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Prokuplje

Prokuplje (Прокупље, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Toplica District in southern Serbia. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 38,054 inhabitants.

Prokuplje is one of the Roman sites of Serbia. The town was known as Ürgüp during Ottoman rule and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia in 1878.

Geography
The Toplica district is located in southern Serbia, in the central part of the Balkan peninsula.

Prokuplje is located between municipalities of Blace, Kuršumlija, Bojnik, Žitorađa, Merošina, Aleksinac, and Kruševac.

Climate
Prokuplje has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfa).

Neolithic and Copper Age
The traces of early settlements can be found at Neolithic sites such as Macina (near Zitni Potok), Kavolak 6 km west of Prokuplje (village Donja Trnava) and settlements on the south slopes of Jastrebac in Donja Bresnica village. The Vinča period is preserved at the Pločnik site, situated on the left side of the road from Prokuplje to Kursumlija, 19 km west of Prokuplje, underneath the modern village, on the left bank of the Toplica river. Together with Belovode, Pločnik is one of two Vinča culture sites from Serbia considered (as of 2014) the worldwide earliest to produce evidence of copper smelting. The occupation periods are between c. 5350-4650 BC for Belovode and 5200-4650 BC for Pločnik, making Pločnik the second-oldest copper smelting site so far discovered anywhere in the world. There are two theories about the emergence of metalworking: the smelting technology was either discovered in one region only, at or near the Fertile Crescent in what is now southern Iran and emanated from there around the world, or it happened independently in different places, the Vinča culture area of Serbia and Bulgaria being one of them, and for now the oldest to be researched and dated. In October 2008, Serbian archaeologists at Pločnik found a copper axe believed to be 7,500 years old, making it 500–800 years older than what had previously been considered to be the beginning of the Copper Age and suggesting that the human use of metal is older than previously believed.

Classical antiquity
The agricultural Vinča settlements were replaced by the emerging Thracians and then the invading Celtic Scordisci in 279 BC. Pieces of ceramics found by the Latin Church are traces of those tribes' movement on their way to Greece.

Between 73 and 75 BC, after the Romans subjugated the tribes of the region, this part of Serbia became a part of the Roman province of Moesia. At the time the settlement was known as Hammeum or Hameo, its oldest preserved name. It was located on the Roman Via Militaris, a road that connected the central Balkans with the Adriatic, passing through nearby Naissus (Niš). In July 2008 a major Roman spa was unearthed.

At the end of the 4th century AD, when the Roman Empire was divided, the Toplica region became part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. The place became known as Komplos or Komblos (village-town). Some historians believe that Komplos was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565).

Middle Ages
When South Serbs first settled in this area in the 6th century, the city was known as Komplos.

During the 9th-11th centuries and the 13th century the territory of modern-day Prokuplje was part of the Bulgarian Empire.

The city is named after the "Fortress of St. Procopios", first mentioned in 1395. The Ottomans seized the city during their conquest of Serbia, but had to return it in 1444 following the Peace of Szeged.

15th-17th centuries
In 1454, Prokuplje was besieged by the Ottomans and during the next 423 years of Ottomans rule the name of the place was Urcub or Okrub. It was part of the Sanjak of Niš.

During the Ottoman rule, in the period between the 16th and 17th centuries, the town's importance increased, similarly to other towns in the region, such as Kruševac, Stalac and Leskovac. Prokuplje prospered through the trade connections with Dubrovnik.

1689-1878: wars and ethnic changes
During the Great Turkish War (1683–1699), there was a massive local rebellion of Christian Serbs in support of the Austrian troops who were advancing in the area. Prokuplje was captured by Austrian troops and Serbian Militia in 1689, but after the Ottoman counter-offensive, the town was burned down during the Austrian retreat of 1690, in spite of Habsburg colonel Antonije Znorić's orders to the contrary. Serbs, who had supported the Austrian troops, after their withdrawal started increasingly emigrating from the area, while there was an increase of Muslim Albanian migration into the town.

Toponyms such as Arbanaška and Đjake shows an historic Albanian presence in the Toplica and Southern Morava regions (located north-east of contemporary Kosovo) that dates to the medieval era.  The rural parts of Toplica valley and adjoining semi-mountainous interior was inhabited during Ottoman rule by compact Muslim Albanian population, while Serbs in those areas lived near the river mouths and mountain slopes; both peoples inhabited other regions of the South Morava river basin. The Toplica region had an Albanian majority and so did the town of Prokuplje.

During the 1877–1878 period, these Albanians were expelled by Serbian forces   in a way that today would be characterized as ethnic cleansing. A report was made by local authorities in early 1878 for the minister of education at the time, Alimpje Vasiljević. There were 131 villages, with 1,485 Serbian homes and 1,553 Muslim homes. 12 villages were unregistered as snowfall made them inaccessible, but the inhabitants of these abandoned villages were previously all Albanian. Therefore, the number of houses in regards to the villages only accounts for 119 villages. It is estimated that around 11,437 Albanians left their homes in 119 villages in the Prokuplje district with the arrival of the Serbian army.

Modern Serbia and Yugoslavia (1877-)
In 1877, the entire Toplica region was captured from the Ottomans by Serbian forces, with Prokuplje changing hands on 19 December 1877. The Berlin Congress of 1878 recognised the city and the wider area as part of Serbia.

From 1929 to 1941, Prokuplje was part of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During the First and Second World War Prokuplje was completely destroyed, but in the post-war period it became an industrial town.

In June 2018, Prokuplje gained the status of a city, along with Bor.

Demographics
According to the official census done in 2011, the city of Prokuplje has 44,419 inhabitants. A total of 61.5% of its population is living in urban areas. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 38,291 inhabitants. Prokuplje has 14,814 households with 3,00 members on average, while the number of homes is 22,898.

Religion structure in Prokuplje is predominantly Serbian Orthodox (41,494), with minorities like Muslims (289), Atheists (122), Catholics (76) and others. Most of the population speaks Serbian language (41,764).

The composition of population by sex and average age:
 * Male - 22,056 (40.90 years) and
 * Female - 22,363 (43.65 years).

A total of 17,777 citizens (older than 15 years) have secondary education (47.1%), while the 5,002 citizens have higher education (13.3%). Of those with higher education, 2,700 (7.2%) have university education.

Ethnic groups
Most of Prokuplje's population is of Serb ethnicity (92.16%). The ethnic composition of the city:

Economy
Prokuplje has a weak economy, with most of the employed people working in public sector. In 2009, Leoni Wiring Systems Southeast opened a factory in Prokuplje, employing around 1,750 people as of 2013.

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

Twin towns – Sister cities
Prokuplje is twinned with:
 * Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
 * 🇳🇴 Hemnes, Norway
 * 🇫🇷 Montauban, France

title: Prokuplje


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Pan American Games

The Pan American Games (known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. It is the second oldest continental games in the world. The only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. In 2021, the Junior Pan American Games was held for the first time specifically for young athletes. The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.

The most recent event was the XIX Pan American Games, held in Santiago from 20 October to 5 November 2023; the XX Pan American Games will be held in 2027. Since the XV Pan American Games in 2007, host cities are contracted to manage both the Pan American and the Parapan American Games, in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with one another. The Parapan American Games are held immediately following the Pan American Games.

The Pan American Games Movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that are recognized by PASO, and organizing committees for each specific Pan American Games. As the decision-making body, PASO is responsible for choosing the host city for each Pan American Games. The host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter (since PASO is affiliated with the IOC) and rules. The Pan American Games program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is determined by PASO. The celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the flag and torch, and the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Pan American Games in 36 sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively.

Early games
The idea of holding a Pan American Games was first raised at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where Latin American representatives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suggested that a competition among all the countries in the Americas should be created. During the Pan-American Exposition at Dallas in 1937, a limited sports program was staged. These included athletics, boxing and wrestling, among others. This program was considered a success and a meeting of Olympic officials from the Americas was held.

At the first Pan American Sports Congress, held in Buenos Aires in 1940, the participants decided that the first games should be held in Buenos Aires in 1942. The plans had to be postponed because of World War II. A second Pan American Sports Congress held in London during the 1948 Summer Olympics reconfirmed Buenos Aires as the choice of host city for the inaugural games, which were held in 1951. The games began on February 25 of that year, and offered 18 sports. Countries and territories that were part of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Canada did not compete at the first Pan American Games. The second games were held in Mexico City, Mexico. Competitions started on March 12 and included 2,583 athletes from 22 countries, competing in 17 sports. The Pan American Games have been held subsequently every four years.

Recent games
While the inaugural 1951 Games hosted 2,513 participants representing 14 nations, the most recent 2019 Pan American Games involved 6,680 competitors from 41 countries. During the games most athletes and officials are housed in the Pan American Games village. This village is intended to be a self-contained home for all the participants. It is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression.

PASO allows nations to compete that do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organizations demand. As a result, colonies and dependencies are permitted to set up their own National Olympic Committees. This includes territories such as Puerto Rico and Bermuda, which compete as separate nations despite being under the jurisdiction of another power.

