Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Infobox settlement
| name = Pirot
| native_name = {{native name|sr-Cyrl|Град Пирот|italics=off}}
| native_name_lang = sr
| official_name = City of Pirot
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[List of cities in Serbia|City]]
| image_shield = Emblem of Pirot.png
| image_flag =
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage|position=center
|photo1a = Pirot fortress, Serbia 11.jpg
|photo2a =Pirot Central Square.jpg
|photo2b =Музеј Понишавља Пирот.jpg
|photo3a =Pirot Town Hall.jpg
|photo3b =Pirot Courthouse.jpg
|photo4a =Pirot fortress, Serbia 09.jpg
|size = 270
|spacing = 1
|color = #FFFFFF
|border = 1
|foot_montage = From top: Panoramic view of Pirot, Pirot Central Square, [[Old House, Pirot|Museum Old House]], Pirot Town Hall, Pirot Courthouse, [[Pirot Fortress]]}}
| image_caption =
| image_map = Municipalities of Serbia Pirot.png
| map_caption = Location of the city of Pirot within Serbia
| mapsize =
| coordinates = {{coord|43|10|N|22|36|E|region:RS|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Serbia}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Subdivisions of Serbia|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Southern and Eastern Serbia]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Serbia|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Pirot District|Pirot]]
| established_title = Founded
| established_date =
| established_title1 = City status
| established_date1 = {{Start date|2016|03|df=yes}}
| parts_type = Settlements
| parts_style = para
| p1 = 72
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = [[Vladan Vasić]] ([[Serbian Progressive Party|SNS]])
| area_blank1_title = Urban
| area_blank1_km2 = 29.53
| area_blank2_title = Administrative
| area_blank2_km2 = 1232
| area_rank = [[List of cities in Serbia|5th]]
| area_footnotes = <ref>{{Serbian municipalities 2006}}</ref>
| elevation_m = 367
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Serbian census 2011}}</ref>
| population_as_of = 2011 census
| population_blank1_title = Urban
| population_blank1 = 38785
| population_density_blank1_km2 = auto
| population_blank2_title = Administrative
| population_blank2 = 57928
| population_density_blank2_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| postal_code_type = [[Postal codes in Serbia|Postal code]]
| postal_code = 18300
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in Serbia|Area code]]
| area_code = +381(0)10
| blank_name = [[Vehicle registration plates of Serbia|Car plates]]
| blank_info = PI
| website = {{url|www.pirot.rs}}
}}
'''Pirot''' ({{lang-sr-cyr|Пирот}}) is a [[List of cities in Serbia|city]] and the administrative center of the [[Pirot District]] in southeastern [[Serbia]]. According to 2011 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 38,785, while the population of the city administrative area has 57,928 inhabitants.
The city has a rich geographical features, including the mountains of [[Stara Planina]], [[Vlaška Planina]], [[Belava]], [[Suva Planina]]; rivers which flow through the town, including [[Nišava]], [[Jerma]], Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica; and four lakes, the Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukovo Lake.
It also has a rich culture, with notable Orthodox church buildings, including the [[Church of St. Petka in Staničenje|Church of St. Petka]], and the monastery of St. Georges and [[Poganovo monastery|St. John the Theologian]] from the late 14th century, both of which display an example of medieval architecture. Pirot is known for its traditional woven carpet, the [[Pirot carpet]] (''Pirot ćilim'').<ref>http://www.rastko.rs/isk/mfruht-applied_art.html</ref>
==Geography==
The municipality of Pirot covers an area of {{convert|1235|km²|2|abbr=on}}, with over seventy settlements, including the city of Pirot. According to the 2002 census report, in the municipality of Pirot lived 63791 residents. Around 45,000 people live in the city itself and about 22,000 people live in the villages around the city.
The river [[Nišava]] divides the Pirot into two districts: Tijabara and Pazar.
Pirot has several mountains in the vicinity, including [[Stara Planina]], [[Vlaška planina]], [[Belava]], and [[Suva Planina]].
The following rivers flow through Pirot: the [[Nišava]], [[Jerma]], Rasnička Reka, Temštica, and Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Lake Zavoj, Lake Berovacko, Lake Krupac, and Lake Sukov.
