Velika Plana Велика Плана
—  Municipality and Town  —
Pokajnica Monastery near Velika Plana
Flag Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Velika Plana within Serbia
Coordinates: 44°20′N 21°05′E / 44.333°N 21.083°E / 44.333; 21.083
Country	Serbia
District	Podunavlje
Settlements	13
Government
• Mayor	Dejan Sulkic
Area[1]
• Municipality	345 km2 (133 sq mi)
Population (2011 census)[2]
• Town	16,078
• Municipality	40,578
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	11320
Area code	+381 26
Car plates	VP

Velika Plana (Serbian: Велика Плана, pronounced [ʋelika plana]), is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District of Serbia. In 2011, the population of the municipality is 40,578 (i.e. in the town proper, 16,078 inhabitants). It is estimated that about 5,500-6,500 IDP's from Kosovo & Metohija also live in Velika Plana but are unregistered. It lies on the left bank of Velika Morava, at a distance of 4 km from the town center.

Transportation[link]

The main Serbian motorway from Subotica to Niš goes by the town. The town is also a important railroad junction. Twin tracks go south toward Niš, a track goes west to Belgrade, and a track goes north to Mala Krsna junction, where it splits towards Belgrade, Smederevo and Požarevac. This, in combination with the fact that many bus lines form southern Serbia to Belgrade and Vojvodina make a stop at the town bus station, makes Velika Plana an important transportation hub of central Serbia.

Education[link]

Velika Plana has three elementary schools: "Sveti Sava", "Мiloš Mitrović", and "Nadežda Petrović" in the town itself, and 11 in the surrounding suburbs and villages.

It also has three high schools: a gymnasium, a technical high school and a business assistant high school.

Leisure and historic monuments[link]

In the center of the town is a quaint town park. The town also has few smaller parks.

At the outskirts of the town are three important ecclesiastical monuments: the early 15th century Koporin Monastery where Despot Stefan Lazarević, son of Prince Lazar of the Battle of Kosovo is buried; the early 19th century Pokajnica Monastery built as a sign of repentance (Serbian: pokajanje/покајање) by the murderer of Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising and the founder of the Karađorđević/Karageorgevitch royal family of Serbia and later Yugoslavia; as well as a small church built by King Alexander Karađorđević of Yugoslavia at the exact place of his ancestor's murder.

The latter two are within 4 km from each other, and easily reachable by public transit. Koporin is more secluded but still within 11 km from the other two.

Recent events[link]

The notorious hitman for the UDBA, Željko Ražnatović Arkan was officially promulgated into a "freedom fighter" by Slobodan Milošević's secret police. The ceremony, opposed by the Pokajnica Monastery Monks, took place on the 11th October 1990.

In 2000 Serbia's Democratic Party held annual conference at the Pokajnica hotel conference centre in Velika Plana at which the programme for ousting Slobodan Milošević was first officially proclaimed. In due course it was carried out that year.

Rock Festival[link]

In 2009 a festival of rock music Plana Demo Fest was organised with sponsorship of the Velika Plana Youth Community Centre. Its organisers hope that it shall become a springboard for youth rock bands in Serbia and internationally. [1]

Famous people[link]

• Radomir Lukić, jurist and renowned professor at the University of Belgrade's Law School
• Vojislav Koštunica, former President of Yugoslavia and Prime Minister of Serbia (see Wikipedia in Serbian sr:Милошевац and sr:Војислав Коштуница)
• Snežana Savić, movie actress

International relations[link]

Twin towns — sister cities[link]

Velika Plana is twinned with:

• Budva, Montenegro

At the time of SFR Yugoslavia it was also twinned with:

• Čazma, Croatia
• Brežice, Slovenia

but the relationship with these two has dwindled away and has not been revived as yet.

See also[link]

• Radovanjski Lug

References[link]

Notes

v t e Municipalities and cities of Serbia v t e Municipalities of Belgrade Municipalities Barajevo Čukarica Grocka Lazarevac Mladenovac Novi Beograd Obrenovac Palilula Rakovica Savski Venac Sopot Stari Grad Surčin Voždovac Vračar Zemun Zvezdara v t e Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina Novi Sad (Novi Sad • Petrovaradin) • Pančevo • Sombor • Sremska Mitrovica • Subotica • Zrenjanin Ada • Alibunar • Apatin • Bač • Bačka Palanka • Bačka Topola • Bački Petrovac • Bečej • Bela Crkva • Beočin • Čoka • Inđija • Irig • Kanjiža • Kikinda • Kovačica • Kovin • Kula • Mali Iđoš • Nova Crnja • Novi Bečej • Novi Kneževac • Odžaci • Opovo • Pećinci • Plandište • Ruma • Sečanj • Senta • Šid • Srbobran • Sremski Karlovci • Stara Pazova • Temerin • Titel • Vrbas • Vršac • Žabalj • Žitište v t e Municipalities and cities of Šumadija and Western Serbia Čačak • Jagodina • Kragujevac (Aerodrom • Pivara • Stanovo • Stari Grad • Stragari) • Kraljevo • Kruševac • Loznica • Novi Pazar • Šabac • Užice • Valjevo Aleksandrovac • Aranđelovac • Arilje • Bajina Bašta • Batočina • Bogatić • Brus • Čajetina • Ćićevac • Ćuprija • Despotovac • Gornji Milanovac • Ivanjica • Knić • Koceljeva • Kosjerić • Krupanj • Lajkovac • Lapovo • Lučani • Ljig • Ljubovija • Mali Zvornik • Mionica • Nova Varoš • Osečina • Paraćin • Požega • Priboj • Prijepolje • Rača • Raška • Rekovac • Sjenica • Svilajnac • Topola • Trstenik • Tutin • Ub • Varvarin • Vladimirci • Vrnjačka Banja v t e Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Leskovac • Niš (Crveni Krst • Medijana • Niška Banja • Palilula • Pantelej) • Požarevac (Požarevac • Kostolac) • Smederevo • Vranje (Vranje • Vranjska Banja) • Zaječar Aleksinac • Babušnica • Bela Palanka • Blace • Bojnik • Boljevac • Bor • Bosilegrad • Bujanovac • Crna Trava • Dimitrovgrad • Doljevac • Gadžin Han • Golubac • Kladovo • Knjaževac • Kučevo • Kuršumlija • Lebane • Majdanpek • Malo Crniće • Medveđa • Merošina • Negotin • Petrovac • Pirot • Preševo • Prokuplje • Ražanj • Smederevska Palanka • Sokobanja • Surdulica • Svrljig • Trgovište • Velika Plana • Veliko Gradište • Vladičin Han • Vlasotince • Žabari • Žagubica • Žitorađa v t e Municipalities of Kosovo Dečani Dragaš Đakovica Đeneral Janković Glogovac Gnjilane Gračanica Istok Junik Kačanik Klina Klokot-Vrbovac Kosovo Polje Kosovska Kamenica Kosovska Mitrovica Leposavić Lipljan Mališevo Mamuša Novo Brdo Obilić Orahovac Parteš Peć Podujevo Pristina Prizren Ranilug Štimlje Srbica Štrpce Suva Reka Uroševac Vitina Vučitrn Zubin Potok Zvečan Planned Municipality: North Kosovska Mitrovica

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Velika Plana