonies in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire, Cura\u00e7ao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. The capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government The Hague. Netherlands Netherlands Explore Holland's population, waterways, and vast tulip cross-breeding and cultivation program Explore Holland's population, waterways, and vast tulip cross-breeding and cultivation program Learn about the geography, agriculture, and commerce of The Netherlands. See all videos for this article  The country is indeed low-lying and remarkably flat, with large expanses of lakes, rivers, and canals. Some 2,500 square miles (6,500 square km) of the Netherlands consist of reclaimed land, the result of a process of careful water management dating back to medieval times. Along the coasts, land was reclaimed from the sea, and, in the interior, lakes and marshes were drained, especially alongside the many rivers. All this new land was turned into polders, usually surrounded by dikes. Initially, man power and horsepower were used to drain the land, but they were later replaced by windmills, such as the mill network at Kinderdijk-Elshout, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The largest water-control schemes were carried out in the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century, when steam pumps and, later, electric or diesel pumps came into use. Exploring Amsterdam: Canals, design, and museums Exploring Amsterdam: Canals, design, and museums Overview of Amsterdam. See all videos for this article  Despite government-encouraged emigration after World War II, which prompted some 500,000 persons to leave the country, the Netherlands is today one of the world\u2019s most densely populated countries. Although the population as a whole is \u201cgraying\u201d rapidly, with a high percentage over age 65, Amsterdam has remained one of the liveliest centres of international youth culture. There, perhaps more than anywhere else in the country, the Dutch tradition of social tolerance is readily encountered. Prostitution, \u201csoft-drug\u201d (marijuana and hashish) use, and euthanasia are all legal but carefully regulated in the Netherlands, which was also the first country to legalize same-sex marriage.  This relative independence of outlook was evident as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Dutch rejected monarchical controls and took a relatively enlightened view of other cultures, especially when they brought wealth and capital to the country\u2019s trading centres. In that period Dutch merchant ships sailed the world and helped lay the foundations of a great trading country characterized by a vigorous spirit of enterprise. In later centuries, the Netherlands continued to have one of the most advanced economies in the world, despite the country\u2019s modest size. The Dutch economy is open and generally internationalist in outlook. With Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is a member of the Benelux economic union, which in the 1950s and 1960s served as a model for the larger European Economic Community (EEC; now embedded in the European Union [EU]), of which the Benelux countries are members. The Netherlands is also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and it plays host to a number of international organizations, especially in the legal sector, such as the International Court of Justice. Brown globe on antique map. Brown world on vintage map. North America. Green globe. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, geography and travel, explore discovery Britannica Quiz Countries &amp; Their Features  The Dutch reputation for tolerance was tested in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when an increase in immigration from non-European Union countries and a populist turn in politics resulted in growing nationalism and even xenophobia, marked by two race-related political assassinations, in 2002 and 2004, and the government\u2019s requirement that immigrants pass an expensive \u2018\u2018integration\u2019\u2019 test before they enter the country. Land Relief Netherlands Netherlands Urk, Netherlands Urk, Netherlands Urk, once an island of the former Zuiderzee, now part of the North East (Noordoost) Polder, Netherlands.  The Netherlands is bounded by the North Sea to the north and west, Germany to the east, and Belgium to the south. If the Netherlands were to lose the protection of its dunes and dikes, the most densely populated part of the country would be inundated (largely by the sea but also in part by the rivers). This highly developed part of the Netherlands, which generally does not lie higher than about three feet (one metre) above sea level, covers more than half the total area of the country. About half of this area (more than one-fourth of the total area of the country) actually lies below sea level. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now  The lower area consists mainly of polders, where the landscape not only lies at a very low elevation but is also very flat in appearance. On such land, building is possible only on \u201crafts,\u201d or after concrete piles, sometimes as long as 65 feet (20 metres), have been driven into the silt layer.  In the other, higher area, the layers of sand and gravel in the eastern part of the country were pushed sideways and upward in some places by ice tongues of the Saale Glacial Stage, forming elongated ridges that may reach a height of more than 330 feet (100 metres) and are the principal feature of the Hoge Park Veluwe National Park. The only part of the country where elevations exceed 350 feet (105 metres) is the border zone of the Ardennes. The Netherlands\u2019 highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the extreme southeastern corner, rises to 1,053 feet (321 metres). Drainage and dikes north dam across the IJsselmeer north dam across the IJsselmeer Part of the north dam (the Afsluitdijk) across the IJsselmeer, Netherlands.  The Zuiderzee was originally an estuary of the Rhine River. By natural action it then became a shallow inland sea, biting deep into the land, and eventually it was hollowed into an almost circular shape by the action of winds and tides. In 1920 work was begun on the Zuiderzee project, of which the IJsselmeer Dam (Afsluitdijk), begun in 1927, was a part. This 19-mile- (30-km-) long dam was completed in 1932 to finally seal off the Zuiderzee from the Waddenzee and the North Sea. In the IJsselmeer, or IJssel Lake, formed from the southern part of the Zuiderzee, four large polders, the IJsselmeer Polders, with a total area of about 650 square miles (1,700 square km), were constructed around a freshwater basin fed by the IJssel and other rivers and linked with the sea by sluices and locks in the barrier dam.  