Winter Pan American Games
There have been attempts to hold Winter Pan American Games throughout the history of the games, but these have had little success. The organizers of the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires planned to stage winter events later in the year, but dropped the idea due to lack of interest. Another difficulty is that the Americas cover both hemispheres, which creates scheduling issues related to reverse seasons.

Lake Placid, New York tried to organize Winter Games in 1959, but again not enough countries expressed interest. The plans were eventually cancelled.

In 1988, members of PASO voted to hold the first Pan American Winter Games at Las Leñas, Argentina in September 1989. It was further agreed that Winter Games would be held every four years. But lack of snow forced the postponement of the games until 16–22 September 1990, when only eight countries sent 97 athletes to Las Leñas. Of that total, 76 were from just three countries: Argentina, Canada, and the United States. Weather was unseasonably warm and again there was little snow, so only three Alpine Skiing events were staged: the Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super G. The United States and Canada won all 18 medals between them.

PASO awarded the second Pan American Winter Games to Santiago, Chile for 1993. The United States warned that it would not take part unless a full schedule of events was held. The Santiago organizing committee eventually gave up on planning the Games after the United States Olympic Committee declined to participate, and the idea has not been revived since.

Junior Pan American Games
On 16 January 2019 PASO announced the creation of the Junior Pan American Games. This event, inspired by the Youth Olympic Games, is exclusively for athletes who are under 21 years of age, with fewer requirements on infrastructure and cost.

For the first edition of the games, Panam Sports accepted candidate cities until 31 January. Cali, Colombia; Santa Ana, El Salvador; and Monterrey, Mexico were accepted as candidate cities. Cali was chosen as the host city at the Executive Committee in San José, Costa Rica on 27 March 2019.

Panam Sports chose Asunción, Paraguay as the host for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games. Asunción received 32 out of 48 votes, while Santa Marta, Colombia received the remaining 16 votes.

Pan American Sports Organization
The Pan American Games Movement encompasses a number of national and international sporting organizations and federations, recognized media partners, athletes, officials, judges, and every other person and institution that agrees to abide by the rules of the Olympic Charter (which is the same as PASO's charter). As the umbrella organization of the Olympic Movement, PASO is responsible for selecting the host city, overseeing the planning of the Pan American Games, updating and approving the sports program, and negotiating sponsorship and broadcasting rights.

The Pan American Games Movement is made of three major elements:
 * International Federations (IFs) are the governing bodies that supervise a sport at an international level. For example, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is the IF for football (soccer), and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body for volleyball. There are currently 36 IFs in the Pan American Games Movement, representing each of the Pan American Games sports.
 * National Olympic Committees (NOCs) represent and regulate the Pan American Games movement within each country. For example, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is the NOC of the United States. There are currently 41 NOCs recognized by PASO.
 * Organizing Committees for the Pan America Games (PAOGs) constitute the temporary committees responsible for the organization of a specific celebration of the Pan American Games. PAOGs are dissolved after each Games, once the final report is delivered to PASO.

Spanish and English are the official languages of the Pan American Games Movement. The other language used at each Pan American Games is the language of the host country. For example: at the 2007 Pan American Games who was held in Brazil, the first language was Brazilian Portuguese. Every proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these three languages or the main two depending on whether the host country is an English or Spanish speaking country.

Symbols

The Pan American Games Movement uses symbols to represent the ideals embodied in the Pan American Games charter. The Pan American Sports Organization flag displays the PASO logo on a white background. To highlight the close association between the International Olympic Committee and the Pan Am Games, the Olympic Rings were added to the flag in 1988. The flag has been hoisted during each celebration of the Games. Due to an administrative issue, the flag was hoisted while the Olympic Hymn was played until the 2007 Games. In 2011 Games, the new anthem was played for the first time. The anthem itself was chosen in 2007 and was adopted in 2008.

Similar to the Olympic flame, the Pan American Games flame is lit well before the Games are to commence. The flame was lit for the first games in Olympia, Greece. For subsequent games, the torch has been lit during the simulation of the Aztec new fire ceremony held during the Mezoamerican period, the ceremonies here held first in the Cerro de la Estrella National Park in Mexico City and later they moved the ceremony to the Pyramid of the Sun located in Teotihuacan Pyramids Complex. The only exception was for the São Paulo games in 1963, when the torch was lit in Brasília by the indigenous Guaraní people and two ways were held as the country also hosted the 1963 Summer Universiade in Porto Alegre. An Aztec older then lights the torch of the first relay bearer, thus initiating the Pan American torch relay that will carry the flame to the host city's main stadium, where it plays an important role in the opening ceremony. Since 2011, the flame is required to be held during the games in the stadium which will host the athletics competition. If the Opening ceremony and athletics competition will be held in different stadiums, the flame will be required to move from one stadium to the other. Exceptions occurred in the 1987, 1999, 2007 and 2015 Games when they have only one cauldron. In some cases the flame burn in a cauldron placed outside the main stadium.

The Pan American Games mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1979 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has played an important part on the Games identity and promotion. The mascot of the most recent Pan American Games, in Santiago de Chile, was Fiu, a seven color rush tyrant.

List of Games mascots:

 * San Juan 1979: Coqui (frog)
 * Caracas 1983: Santiaguito (lion)
 * Indianapolis 1987: Amigo (green parrot)
 * Havana 1991: Tocopan (bird)
 * Mar del Plata 1995: Lobi (sea lion)
 * Winnipeg 1999: Duck and Lorita (ducks)
 * Santo Domingo 2003: Tito (manatee)
 * Rio de Janeiro 2007: Cauê (sun)
 * Guadalajara 2011: Huichi (deer), Gavo (agave plant) and Leo (lion)
 * Toronto 2015: Pachi (porcupine)
 * Lima 2019: Milco (statue)
 * Santiago 2023: Fiu (Many-colored rush tyrant)

Opening
As mandated by the Olympic Charter, various elements frame the opening ceremony of the Pan American Games. The ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. Since 2007, the nations parade is held immediately afterwards, with the athletes grouped by nation. Argentina is traditionally the first nation to enter in order to honor the origins of the Pan American Games, similarly to how Greece enters first in the Olympic Games as the originator. Nations usually then enter the stadium alphabetically according to the host country's or city's official language, with the host country's athletes being the last to enter. During the 1995 Pan American Games, which was hosted in Mar del Plata, Argentina, the Argentine flag entered the stadium first, while the country's delegation entered last (similarly to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece) and all delegations sit in reserved areas in the stands of the main stadium. The speeches are given, formally opening the Games; the PANAM Sports Flag and Olympic Flag are raised and the oaths taken immediately afterwards. The host nation then presents artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theater representative of its culture and history. The artistic presentations have grown in scale and complexity as successive hosts attempt to provide a ceremony that outlasts its predecessor's in terms of memorability. The opening ceremony of the 2011 Games held in Guadalajara, Mexico, reportedly cost $20 million, with much of the cost incurred in the artistic segment. Finally, the Pan American torch is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier—often a well-known and successful athlete from the host nation—who lights the Pan American Games flame in the stadium's cauldron.

Closing
The closing ceremony of the Pan American Games takes place after all sporting events have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction.

Three flags are hoisted while the corresponding national anthems are played: the flags of the current host country and of the country hosting the next Pan American Games, together with the PASO flag. The president of the organizing committee and the president of PASO make their closing speeches, the Games are officially closed, and the Pan American family is invited to participate at the next Games. The Pan American flame is then extinguished. In what is known as the Antwerp Ceremony, the highest authority of the city that organized the Games transfers a special Pan American Games flag to the president of PASO, who then passes it on to the current highest authority of the city hosting the next Games. After these compulsory elements, the next host nation briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theater representative of its culture. The closing ceremony may include a fifteen-minute presentation from the next host city.

Medal presentation

At the conclusion of each event, medals are ceremonially presented by an IOC or PASO member to the first, second and third-place finishers. The medal winners stand on a three-tiered podium while receiving their medals. After the medals are presented, the national flags of the three medalists are raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist's country plays. Volunteering citizens of the host country act as hosts during the medal ceremonies: they aid the officials who present the medals and act as flag-bearers. For each event, the respective medal ceremony is held, at most, one day after the event's final. When athletics was scheduled for the last days, the men's marathon is run on the last day of the games, and the award ceremony is held before or during the closing ceremony.

Champions and medalists
The athletes or teams who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The winners receive gold medals, while the runners-up receive silver medals and the third-place athletes are awarded bronze medals. In events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing), third place might not be determined and both semifinal losers receive bronze medals. PASO does not keep statistics of medals won, but National Olympic Committees and the media record medal statistics as a measure of success.

The top ten nations all time at the Pan American Games (minus medals won at the Winter Pan American Games):

List of Pan American Games
The Pan American Games have been hosted by 17 cities in 11 countries. Mexico and Canada have hosted three Pan American Games each, more than any other nation. Among cities, only Winnipeg and Mexico City have played host to the Pan American Games more than once, each hosting twice.