==History==
===Roman era===
During the rule of Roman Emperor Tiberius (14–37), [[Ponišavlje]] was part of [[Moesia]], and during Vespasian (69–79) it was, as the rest of Serbia, organized into [[Upper Moesia]] (as opposed to most of Bulgaria, [[Lower Moesia]]).{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} At the end of the 4th century the basin of the [[Nišava]] was organized into the province of [[Dacia Mediterranea]].{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} The Roman settlement of Turres (Latin for "towers"), which was a military residence, is mentioned in the first half of the 3rd century.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} Later, the Byzantine town of Quimedava is mentioned here, with remains that have survived.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}}
The town was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here overnight, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settlement advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.
===Early Byzantine era===
According to the written accounts ''On Buildings'' by [[Procopius of Caesarea]], writing during the reign of the emperor [[Justinian I]] (527 – 565), the emperor ordered the reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from [[Niš]] to [[Sofia]], including the towers of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlement was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.
Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, [[thermae]] (public baths), a [[necropolis]], and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement ([[vicus]]) existed on the site called [[Majilka]]. By the late 6th century and early 7th century, successive barbarian invasions had broke through the Byzantine [[Danube]] frontier, and Slavs settled in large numbers across the Balkans.
===Middle Ages===
[[File:Pirotski Grad (by Pudelek).JPG|thumb|left|[[Pirot Fortress]] dates back to the 14th century.]]
By the mid-6th century Slavs had settled the area.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} In 679 the [[Bulgars]] crossed the Danube into Lower Moesia, and eventually expand to the west and south.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|pp=9–10}} Since the beginning of the 9th century the region of Pirot is part of the [[First Bulgarian State]]. The Byzantine emperor [[Basil II]] (r. 960–1025) reconquered the Balkans from the Bulgars.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=10}}
In 1153, Arab geographer Burizi crossed the country, and recorded the place of ''Atrubi'' at the site of old Turres, describing it as situated by a small river which arrives from the Serbian mountains and was a tributary of the Morava.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=10}}{{Verify source|date=May 2018}} In 1182–83 the Serbian army led by Grand Prince [[Stefan Nemanja]] conquered Byzantine territories from Niš to Sofia. The Serbians were expelled by the Byzantine emperor [[Isaac II Angelus]] in 1190{{sfn|Petrović|1996|pp=10–11}} Pirot and Bela Palanka (Remesiana) were not mentioned as they were in ruin since the rebellions in the 940s.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=10}} Since the end of the 12th century the region of Pirot was part of the [[Uprising of Asen and Peter|restored Bulgarian state]].<ref>Коледаров, Петър. Политическа география на средновековната българска държава, Втора част (1188-1396), София 1989, с. 27, карти 2, 4, 5, 7, 8. {{quote|На запад по-значителни опорни точки на царството били Сталак (дн. Сталач на сръбски), Соколица (дн. Сокобаня), Свърлиг, Ниш, Пирот, Белоградчик, Вратица (дн. Враца), Каменец (при Плевен) и др.}}</ref> The region was for some time in the domains of Bulgarian noble [[Kaloyan (sebastocrator)|sevastokrator Kaloyan]]. In 1331-1332 [[Church of St. Petka in Staničenje]] was built - at the time of [[Bulgaria]]n [[Emperor]] [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria|Joan Asen]] (Ivan Alexander) and [[Vidin]] master [[Belaur]].<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/2002453/Crkva_Svetog_Nikole_u_Stanicenju_The_Church_of_St_Nicholas_in_Stanicenje Church of St Nikola in Staničenje] ''The Ktetors' Portraits (by Branislav Cvetković), page 81''{{quote|ва дни благовернаго цара . Иоана . Асена : и при господине Бе(лауре)..}}</ref>
Some authors suggest that during the 1370s the region of Pirot was included in the Serbian state<ref>Пеjић, Предраг. Пиротски град кроз векове, Пирот, 1996, с. 12 {{quote|Средином 70-тих година XIV века пиротски краj изгледа улази у оквир старих српских земља под влашћу кнеза Лазара}}</ref> Pirot was part of [[Lazar of Serbia|Prince Lazar]]'s [[Moravian Serbia|state]], in which it was an important strategical point.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=13}} The city was captured by the Ottomans in 1386.<ref>История на България, Том трети - Втора българска държава, София 1982, с. 358.</ref> The name of the city, Pirot, dates to the 14th century and is derived from Greek ''pirgos'' ("tower").{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}}