The first two polders created there\u2014Wieringermeer and North East (Noordoost) Polder, drained before and during World War II\u2014are used mostly for agriculture. The two polders reclaimed in the 1950s and \u201960s\u2014South Flevoland Polder (Zuidelijk) and East Flevoland Polder (Oostelijk)\u2014are used for residential, industrial, and recreational purposes. Among the cities that have developed there are Lelystad and Almere. Netherlands: Delta Works flood-control project Netherlands: Delta Works flood-control project Learn about flood control in the Netherlands. See all videos for this article  In the southwest, the disastrous gales and spring tide of February 1, 1953, which flooded some 400,000 acres (162,000 hectares) of land and killed 1,800 people, accelerated the implementation of the Delta Project, which aimed to close off most of the sea inlets of the southwestern delta. These delta works were designed to shorten the coastline by 450 miles (725 km), combat the salination of the soil, and allow the development of the area through roads that were constructed over 10 dams and 2 bridges built between 1960 and 1987. The largest of these dams, crossing the five-mile- (eight-km-) wide Eastern Schelde (Oosterschelde) estuary, has been built in the form of a storm-surge barrier incorporating dozens of openings that can be closed in the event of flood. The barrier is normally open, allowing salt water to enter the estuary and about three-fourths of the tidal movement to be maintained, limiting damage to the natural environment in the Eastern Schelde. In the interest of the commerce of the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, no dams were constructed in the New Waterway, which links Rotterdam to the North Sea, or the West Schelde, an approach to Antwerp, Belgium. The dikes along these waterways consequently had to be strengthened.  A region with a very specific character has been formed by the great rivers\u2014Rhine, Lek, Waal, and Maas (Meuse)\u2014that flow from east to west through the central part of the country. The landscape in this area is characterized by high dikes along wide rivers, orchards along the levees formed by the rivers, and numerous large bridges over which pass the roads and railways that connect the central Netherlands with the southern provinces. Soils Keukenhof Gardens Keukenhof Gardens Keukenhof Gardens, near Lisse, Netherlands.  In the late Pleistocene Epoch (from about 126,000 to 11,700 years ago), the Scandinavian ice sheet covered the northern half of the Netherlands. After this period, a large area in the north of what is now the Netherlands was left covered by moraine (glacial accumulation of earth and rock debris). In the centre and south, the Rhine and Maas rivers unloaded thick layers of silt and gravel transported from the European mountain chains. Later, during the Holocene Epoch (i.e., the past 11,700 years), clay was deposited in the sheltered lagoons behind the coastal dunes, and peat soil often subsequently developed in these areas. If the peat soil was washed away by the sea or dug away by humans (for the production of fuel and salt), lakes were created. Many of these were reclaimed in later centuries (as mentioned above), while others now form highly valued outdoor recreational areas. Climate  The climate of the Netherlands is temperate, with gentle winters, cool summers, and rainfall in every season. Southerly and westerly winds predominate, and the sea moderates the climate through onshore winds and the effect of the Gulf Stream. Koninck, Philips: View over a Flat Landscape Koninck, Philips: View over a Flat Landscape View over a Flat Landscape, oil on canvas by Philips Koninck, 1664; in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands.  The position of the country\u2014between the area of high-pressure air masses centred on the Azores and the low-pressure region centred on Iceland\u2014makes the Netherlands an area of collision between warm and polar air masses, thus creating unsettled weather. Winds meet with little resistance over the flat country, though the hills in the south significantly diminish the velocity of the potent wind that prevails along the coast. On average, frost occurs 60 days per year. July temperatures average about 63 \u00b0F (17 \u00b0C), and those of January average 35 \u00b0F (2 \u00b0C). Annual rainfall averages about 31 inches (790 mm), with only about 25 clear days per year. The average rainfall is highest in summer (August) and autumn and lowest in springtime. The country is known\u2014not least through the magnificent landscapes of Dutch painters\u2014for its heavy clouds, and on an average day three-fifths of the sky is clouded. Plant and animal life  Most wild Dutch plant species are of the Atlantic district within the Euro-Siberian phytogeographic region. Gradients of salt and winter temperature variations cause relatively minor zonal differences in both wild and garden plants from the coast to more continental regions. The effects of elevation are negligible. Vegetation from coastal sand dunes, muddy coastal areas, slightly brackish lakes, and river deltas is especially scarce in the surrounding countries. Lakes, marshes, peatland, woods, heaths, and agricultural areas determine the general floral species. Clay, peat, and sand are important soil factors for the inland vegetation regions.  Animal life is relegated by region according to vegetation. Seabirds and other sea life, such as mollusks, are found especially in the muddy Waddenzee area and in the extreme southwest. Migrating birds pass in huge numbers through the Netherlands or remain for a summer or winter stay. Species of waterbirds and marsh and pasture birds are numerous. Larger mammals, such as roe deer, red deer, foxes, and badgers, are mostly restricted to nature reserves. Some species, such as boars, beavers, fallow deer, mouflons, and muskrats, have been introduced locally or reintroduced. Some reptiles and amphibians are endangered. Numerous species of river fish and river lobsters have become scarce because of water pollution. There is a diversity of brackish and freshwater animals inhabiting the many lakes, canals, and drainage ditches, but the vulnerable species of the nutritionally deficient waters have become rare.  Nature reserves have been formed by governmental and private organizations. Well-known reserves include the Naardermeer of Amsterdam, the Hoge Veluwe National Park, and the Oostvaardersplassen in the centre of the country. Some endangered species are protected by law.\">Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Serbia Serbia Free Tour Belgrade Free Tour Information: Serbia, landlocked country in the west-central Balkans. For most of the 20th century, it was a part of Yugoslavia. 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