The host city for a Pan American Games is usually chosen six years ahead of their celebration. The selection process is in two phases that span a two-year period. The prospective host city applies to its country's Olympic Committee; if more than one city from the same country submits a proposal to its NOC, the national committee typically holds an internal selection, since only one city per NOC can be presented to the Pan American Sports Organization for consideration. Once the deadline for submission of proposals by the NOCs is reached, the first phase (Application) begins with the applicant cities asked to complete a questionnaire regarding several key criteria related to the organization of the Pan American Games. In this form, the applicants must give assurances that they will comply with the Olympic Charter and with any other regulations established by PASO's Executive Committee. The evaluation of the completed questionnaires by a specialized group provides PASO with an overview of each applicant's project and their potential to host the Games. On the basis of this technical evaluation, PASO's Executive Board selects the applicants that will proceed to the candidature stage.

Once the candidate cities are selected, they must submit to PASO a bigger and more detailed presentation of their project as part of a candidature file. Each city is thoroughly analyzed by an evaluation commission. This commission will visit the candidate cities, interviewing local officials and inspecting prospective venue sites, and submit a report on its findings one month before the PASO's final decision. During the interview process the candidate city must guarantee that it will be able to fund the Games. After the work of the evaluation commission, a list of candidates is presented to the General Session of PASO, which is assembled in a country that must not have a candidate city in the running. The members of PASO gathered in the Session have the final vote on the host city. Once elected, the host city bid committee (together with the NOC of the respective country) signs a Host City Contract with PASO, officially becoming a Pan American Games host nation and host city.

Participating nations
As of the 2023 edition, 41 nations (35 countries and 6 territories) whose National Olympic Committee is recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization compete at the Pan American Games.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Pan American Games


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Ruma

Ruma (Рума; Árpatarló) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the town has a population of 30,076, while the municipality has a population of 54,339.

History
Traces of organized human life on the territory of Ruma municipality date back as far as prehistory. The most important archaeological locality in the municipality is Bronze Age Gomolava near Hrtkovci, with two exclusive tombs of Bosut culture dating to the 9th century BC and 3000BC Vučedol culture pottery. The first known inhabitants of this area were various peoples of Illyrian and Celtic origin, such as the Amantini, Breuci, Scordisci, etc. During the Roman rule, local inhabitants lost their ethnic character and adopted Roman culture. There were no larger Roman settlements on the territory of Ruma, but a certain number of agricultural estates known as "villae rusticae" were located there.

Migrations of Huns, Germanic peoples, Avars and Slavs destroyed Roman culture in this area. During the following centuries, the region was ruled by Frankish Empire, Bulgarian Empire, Byzantine Empire and Kingdom of Hungary.

The settlement named Ruma was first mentioned in an Ottoman defter from 1566/7. In that period Ruma was a village inhabited by Serbs, with 49 houses, a church and three priests.

From 1718, Ruma was under administration of the Habsburg monarchy. In 1746, the town of Ruma was founded near the original village of Ruma. The first inhabitants of the town were Serbs, who came from neighboring settlements, as well as Germans, who came from Germany. In the beginning of the 19th century, Croats and Hungarians settled there as well. In 1807, a large rebellion of the Syrmian peasants known as the Tican's Rebellion started on the territory of Ruma, with its center in the village of Voganj. During the 1848-1849 revolution, Ruma was one of the important centers of the Serbian national movement in Syrmia.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Ruma was a district capital in the Syrmia County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. According to the 1910 census, the population of the Ruma municipality was 49,138 inhabitants, of whom 22,956 spoke Serbian, 15,529 German, 5,746 Hungarian, and 3,730 Croatian.

After the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy, on November 24, 1918, the Assembly of Syrmia in Ruma proclaimed the unification of Syrmia with the Kingdom of Serbia. In 1933, Ruma officially gained the status of a city.

When World War II began, Ruma was one of the centers of German national minority in Vojvodina. In 1942, during the Axis occupation of Syrmia, a unit of the Third Reich's Wehrmacht, known as the Volunteer Company Ruma ES der DM, was formed from local Volksdeutsche volunteers. A large number of non-German citizens of Ruma participated in the anti-fascist struggle against Axis occupation. In 1944, as a consequence of the war, most members of the German ethnic minority left the town, escaping from Yugoslav partisans and Soviet Red Army. Around 1,000 of them remained when the partisans took the town. Many of them were shot in November 1944, while survivors were taken to the Svilara concentration camp in Sremska Mitrovica. After the war, colonists from various parts of the former Yugoslavia settled this area. During the 1990s, about 10,000 refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo settled in Ruma as well. In 1949 the Union of Pilots of Yugoslavia (Vazduhoplovni Savez Jugoslavije) opened a pilot school, a school for parachute instructors and a school of aircraft modelling in Ruma, all of which were funded by the Airforces of Yugoslavia. This led to an impressive International air show held in the center of the town in 1950.

Inhabited places
The Ruma municipality comprises the town of Ruma and the following villages:

 * Buđanovci
 * Vitojevci
 * Voganj
 * Grabovci
 * Dobrinci
 * Donji Petrovci
 * Žarkovac
 * Klenak
 * Kraljevci
 * Mali Radinci
 * Nikinci
 * Pavlovci
 * Platičevo
 * Putinci
 * Stejanovci
 * Hrtkovci

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Ruma has 54,339 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups
The municipality of Ruma has many ethnic groups, with Serbs constituting a majority in all settlements. The ethnic composition of the municipality of Ruma:

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

Notable citizens

 * Aleksandar Berček, actor
 * Miloš Bosančić, Serbian footballer
 * Brana Crnčević, writer
 * Stanija Dobrojević, glamour model and TV personality
 * Teodor Filipović (Boža Grujović), first secretary of "Praviteljstvujušči sovjet" in Karađorđe's Serbia
 * Stjepko Gut, jazz musician
 * Paško Rakić, neuroscientist
 * Atanasije Stojković, scientist and writer
 * Dragan Šarac, former Serbian footballer
 * Alois Weiss, executioner
 * Rajka Vali, singer
 * Danilo Pantić, Serbian football player
 * Vjekoslav Servatzy, Croatian Ustaše military officer, war criminal

Sister cities

 * 🇷🇺 Arzamas, Russia
 * 🇩🇪 Bersenbrück, Germany

title: Ruma


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Senta

Senta (Сента, ; Hungarian: Zenta, ; Romanian: Zenta) is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisa river in the geographical region of Bačka. The town has a population of 18,704, whilst the Senta municipality has 23,316 inhabitants (2011 census).

History
Archaeological finds indicate that the area around the modern settlement was populated from the prehistoric times. Neolithic and eneolithic societies settled in the vicinity of modern Senta thousands of years ago leaving credible traces of their presence. A Neolithic Tiszapolgár–Bodrogkeresztúr culture necropolis was found in Senta. The first historic population that might have lived in the area were most likely the Agathyrsi (6th century BC). With certainty we can claim that the inhabitants of the early "Senta" in the 6th century AD were Sarmatians, Slavs alike and Avars. Hungarian people invaded the area during the great breakthrough of the Magyars in the 9th century AD.

According to historic records, the town was mentioned first in 1216 under the name Szintarev. In this time, it was under administration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The entire area was sacked by Mongols in 1241/42. After initial salvation, Senta saw more than two centuries of prosperity. Initially, the town was part of Bodrog county, and later part of the Csongrád County. Records also indicate that from the year 1440 an area south of Senta called Peser was under the control of the Serbian despots. In the second half of the 15th century there occurred a brief conflict, a small war of sorts, with the rivaling community of Szeged. Nevertheless, in the year 1506 Senta became a royal free city, granted that by the Czech–Hungarian King Vladislav II Jagellion. By that time Senta had a fort, a harbour and a catholic monastery. The peasant rebellions of 1514 did not include Senta in the wake of destruction. Although still under administration of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1525 there was an autonomous Serb militia stationed in the fort. Autonomous in terms of command since on the list of officers one can clearly note that Serb units had their own commanding officers, most notably Mihailo Konjović and Stevan Brančić. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526 Senta was no longer under administration of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the brief period of the reign of Serb Emperor Jovan Nenad, Senta was part of Jovan Nenad's state and was a refuge for Serb forces. One may clearly acknowledge this due to the fact that after being seriously wounded in Szeged, Jovan Nenad and his guards retreated towards Senta, only to be intercepted by Hungarian forces and murdered in the village of Tornjoš. After Jovan Nenad was murdered and his state collapsed, Senta was again placed under administration of the Kingdom of Hungary, until it came under full Ottoman control in 1542. During Ottoman conquest, local Hungarian population left this area, which was then populated by Serbs who came from other parts of the Ottoman Empire.

During the second half of the 16th century and most of the 17th century Senta was under administration of the Ottoman Empire and the town and area were part of the Sanjak of Segedin. However, Ottomans only operated a garrison in the fort, while the population of settlement was Serb. The reputed traveler, Evliya Çelebi, visited Senta during his expeditions, and noted that it is a small place, quiet and calm with a fort, a mosque and a village with enough services to maintain itself. On the 15. October 1686 a skirmish between local Serb insurgence under Habsburg command and a smaller Ottoman force occurred. The event is known as the First Battle of Senta. From the year 1686 to the more commonly known Battle of Senta in 1697 the town and its surroundings were no longer under Ottoman control, but at the same time were neither controlled by the Habsburgs.