===Ottoman rule===
At the beginning of the 15th century the region of Pirot was one of the centers of the [[Uprising of Konstantin and Fruzhin]]. A significant blow to the efforts of the Bulgarian princes for the restoration of the Bulgarian state is imposed by the Ottoman ruler Sulejman, who conquered the Bulgarian fortress Temsko, near the today's village of [[Temska]], to the north of Pirot.<ref>[http://liternet.bg/publish13/p_pavlov/konstantin_II_asen.htm Павлов, Пламен. Цар Константин II Асен (1397-1422) – последният владетел на Средновековна България]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/glasniks42srpsuoft#page/292/mode/2up Jagić, V., ed. "Константин Филозоф, „Живот Стефана Лазаревића"". Гласник Српског ученог друштва, књига XLII, 1875, с. 292.]</ref>
Its Turkish name, ''Şehirköy'' (meaning "city, town village"{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}}), is first mentioned in 1443.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=16}} It was organized into the [[Sanjak of Niš]].{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}} In 1469, the body of Serbian king Stefan Milutin was transferred via Pirot.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=17}} In 1561, hieromonk Isaija from Pirot visited [[Hilandar]] where he contributed a book.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=17}} Hilandar had dependencies in Pirot up until the 19th century.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=18}} Travel writer Stephen Gerlach (fl. 1578) recorded that Pirot Christians claimed that the town was the earlier estate of [[Miloš Obilić]], the slayer of Sultan Murad at Kosovo.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=18}} He also noted that Pirot was a significant place in [[Bulgaria]].<ref>Пеjић, Предраг. Пиротски град кроз векове, Пирот, 1996, с. 12 {{quote|па затим закључуjе "да jе ово било значаjно место у Бугарскоj и да су овде живели кнезови"}}</ref> In 1659, Austrian deputy August von Mayern visited the town and described it as "''Schiarchici'', a town called by the Orthodox as Pirot, but is not surrounded by walls and inhabited by Turks and Rascians" (Rasciani according to the author were even the citizens of [[Sofia]], [[Ihtiman]] etc.).{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=19}} In 1664, Austrian deputy Leslie and English nobleman John Burberry visited the town, the latter noting that there were three churches, one of which was earlier Dominican.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=19}} In 1688 Ottoman renegade Yegen Pasha resided in the town.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=20}}
During the [[Great Turkish War]], after taking Niš on 25 September 1689, Austrian general Piccolomini with his army of Serb volunteers and some Germans chased Turks towards Sofia. Arriving at Pirot, the town was empty of Turks, and he reported that the town was in flames and some parts in ash.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=20}} In August 1690 the large Ottoman army took Pirot, defended only by 100 Germans, and then besieged Niš, taking it after three weeks.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}} Hungarian detachments retreating via Temska ravaged the monastery and terrorized the surrounding population, as inscribed by a priest on the church walls.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}} That year, many locals fled northwards with Patriarch Arsenije III.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}}
During the [[Austro-Turkish War (1737–39)]] the Austrian army took Pirot on 23 July 1737. In 1739, upon Ottoman return, the town was burnt down and its churches destroyed (one transformed into a mosque). 140 houses were burnt down which is evidence that [[hajduks]] of the region participated. Many locals from the region fled northwards with Patriarch Arsenije IV.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}}
The first known literary monument, influenced by [[Torlakian dialect]]s is the Manuscript from [[Temštica#Temska|Temska]] Monastery from 1762, in which its author, the Monk [[Kiril Zhivkovich]] from Pirot, considered his language as "simple Bulgarian".<ref name="Paleobulgarica, IX 1986">Василев, В.П. Темският ръкопис – български езиков паметник от 1764 г, Paleobulgarica, IX (1986), кн. 1, с. 49-72</ref>
In 1768, the town is described as half in ruins.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}} From 1761 to 1878, Pirot was the seat of the Metropolitan of Nišava.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}}
[[File:Church of the Nativity of Christ - Pirot.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The [[Church of the Nativity of Christ, Pirot|Church of the Nativity of Christ]] was built through donations by the local community in the 1830s.]]