On 11 September 1697 Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the Ottoman army in the Battle of Senta, which was fought at this location, and after the Treaty of Karlovci in 1699, the town was included into Habsburg monarchy as part of the Tisza–Maros section of the Military Frontier. Amongst those involved in the battle was skilled Serb officer, Captain and later Colonel Jovan Popović Tekelija, who after the conflict took command over part of the Frontier. During this period Senta was mainly populated by Serbs and had a small Orthodox church. It was well fortified and protected by organized units of Serb militia called Frontiersmen. After the abolishment of this part of the Frontier in 1751, Senta was included into District of Theiss, which was part of the Bács-Bodrog County of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Many of the Serbs that lived in the town, and that now considered themselves humiliated by being reduced from soldiers to farmers, emigrated either to other parts of the Habsburg monarchy where Military Frontier was still needed either to Russia (notably to New Serbia and Slavo-Serbia). One of the settlements in New Serbia was also named Senta by the Serb colonists.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Hungarians, Slovaks, Germans, and Jews settled in the town. In 1848–1849 revolution, the town was alternately controlled by the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and forces of the Serbian Vojvodina. From 1849 to 1860, it was part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, a separate Austrian crown land. After abolishment of the voivodeship in 1860, Senta was again included into Bács-Bodrog County. In 1910, the population of the town numbered 29,666 inhabitants of whom 27,221 (91.8%) spoke Hungarian, 2,020 (6.8%) spoke Serbian, and 425 (1.4%) spoke other languages.

Serbs started to settle in the town in larger number again after the First World War, when Senta became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia) in 1918. From 1918 to 1922, the town was part of Novi Sad County, from 1922 to 1929 part of Belgrade Oblast, and from 1929 to 1941 part of Danube Banovina. From 1941 to 1944, Senta was occupied by the Axis troops and was attached to Horthy's Hungary. After the war, in 1944, Senta became part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina within new socialist Yugoslavia. From 1945 Vojvodina was part of the People's Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia.

Inhabited places
Senta municipality includes the town of Senta and 4 villages. The villages are (Hungarian names are in italics):
 * Gornji Breg (Felsőhegy)
 * Bogaraš (Bogaras)
 * Tornjoš (Tornyos)
 * Kevi (Kevi)

Climate
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

Demographics
According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Senta has a population of 23,316 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups
All settlements in the municipality have Hungarian ethnic majorities.

The ethnic composition of the municipality according to the census of 2011:

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

Notable citizens
Senta is the birthplace of many renowned people, including:
 * Szilárd Mezei, composer
 * Michael Fekete, mathematician
 * Matija Bećković, writer and poet, member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
 * Jovan Đorđević, cultural benefactor, he is famous for writing the lyrics to the Serbian National anthem Bože pravde
 * Bernat Klein, textile designer
 * Árpád Sterbik, Serbian-Spanish handball goalkeeper, World champion
 * Milorad Krivokapić, Serbian-Hungarian handball player
 * Jovan Muškatirović, luminary
 * Stevan Sremac, realist and comedy writer
 * Bojan Pajtić, politician, President of the Government of Vojvodina
 * Attila Juhász, politician
 * Jožef Tertei, wrestler, European champion and Olympic bronze medalist
 * Viktor Nemeš, wrestler, World champion
 * Kristijan Fris, wrestler, European champion
 * Čaba Silađi, swimmer, European championships bronze medalist
 * Nemanja Nikolić, Hungarian football player
 * Zsombor Kerekes, Hungarian football player
 * Silvija Erdelji, table tennis player, European championships bronze medalist
 * Laslo Djere, tennis player

Twin towns - sister cities
Senta is twinned with:

 * 🇷🇴 Cristuru Secuiesc, Romania
 * 🇭🇺 Csorvás, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Dabas, Hungary
 * 🇸🇰 Dunajská Streda, Slovakia
 * 🇭🇺 Dunaszentgyörgy, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Gödöllő, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Kaszaper, Hungary
 * 🇸🇮 Kranj, Slovenia
 * 🇷🇸 Medijana (Niš), Serbia
 * 🇺🇦 Mukachevo, Ukraine
 * 🇭🇺 Tiszafüred, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Törökszentmiklós, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Várkerület (Budapest), Hungary

title: Senta


text:
Smederevo

Smederevo (Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about 45 km downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According to the 2022 census, the city has a population of 59,261, with 97,930 people living in its administrative area.

Its history starts in the 1st century BC, after the conquest of the Roman Empire, when there existed a settlement by the name of Vinceia. The modern city traces its roots back to the Late Middle Ages when it was the capital (1430–39, and 1444–59) of the last independent Serbian state before Ottoman conquest.

Smederevo is said to be the city of iron (гвожђе / gvožđe) and grapes (грожђе / grožđe).

Names
In Serbian, the city is known as Smederevo (Смедерево), in Latin, Italian, Romanian and Greek as Semendria, in Hungarian as Szendrő or Vég-Szendrő, in Turkish as Semendire.

The name of Smederevo was first recorded in the Charter of the Byzantine Emperor Basil II from 1019, in the part related to the Eparchy of Braničevo (a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Ochrid. Another written record is found in the Charter of Duke Lazar of Serbia from 1381, by which he bestowed the Monastery of Ravanica and villages and properties 'to the Great Bogosav with the commune and heritage'’. The Latin-Italian name also occurs in Belogradum et Semendria and Belgrado e Semendria, two of the short-lived 20th-century synonyms of the Latin titular bishopric of Belgrade, which was suppressed in 1948 in favor of the residential Latin Archdiocese of Belgrade (Beograd) and 'newly' established titular bishopric of Alba Marittima.

Coat of arms
Smederevo Coat of Arms uses two shades of blue, which deviates from the heraldic principles (only one shade of every color, contrasting those). Also, the bar with the year 1430 is placed over the shield. Emblem elements are six white discs arranged 3 + 2 + 1, which represents grapes, Smederevo Fortress, dark blue and white horizontal lines (representing the Danube).

Early
During the 7th millennium BC, the Starčevo culture thrived for millennia, followed by the 6th millennium BC Vinča culture which also flourished in the region. The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Dacians and Thracians emerged in the area during the 2nd millennium BC, with the Celtic Scordisci raiding the Balkans in the 3rd century BC.

In the 1st century BC, the Roman Empire conquered Vinceia. Subsequently, it was incorporated into Moesia, later becoming part of Moesia Superior. During the administrative reforms of Diocletian (244–311), it was included in the Diocese of Moesia, and later in the Diocese of Dacia. Vinceia held significance as a principal town of Moesia Superior, situated near the confluence of the Margus and Brongus rivers.

Middle Ages
The modern founder of the city was the Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković in the 15th century, who built Smederevo Fortress in 1430 as the new Serbian capital. Smederevo was the residence of the Branković house and the capital of the Serbian Despotate from 1430 until 1439, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire after a siege lasting two months.

Sanjak of Smederevo
In 1444, in accordance with the terms of the Peace of Szeged between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire the Sultan returned Smederevo to Đurađ Branković, who was allied to John Hunyadi. On 22 August 1444 the Serb prince peacefully took possession of the evacuated town. When Hunyadi broke the peace treaty, Đurađ Branković remained neutral. Serbia became a battleground between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottomans, and the angry Branković captured Hunyadi after his defeat at the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448. Hunyadi was imprisoned in Smederevo fortress for a short time.

In 1454 Sultan Mehmed II besieged Smederevo and devastated Serbia. The town was liberated by Hunyadi. In 1459 Smederevo was again captured by the Ottomans after the death of Branković. The town became a Turkish border-fortress, and played an important part in Ottoman–Hungarian Wars until 1526. Due to its strategic location, Smederevo was gradually rebuilt and enlarged. For a long period, the town was the capital of the Sanjak of Smederevo.

In autumn 1476, a joint army of Hungarians and Serbs tried to capture the fortress from the Ottomans. They built three wooden counter-fortresses, but after months of siege, Sultan Mehmed II himself came to drive them away. After fierce fighting the Hungarians agreed to withdraw. In 1494 Pál Kinizsi tried to capture Smederevo from the Ottomans. In 1512 John Zápolya unsuccessfully laid siege to the town.

Modern
During the First Serbian Uprising in 1806, the city became the temporary capital of Serbia, as well as the seat of the Praviteljstvujušči sovjet, a government headed by Dositej Obradović. The first basic school was founded in 1806. During World War II, the city was occupied by German forces, who stored ammunition in the fortress. On 5 June 1941, a catastrophic explosion severely damaged the fortress, killing nearly 2,000 residents.

After World War II, Smederevo became an industrial and cultural center of Podunavlje District. Under the overall industrial development of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the city received a boost in infrastructure. Due to the ideal geographical position of Smederevo, socialist government supported building of roads, apartment buildings and tens of factories.

Some of the most notable factories built and renewed in period between 1950s until the end of 1980s were Zelvoz (Heroj Srba during the period of SFRJ), renewed in 1966. and a new steel plant built on outskirts of Smederevo at that time, Sartid (MKS during the period of SFRJ) which was completely operational in 1971.

Settlements
Aside the city of Smederevo, the administrative area includes the following 27 settlements (number of population according to 2022 census in brackets ):

 * Badljevica (315)
 * Binovac (357)
 * Dobri Do (810)
 * Drugovac (1,302)
 * Kolari (1,014)
 * Kulič (229)
 * Landol (1,210)
 * Lipe (2,727)
 * Lugavčina (2,516)
 * Lunjevac (428)
 * Mala Krsna (1,550)
 * Malo Orašje (816)
 * Mihajlovac (2,248)
 * Osipaonica (2,873)
 * Petrijevo (1,363)
 * Radinac (4,714)
 * Ralja (1,114)
 * Šalinac (501)
 * Saraorci (1,704)
 * Seone (880)
 * Skobalj (1,397)
 * Suvodol (690)
 * Udovice (1,764)
 * Vodanj (1,085)
 * Vranovo (2,456)
 * Vrbovac (855)
 * Vučak (1,751)

Ethnic groups
The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy
Smederevo has a recent history of heavy industry and manufacturing, which is a result of intense industrialization of the region during the 1950s-1960s era. Previously, this entire geographical region had a heavy focus on agricultural production.

The city is home to the only operating steel mill in the country - Železara Smederevo, previously known as Sartid, which is situated in the suburb of Radinac. This was privatized and sold to U.S. Steel in 2003 for $33 million. Following the global economic crisis, U.S. Steel sold the plant to the government of Serbia for a symbolic $1 to avoid closing the plant. The plant was renamed Železara Smederevo and at the time employed 5,400 workers. In 2016, the Serbian government managed to strike a deal with a Chinese conglomerate Hesteel Group, which purchased the effective assets for $46 million.

The "Milan Blagojević" home appliance factory is the second largest industry company in the city. Smederevo is also an agricultural area, with significant production of fruit and vines. However, the large agricultural combine "Godomin" has been in financial difficulty since the 1990s and is almost defunct. The grape variety known as Smederevka is named after the city. The "Ishrana" factory is an important supplier of bakery products in northern and eastern Serbia.

A U.S.-Dutch consortium, Comico Oil, planned to build a $250 million oil refinery in the industrial zone of the city in 2012. However, the consortium lost its permit to build the refinery after it failed to meet payment deadlines for the land lease a year later.

As of September 2017, Smederevo has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia.

Transportation
The river traffic infrastructure of the city of Smederevo consists of Danube waterway, old port, marina, new port, terminal for liquid Naftna Industrija Srbije loads, as well as smaller piers (gravel pits) which are located along the bank in the industrial zone. The port is registered for international traffic and is located in the very center of the city of Smederevo.

It has reloading capacities which can realize 1.5 million freight tons a year. By 2019, the Government of Serbia invested 9.5 million euros for new railway construction built for the needs of Port of Smederevo. It was also announced that starting in 2020, the Government of Serbia plans to invest 93 million euros for the construction of new Port Terminal.

Tourism
Among the main tourist attractions in the city are the Smederevo Fortress and the Villa Zlatni Breg.

There is an old white mulberry tree in the center of Smederevo. Called Karađorđev Dud ("Karađorđe's Mulberry"), it is estimated to be over 300 years old. Though there are no historical sources to specifically confirm that, it is believed that under this tree dizdar Muharem Guša, Ottoman commander of the fortress, handed over the keys to the city to Karađorđe on 8 November 1805, after the city was liberated during the First Serbian Uprising. In May 2018 the tree was declared a natural monument of the III category, as the first "living" monument in Smederevo. The three is supported by metallic pipes, but there is an initiative that two sculptures, shaped like a male and female hand, should be installed instead.

Demographics
In the 2011 census, there was 108,209 residents in the city administrative area, of which 101,908 were Serbs and 2,369 were Romani.

Twin towns
Smederevo is twinned with:
 * 🇧🇦 Pale, Bosnia Herzegovina
 * Volos, Greece
 * 🇨🇳 Tangshan, China

title: Smederevo


text:
List of Chobits characters

This is a list of the main characters from the manga and anime series Chobits by Clamp. The series tells the story of Hideki Motosuwa, who finds an abandoned persocom, or personal computer with human form, that he names Chi after the only word she initially can speak. As the series progresses, together they explore the mysteries of Chi's origin and questions about the relationships between humans and persocoms.

Hideki Motosuwa

Hideki Motosuwa (本須和 秀樹) is a 19-year-old (18 in the anime) repeat student (ronin) attempting to get into a university by studying at Seki cram school, which his parents have sent him to. They have also severed his allowance, which means he has to work at Yorokonde (My Pleasure), an izakaya, to make ends meet. One night, while walking home from a convenience store, he finds a persocom lying in the trash outside his apartment building. He takes her home, and after much searching, switches her on and finds that the only word she can utter is "Chi". Because of this, he gives her the name "Chi" and takes her into his care, doing his best to protect and teach her.

Hideki could best be described as "a fish out of water." Living in the country his entire life, Hideki has trouble adjusting to his new life in Tokyo. Due to this, he is prone to outbursts of confusion and frustration. Also, because of the time spent by himself on his family's farm (which in the anime is revealed to be in Hokkaidō), Hideki has a habit of thinking out loud and talking to himself. This leads to some very entertaining moments between himself and the women he meets. Like many young men, Hideki has an active libido, possessing many pornographic magazines which he refers to as "okazu" ("side dish"). (In the English manga translation, Chi refers to one of the magazines as a "tasty side dish"; in the anime's American translation, Chi refers to these magazines as "Hideki's yummies"). When he moves to Tokyo, Hideki desires a persocom so that he can finally surf the internet for pornography. It should be stated however that he isn't the only character who thinks this way. In fact Shinbo himself proudly admits that Plum (Sumomo in the anime) is also equipped to perform these tasks when he first meets Hideki.

Despite his shortcomings and occasional moments of awkwardness with the bustling environment of Tokyo, Hideki is a genuinely kind and honest person, whose habit of thinking of others' well-being before his own can cause many problems. When a friend is in trouble, especially Chi, he is always there to help. Although many characters in the series often tease him for being a "nice guy", mostly by saying that's why he's a virgin, they turn to him for advice with their problems, knowing he will always hear them out and do his best to assist them.

In an extra 27th episode included on the Chobits anime DVD, it is shown that Hideki is finally admitted to college after studying for a year at the prep school.

Chi

Chi (ちぃ) is a "chobit," a technologically advanced persocom rumored to possess true sapience, unlike other persocoms. She is found by Hideki one night in the trash, as he makes his way home from work. Her on-off switch is located in an unusual location. CLAMP has stated that this was done to create a major plot point. Upon Hideki finding the switch and turning her on, she is only able to say the word "chi," remembers nothing of her past life, and is unable to perform even simple tasks. Because of this, Hideki names her Chi and undertakes teaching her how to function. Because her system cannot be scanned by other persocoms, Minoru Kokubunji suggests she may be one of the legendary chobits. Through the course of the series, Chi learns basic skills, and eventually takes a job to help support Hideki.

As Chi and Hideki learn more about her, Chi begins to have visions of another persocom who is identical to herself. Hideki eventually learns that this is Freya, her twin, and that Chi was originally called Elda; after Freya fell in love and broke her heart, her memories were downloaded into Chi, before her system stopped. While Ms. Hibiya was telling Hideki about Chi's earlier life Freya was telling a simpler, less detailed, version of the same story to Chi.

During the series, Chi reads a series of children's picture books, A City with No People, about a character searching for the "person just for me," which were written pseudonymously by Chitose Hibiya as a way of reconnecting Chi to her past self as Elda, and to guide Chi's search for love. At the end of the series, Hideki finally admits that he loves Chi, and is her special person.

Chitose Hibiya

Chitose Hibiya (日比谷 千歳) is the landlady at the apartment where Hideki is staying. In the manga, she was previously an employee of Piffle Princess Enterprises and participated in the development of Angels and later, persocoms. She was married to the president of the company, the late Ichiro Mihara (a character from CLAMP's shared universe work Angelic Layer ), who used the data gathered from the Angelic Layer research to create the Chobits to be Chitose's children, because she was unable to have children of her own. She also authors the A City with No People series of books to help Chi find the Person Just for Her.

Hiromu Shinbo

Hiromu Shinbo (新保弘) is Hideki's best friend and is also studying at Seki cram school. In the anime, Shinbo lives in the same apartment complex as Hideki and is his next-door neighbor. Shinbo is usually the first person Hideki turns to for help with persocoms. Shortly after beginning school he finds his teacher Takako Shimizu in a park late at night because she had been unwittingly locked out of her house by her husband, who was too busy with his persocom. He later falls in love and becomes her husband.

Hiroyasu Ueda

Hiroyasu Ueda (植田 弘康) is the owner of Chiroru, a local bakery which Yumi (and in the manga, Hideki) once worked in and which Chi ends up working at. He is 39 years old, although he looks as though he is only in his mid-20s, at one point noting jokingly that he has a "baby face".

He too has suffered a trauma involving persocoms. When he first opened his bakery, he bought a persocom to help with math and accounting, which he admits he is terrible at. He eventually fell in love with this persocom and then married her, but she developed a hard disk fault which resulted in the gradual degradation of her memory, until she remembered almost nothing at all.

Rarely, she would suddenly recall small fragments of memories from her life with Hiroyasu. He could not bring himself to have her repaired because her memories might be lost completely in the process of transferring them to a new hard drive, and he felt she would not be the same person if this happened. Soon, her memory degraded to the point that she could not remember anything for more than a few seconds at a time, and Hiroyasu had to keep a constant watch on her to prevent her from wandering away. One night while walking with his persocom, Hiroyasu, lost in thought, walked into the middle of the street, unaware of an oncoming truck. In a final moment of clarity, his persocom pushed him out of the way and was herself run over. Her last word to Hiroyasu was "Konnichiwa"; the default greeting for a newly activated persocom with no memories.

Hiroyasu and Yumi Oumura were in love in the past, but broke up when Yumi quit her job at the bakery after discovering that the persocom he was previously married to was named "Yumi" and feared she could never live up to the other Yumi. Through the help of Chi and Hideki, he and Yumi resume their relationship.

Minoru Kokubunji (M)

Minoru Kokubunji (国分寺 稔) is a wealthy twelve-year-old genius, whose specialty is persocoms. In particular, he has built a custom persocom named Yuzuki, designed to look like his late sister, and has given her self-teaching software, meaning that she can learn things on her own instead of having to have programs loaded into her as is the case with most persocoms.

For the most part, Minoru is a very reserved and very gentle individual who surrounds himself with persocoms. His curiosity over Chi's origins leads to him becoming one of Hideki Motosuwa's closest friends. Minoru does what he can to help his friends whether it be technological help, such as tracking things down or allowing Hideki to make video phone calls, or advice on relationships with persocoms. Although he is known for being calm and collected most of the time, Minoru's attitude completely changes when Yuzuki is present. Similar to Hideki's behavior toward Chi, Minoru is very protective of Yuzuki and is prone to outbursts whenever she is in trouble. He is also very forgiving, always comforting her on the fact that it is never her fault if something goes wrong.

Minoru is also known as "M" on the bulletin boards, where he is considered one of the leading experts in the field of persocom development. Minoru's late sister is Kaede Saito, a character from Angelic Layer.

Takako Shimizu

Takako Shimizu (清水 多香子) is Hideki and Shinbo's teacher at the Seki cram school. Like Yumi, Shimizu has had a negative experience with persocoms: Her husband bought a persocom, and eventually she became unimportant to him compared to the persocom. He spent more and more time with it until he forgot about his wife completely, locking her out of the house one night because he was so enamored with it. Because of this, Shimizu is no longer able to trust human men. In the end, she returns to the cram school, married to Shinbo.

Yoshiyuki Kojima (Dragonfly)

Known in online circles as "Dragonfly", Yoshiyuki Kojima (小島 良由起) is an ego-driven custom persocom-builder and a man willing to overlook scruples to learn more about building better persocoms. Unlike Minoru Kokubunji, he is more obsessed with persocoms and even kidnaps Chi during the course of the story. He attempts to hack into Chi, using all of his persocoms in a massive parallel processing network. During this time, he makes an ill-advised attempt to sexually molest Chi, and Freya takes over, restraining him with all of the cords attached to her. She then attacks him with a concussion blast, blowing out the windows in his house and knocking him unconscious. Afterwards, he is seen assisting Minoru to help solve the mystery of Chi and the Chobits. He mentions that Chi "is too interesting a safe not to try and crack!" Because of these events, Hideki feels uncomfortable in his presence.

Yoshiyuki is the original owner of Kotoko.

Yumi Omura

Yumi Omura (大村 裕美) is a seventeen-year-old girl who works at the Japanese pub called My Pleasure alongside Hideki. In the anime, she is the daughter of the club's owner, but in the manga, she is only an employee. It is initially implied that Yumi is interested in a relationship with Hideki, but as the series progresses it is revealed that she initially approached him because he also worked at My Pleasure, and that she thinks of him as an older brother. Throughout most of the series Yumi has an inferiority complex toward persocoms, and becomes upset at any mention of a human-sized persocom. However, she does carry a small persocom, shaped like a rabbit, on a key chain that can only do basic functions. In the manga she says that she has a larger persocom, also shaped like a rabbit, at home. In one episode of the anime it is revealed that one of those functions is a cell phone, which is later used by Chi to determine her location.

The reason for her inferiority complex is that while Yumi was working at Chiroru she fell in love with the manager, Hiroyasu Ueda. She gathered the courage to tell him, and found out that he reciprocated her feelings. However, Yumi later discovered that Ueda had previously been married to a persocom that he had named Yumi (see Hiroyasu's entry) and she thought that he would compare her to the persocom Yumi and find her inferior.

However, Hideki eventually manages to persuade Yumi that Hiroyasu wouldn't have started anything if he didn't love Yumi for who she was, and he and Yumi resume their relationship.

Freya

Freya (フレイヤ) was the first Chobit, who was created before Elda by Hibiya's husband, Ichiro Mihara. Freya was created to be Hibiya's daughter, because she was unable to have children of her own. Freya's development was kept secret from Hibiya; she did not know of Freya's existence until she was called down to the lab one day, without explanation. Upon awakening for the very first time, she was given the name Freya by Hibiya.

Freya lived happily with the Mihara couple for a time, until Hibiya noticed that her attitude was becoming increasingly melancholy, with no explanation as to why. At this point, Hibiya asked her husband to build a little sister for Freya, in an attempt to make her happy again. From this request, Elda was created. Freya was happy to have a little sister, and for a time, seemed to be acting normally, although, as Hibiya would later tell Hideki in the anime, "there were still these odd times when she looked as though she was thinking very deeply about something."

Some time after, Freya suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. In the anime, the impetus for this event was witnessing her mother and father flirting with each other in the compound's courtyard. It was only then that Hibiya finally realized the source of Freya's sadness; she had fallen in love with her own father, Mihara. Freya knew that her father still loved his wife, and did not want to disturb their happiness, so she pained her heart with efforts to suppress her feelings. Over time, her pain became so great that she began to malfunction under the strain of her emotional burden. Freya was no longer able to move, and was bedridden from that point on. Toward the end, she could not lift a finger or even shift her focus, and began to suffer from memory loss.

In the anime, Freya never found the courage to tell her father how she truly felt; in the manga, she resigns herself to the fact that because of the damage to her body, all hope is lost regardless of the outcome, and chooses to tell him her true feelings. Eventually Freya's pain became so unbearable, that she chose to self-terminate, rather than continue to exist. Before this could happen, Elda offered to take Freya's heart into her own, so that she would not disappear completely, and so that her memories would be preserved. In the anime, nobody knew that Elda had taken in Freya's heart; conversely, in the manga, both Hibiya and Mihara learned of this only moments after it occurred.

Now that Elda has become Chi, Freya does everything she can to ensure that Chi will find the person just for her. Freya comforts Chi when she is in distress, guides her to understand her feelings for Hideki, and intervenes when she is in danger.

Kotoko

Kotoko (琴子) is a laptop-sized persocom, like Sumomo, but, she told Chi, "I am desktop powerful." She was custom-built by Yoshiyuki and has much higher specifications than Sumomo. Kotoko originally belonged to Yoshiyuki, but following Chi's kidnapping, Hideki and Shinbo force Yoshiyuki to transfer ownership of Kotoko to Hideki so that her memories of Yoshiyuki kidnapping Chi cannot be erased. Kotoko is far more serious than Sumomo, and thinks that everyone in the Motosuwa household is crazy, Sumomo in particular. Kotoko's specialty is research, which twice drives the story forward. Kotoko is also programmed to always tell the truth, no matter what, even when it works to her owner's disadvantage. She is serious and cynical, except when researching something, to the point of being tsundere.

Sumomo

Sumomo (すもも) is a miniature "mobile persocom"—the equivalent of a laptop computer. Wearing an outfit that makes her resemble a genie, she is programmed to be cute and tends to be quite hyperactive, for example leading Hideki in wakeup exercises each morning and dancing when she is in standby mode. Shinbo was the original owner of Sumomo, but left her with Hideki after leaving with Takako. He later transfers Sumomo's registration to Hideki, giving him permanent ownership. At the beginning of the series, Shinbo uses Sumomo in an attempt to analyze Chi, and Sumomo is nearly broken in the process, requiring new main memory, and in the manga, a new video card as well. Once Kotoko joined Hideki, she quickly came to the conclusion that Sumomo was mad, with her nonsensical ways.

Yuzuki

Yuzuki (柚姫) is a custom-built persocom created by Minoru Kokubunji roughly two years before the start of the series. She is very tall with long braids and blue hair. Her main outfit is a maid's uniform and at times outdoor civilian clothing. Yuzuki was created to resemble, physically and mentally, Minoru's late sister, Kaede, who had died from an illness two years earlier and has given her self-teaching software, meaning that she can learn things on her own instead of having to have programs loaded into her as is the case with most persocoms. Yuzuki is programmed with all of the data that Minoru could remember about his sister; what she liked, what she disliked, as well as her habits and behaviors. However, Minoru still realizes that no matter how realistic she may be, she is still only a persocom that is following her programming. Yuzuki also possesses an awareness of her own limitations, although she doesn't share it when conversing with Yumi and Yumi has told of her own feelings of limitation with respect to persocoms.

Yuzuki is shown to have good interaction with other persocoms around her. She is very sweet to Chi when they first met and even helps her learn along the way. To Yuzuki's surprise, Chi even helps her discover her true feelings for Minoru and thanks her for it.

It is shown in the manga that Yuzuki can also be very insecure. She always worries that she is not perfect enough for Minoru, just like how Yumi feels she cannot compare to a persocom.

Yuzuki, like every other persocom, was incapacitated twice in the story when Chi is in danger. After one of those Minoru asks what she experienced while she was incapacitated.

Toward the end of the anime and manga, Yuzuki loses a large portion of Kaede's personality data as a result of trying to hack into Zima and being counter-hacked by Dita. However, Minoru declines to reenter this data, because he has grown to love Yuzuki for who she is; because she is Yuzuki, rather than because she is a replacement for his sister.

Dita

Dita (ディタ) Dita is one of the two persocoms looking for Chi. Her role is to protect Zima both physically and as a pro-active firewall protection program, hacking into any persocom who poses a threat to Zima. In the original manga series she is also a government persocom assigned to protect the nation's databank (Zima), the anime adaptation though drops the government connection. She is observed by Zima in the manga as having a temper (even if her program doesn't recognize it as such). Dita appears to show feelings for Zima, but constantly denies it believing that persocoms cannot or should not experience such feelings. Towards the end of the series, Zima disables Dita when she tries to go after Chi to stop her program from running. Upon awakening asking what happened, she is told by Zima that "this fairytale had a happy ending". The two are last seen holding each other as presumptive lovers after a final small resistance by Dita, who again tries to deny her feelings.

Zima

Zima (ジーマ) is one of two government persocoms who are looking for Chi and is the Japanese government's national data bank which all persocoms are connected to. During the course of the series an attempt is made by Yuzuki to hack into him to gain information concerning Chi. In the anime, Zima remarks that he and Dita were created from the same basic system architecture that Chi is, rendering them immune to her ability to immobilize persocoms. This does not appear to be the case in the manga.

Zima and Dita have been assigned to prevent Chi from executing her final program, as it is believed that the program would destroy the person-recognition abilities of all persocoms. The manga and anime differ on what would cause the final program to execute. It executes in a preliminary way twice during the story when Chi is in danger. Zima, however, believes that this will resolve in a good way and doesn't want to take action against Chi. He believes that if Chi can find her own happy ending, he can have happiness with Dita. He loves Dita but she doesn't understand this because she thinks that persocoms are unable to have anything considered to be true feelings. He lies to Dita about Chi's whereabouts and stalls as long as possible before finally going to stop her. However, upon arriving Zima physically restrains Dita from attacking Chi.

In the anime, Zima is referred to as "The King of Persocoms".

title: List of Chobits characters


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Smederevska Palanka

Smederevska Palanka (Смедеревска Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District and the geographical region of Šumadija. According to the 2011 census, the town has 23,601, while the municipality has 50,284 inhabitants.

History
In the vicinity of the town there are two archaeological sites: Medvednjak, near Grčac, and Staro Selo, near Selevac. They belong to the end of Neolithic and early Eneolithic, or the period 4500-3500 BC, during the developed and ending phase of the Vinča culture when the first evidence of metallurgy appeared. The culture then disappears as the population presumably migrated. Both settlements were large, spreading on 40 to 60 ha. Findings from the later Hallstatt culture were also discovered. The most important artefacts, kept in the People's Museum in Smederevska Palanka, are the anthropomorphic figurines of high artistic and artisan value. One of the most valuable and considered unique is the one called "Woman in labor", due to its contracted position. In total, there are over 1,000 figurines, some complete, some damaged, but it is estimated that at least 3,000 of them are in personal collections.

There are also numerous finds from both Roman and Medieval periods. The most unusual of these finds is the cameo in two-layered onyx of Emperor Constantine I in full battle gear on a horse which was discovered near Kusadak, a village in the Smederevka Palanka municipality.

The town was first mentioned in 1021, in a written document currently preserved in St. Catherine's monastery in Egypt.

On 20 August 1941, 16 Yugoslav Partizans were executed by the axis occupation forces.

Climate
Smederevska Palanka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa). Smederevska Palanka holds the Serbian national record for the highest temperature ever recorded with 44.9 °C, on 24 July 2007.

Settlements
Apart from the town, the municipality of Smederevska Palanka includes the following settlements:

 * Azanja (3946)
 * Bačinac (688)
 * Baničina (941)
 * Bašin (442)
 * Cerovac (1054)
 * Glibovac (2096)
 * Golobok (1988)
 * Grčac (1094)
 * Kusadak (4865)
 * Mala Plana (803)
 * Mramorac (553)
 * Pridvorice (787)
 * Ratari (1766)
 * Selevac (3381)
 * Stojačak (364)
 * Vlaški Do (971)
 * Vodice (881)

Demographics
As of 2011 census, the municipality has 50,284 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups
The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Culture
There are currently three Serbian Orthodox churches in Smederevska Palanka.

The oldest, the church of St. Elijah was built in 1827 and is one of the oldest wooden churches in Serbia. The town's Cathedral Church was built in 1902. The town's newest church, St. Petka, was built in 1997. The town's fourth Serbian orthodox church is under construction. Koporin Monastery, built in 1402 by Serbian prince Stefan Lazarević, lies just outside the town in Velika Plana.

Education
Smederevska Palanka has four elementary schools: Vuk Karadžić, Heroj Radmila Šišković, Heroj Ivan Muker and Olga Milošević. The town has three high schools: Palanka Gymnasium, Goša Technical School, and "Žikica Damnjanović" Chemical and Medical School.

Smederevska Palanka has one local operating television station "Jasenica" and one newspaper "Palanačke" by journalist and writer Dejan Crnomarković.

Events
Annually every June, the town hosts the Best Fest Palanka, a rock festival featuring famous Serbian bands including Bajaga, Riblja čorba, Marčelo, Six pack band, Sunshine rap group and others.

Smederevska Palanka has one of Serbia's oldest annual traditional fairs, the Krstovdanski Vašar which has been held since 1834 when it was introduced by Prince Miloš Obrenović. During the fair, the town is visited by 100,000 to 150,000 tourists from surrounding towns and cities.

Smederevska Palanka hosts the "Motorijada", where thousands of bikers from Serbia and the former Yugoslavia assemble for the event and live concerts in Smederevska Palanka's Kiseljak. The 2011 event featured a famous Yugoslav band, Divlje Jagode.

Tourism
Beside archaeological findings and medieval monasteries, famous touristic spots in Smederevska Palanka include lake Kudreč, the Kiseljak spa complex and Mikulja forest.

Smederevska Palanka has a natural mineral water spring which is said to have been used since Roman times and has been used by the surrounding peoples since at least 1719. On 22 April 1907, the water from the mineral springs was awarded the golden medal for quality at the London 'Balkan Fair'.

According to some researchers, the town's mineral water is the 3rd best in Europe, primarily due to the natural selenium it contains.

Economy
Smederevska Palanka is an important industrial town, primarily due to the influence of manufacturing company Goša FOM which was among the biggest companies in the former Yugoslavia. The company produces trams, train wagons as well as prefabricated steel constructions.

Other industries and businesses based in Smederevska Palanka include "Karađorđe", a company which produces mineral water and juice, "Voćar Palanka" a food manufacturer and fruit supplier as well as "Opeka Palanka", bricks and building material manufacturer.

Additionally, Smederevska Palanka operates an Institute of Agriculture which researches seeds and vegetables.

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

Transportation
Smederevska Palanka lies on A1 motorway, which is part of Pan-European Corridor X. It is also at the route of the Belgrade-Niš railway. The town's railway station was built in 1884.

Notable people
Some of the notable people of Smederevska Palanka are:
 * Stanoje Glavaš, First Serbian Uprising hero
 * Miloje Popović Đak
 * Dejan Crnomarković, writer, poet
 * Josip Broz Tito, statesman, lived in Smederevska Palanka and was employed as a metalworker here
 * Vladimir Rakićević, researcher
 * Živko Pavlović, general
 * Perica Ognjenović, a football player
 * Viborg Koceić, a football player
 * Miroslav Muta Nikolić, basketball player
 * Nino Rešić, singer
 * Zdenko Muf, a football player
 * Radmila Milentijević, former minister
 * Milutin Srećković, professor and writer
 * Pera Todorović, journalist
 * Aranđel Markićević Minister of Justice 1994-1998
 * Mina Milutinović, Miss World Next Top Model 2012
 * Ivan Načković, Russian born, lives in Smederevska Palanka, musician
 * Zoran Todorović Todor, academic painter and professor

International cooperation
Smederevska Palanka is twinned with Škofja Loka in Slovenia. Before the Yugoslav wars, the two towns had a joint art colony Groharjeva kolonija.

After the first World War, one street in the center of Smederevska Palanka was named Francuska, or French street while a street in the French city of Grenoble was named after Palanka as a way of celebrating the friendship between Serbia and France.

Twin towns
Smederevska Palanka is twinned with:
 * 🇧🇦 Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
 * 🇸🇮 Škofja Loka, Slovenia

title: Smederevska Palanka


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Sombor

Sombor (Сомбор, ) is a city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 41,814, while its administrative area (including neighboring villages) has 70,818 inhabitants.

Name and etymology
In Serbian, the city is known as Sombor (Сомбор), in Hungarian as Zombor, in Rusyn as Zombor (Зомбор).

The older Hungarian name for the city was Czoborszentmihály. The name originates from the Czobor family, who were the owners of this area in the 14th century. (The family name came from the Slavic name Cibor.) The Serbian name for the city (Sombor) also came from the family name Czobor, and was first recorded in 1543, although the city was mentioned in historical documents under several more names, such as Samobor, Sambor, Sambir, Sonbor, Sanbur, Zibor, and Zombar.

An unofficial name for the city is Ravangrad (Раванград), which literally means "flat town" in Serbian.

History
The first historical record relating to the city is from 1340. The city was administered by the Kingdom of Hungary until the 16th century, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire. During the establishment of Ottoman authority, the local Hungarian population left the region. As a result, the city became populated mostly by ethnic Serbs. It was called "Sonbor" during Ottoman administration and was a kaza centre in the Sanjak of Segedin at first in Budin Province until 1596, and then in Eğri Province between 1596 and 1687.

In 1665, a well-known traveller, Evliya Çelebi, visited Sombor and wrote: "All the folk (in the city) are not Hungarian, but Wallachian-Christian (Serb). These places are something special; they do not belong to Hungary, but are a part of Bačka and Wallachia. Most of the inhabitants are traders, and all of them wear frontiersmen clothes; they are very polite and brave people." According to Celebi, the city had 200 shops, 14 mosques and about 2,000 houses.

Since 12 September 1687, the city was under Habsburg administration, and was included into the Habsburg Military Frontier. Ottomans attempted to recapture it during the Battle of Zenta on 11 September 1697. However their attack was repulsed. In 1717, the first Orthodox elementary school was opened. Five years later a Roman Catholic elementary school was opened as well. In 1745, Sombor was excluded from the Military Frontier and was included into Bacsensis County. In 1749, Sombor gained royal free city status. In 1786, the city became the seat of Bacsensis-Bodrogiensis County. According to 1786 data, the population of the city numbered 11,420 people, mostly Serbs.

According to the 1843 data, Sombor had 21,086 inhabitants, of whom 11,897 were Orthodox Christians, 9,082 Roman Catholics, 56 Jewish, and 51 Protestants. The main language spoken in the city at that time was Serbian, and the second-largest language was German. In 1848/1849, Sombor was part of the Serbian Vojvodina, a Serb autonomous region within Austrian Empire, while between 1849 and 1860, it was part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat, a separate Austrian crown land. Sombor was a seat of the district within voivodship. After the abolishment of this crown land, Sombor again became the seat of the Bacsensis-Bodrogiensis (Bács-Bodrog, Bačka-Bodrog) County.

According to the 1910 census, the population of Sombor was 30,593 people, of whom 11,881 spoke Serbian, 10,078 spoke Hungarian, 6,289 spoke Bunjevac, and 2,181 spoke German.

In 1918, Sombor became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Between 1918 and 1922 it was part of Bačka County, between 1922 and 1929 part of Bačka Oblast, and between 1929 and 1941 part of Danube Banovina.

In 1941, the city was occupied by the Axis powers and annexed by Hungary. Many prominent citizens from the Serb community were interned and later executed. In 1944, the Yugoslav Partisans and Soviet Red Army expelled the Axis forces from the city. Since 1944, Sombor was part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina of the new Socialist Yugoslavia and (since 1945) socialist Serbia. Today, Sombor is the seat of the West Bačka District in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the Republic of Serbia.

In recent times, Sombor became known all around the world because NBA champion and finals MVP Nikola Jokic was born here in 1995.

Climate
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (Warm Temperate Climate/humid subtropical climate).

Settlements
The city administrative area of Sombor includes following villages:

 * Aleksa Šantić
 * Bački Breg
 * Bački Monoštor
 * Bezdan
 * Gakovo
 * Doroslovo
 * Kljajićevo
 * Kolut
 * Rastina
 * Riđica
 * Svetozar Miletić
 * Stanišić
 * Stapar
 * Telečka
 * Čonoplja

Smaller and suburban settlements, "Salaši" include
 * Bukovački Salaši
 * Rančevo
 * Kruševlje
 * Bilić
 * Lugomerci
 * Žarkovac
 * Šaponje
 * Obzir
 * Milčići
 * Gradina
 * Lenija
 * Nenadić
 * Radojevići

Demographics
According to the last official census done in 2011, the city of Sombor has 85,903 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups
Settlements with Serb ethnic majority (as of 2002) are: Sombor, Aleksa Šantić, Gakovo, Kljajićevo, Kolut, Rastina, Riđica, Stanišić, Stapar, and Čonoplja. Settlements with Croat/Šokac ethnic majority (as of 2002) are: Bački Breg and Bački Monoštor. Settlements with Hungarian ethnic majority (in 2002) are: Bezdan, Doroslovo, and Telečka. Ethnically mixed settlement with relative Hungarian majority is Svetozar Miletić.

The ethnic composition of the city:

Culture
Sombor is famous for its greenery, cultural life and beautiful 18th and 19th century center. The most important cultural institutions are the National Theater, the Regional Museum, the Modern Art Gallery, the Milan Konjović Art Gallery, the Teacher's College (Preparandija), the Serbian Reading House, and the Sombor Gymnasium. Teacher's College (Preparandija) founded in 1778, is the oldest college in Serbia and the region.

There are two monasteries in this city:
 * Sombor Orthodox Monastery, founded in 1928–1933
 * Discalced Carmelite Catholic monastery, founded in 1904

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

Sports
Radnički Sombor is the main football club from the city competing in Vojvodina League North.

Sombor is the hometown of Radivoj Korać, the FIBA Hall of Fame basketball player. Korać holds the EuroLeague record for points in a game at 99.

Sombor is the hometown of 3x NBA MVP, NBA Champion and Finals MVP Nikola Jokić. The local basketball club where he began his playing career renamed itself KK Joker in 2017 after his English-language nickname, and was promoted to the top-level Basketball League of Serbia at the end of the 2022–23 season.

Newspapers

 * Somborske novine

TV stations

 * K-54
 * Spektar
 * RTV Sreće

Radio stations

 * Radio Marija (95.7)
 * Radio Sombor (97.5)
 * Radio Fortuna (106.6)

Internet media

 * Novi Radio Sombor http://www.noviradiosombor.com/
 * SOinfo.org

Twin cities
Twin cities:
 * 🇭🇺 Baja, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Kispest, Hungary
 * Veles, North Macedonia

Regional cooperation:
 * Osijek, Croatia
 * 🇧🇦 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
 * Vukovar, Croatia

Buses
Buses offer direct connections to major Serbian cities including Belgrade, Novi Sad and Subotica, as well as many regional towns. Among the companies operating in the area is Severtrans.

Rail
Sombor is linked by direct rail links to Novi Sad and Subotica, among others.

Air
The city houses Sombor Airport.

Notable residents

 * József Schweidel (b. 1796), Home Guard General, Martyr of Arad, his statue stood in the square in front of the County Hall until 1918.
 * Samuilo Maširević (1804–1870), Orthodox Patriarch of Karlovci
 * Laza Kostić (1841–1910), poet, prose writer, lawyer, philosopher, polyglot, publicist, and politician
 * Ernest Bošnjak (1876–1963), cameraman, film director and printer. One of the founders of the filmography in the area
 * Sándor Gombos (1895–1968), Olympic champion fencer
 * Milan Konjović (1898–1993), prominent painter
 * Gustav Mezey (1899–1981), artist
 * Sava Stojkov (1925–2014), naive art painter
 * Bogdan Maglić (1928–2017), nuclear physicist
 * Zvonko Bogdan (b. 1942), performer of traditional folk songs
 * Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), basketball player in the FIBA Hall of Fame
 * Andrija Konc (1919–1945), singer, born in Sombor.
 * Nemanja Milić (b. 1990), professional football player
 * Filip Krajinović (b. 1992), professional tennis player
 * Nikola Jokić (b. 1995), professional basketball player, NBA Champion and Olympic silver medalist

title: Sombor