In 1806, during the [[First Serbian Uprising]] (1804–13), [[Hajduk-Veljko]] attacked Bela Palanka.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=21}} Ibrahim Pasha, unable to enter Serbia cross Aleksinac and Deligrad, planned to attack from Pirot and Lom with the intent to clash with the Serbian army before Niš; the Serbian army went to stop this and defeated him in the mountains between Pirot, Knjaževac and Chiprovtsi.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=21}} Rebel leaders from Pirot included Mita and Marinko, who were tasked to defend the border towards Pirot (in Ottoman hands).{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=21}} After the [[Serbian Revolution]], some of the population in the area migrated to avoid Ottoman retribution.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=22}} It was estimated in 1836 that there were 6–8,000 inhabitants.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=22}} Carpetry was the main occupation, there were many shops and cafés in the centre, the population was mixed, and it was the domain of the sister of the Sultan.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=22}} On 24 May 1836 a [[Pirot rebellion|rebellion broke]] out in the town, which was suppressed by early June, and then another one broke out in August, also unsuccessful.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|pp=23–24}} The rebels corresponded with Prince Miloš Obrenović.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|pp=23–25}} The [[Niš Uprising (1841)]], which included the Pirot area, was also suppressed by the Ottomans. In 1846–1864 Pirot was administratively part of the [[Niš Eyalet]]. With the establishment of the [[Bulgarian Exarchate]] in 1870 Pirot was the part of the Nishava diocese.
[[Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui]], when traveling across Bulgaria in 1841, describes the population of the [[Sanjak of Niš]] as Bulgarians.<ref>[[Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui]], „Voyage en Bulgarie pendant l'année 1841“ (Жером-Адолф Бланки. Пътуване из България през 1841 година. Прев. от френски Ел. Райчева, предг. Ив. Илчев. София: Колибри, 2005, 219 с. {{ISBN|978-954-529-367-2}}.) The author describes the population of [[Sanjak of Niš]] as ethnic Bulgarians.[http://liternet.bg/publish13/r_zaimova/pytuvane.htm]</ref> In the 19th century [[Johann Georg von Hahn]] stated that the Christian population of Pirot is Bulgarian. [[Philipp Kanitz]] claimed that some inhabitants "Did not imagine that six years later the cursed Turkish rule in their city would end, and even less, because they always felt that they are Bulgarians, that they would belong to the Principality of Serbia".<ref>[[Felix Philipp Kanitz]], ''Овога пута сам се од Пирота растао с пријатнијим осећањима. Захвалио сам ханџији за његову собицу коју ми je уступио, његовој љупкој жени за изврстан опроштајни ручак. Бољег расположења je био и мој драгоман (тумач, преводилац); певушио je, што већ дуго нисам чуо, неку пољску песмицу за свој рачун; ваљда се радовао и томе што смо се приближавали циљу нашег путовања - Дунаву. Око два часа по подне мој мали караван je преко моста на Нишави кренуо кроз хришћанску махалу, у којој je због панађура било веома живо. Трговци и занатлије које сам посећивао поздрављали су ме скидањем капе и довикивали »срећан пут!« Тада нису ни слутили да ће шест година доцније често проклињаној турској владавини у њиховом граду доћи крај, a још мање, јер су се увек осећали Бугарима, да ће припасти Кнежевини Србији.''. [http://www.maksimovic.rs/literatura/eknjige/FeliksKanic-SrbijaZemljaIStanovnistvo.pdf ("Србија, земља и становништво од римског доба до краја XIX века", Друга књига, Београд 1986], p. 215)</ref>
===Modern history===
[[File:Spomenik poginulima u Drugom srpsko-turskom ratu.jpg|thumb|right|Monument to fallen soldiers during the [[Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)]]]]
On 16 December 1877, during the [[Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)]], the Serbian army entered Pirot.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=50}} This raises a conflict between the Serbian authorities and the local Bulgarian citizens led by the local bishop.<ref name="ИБ,421-423">История на България, том седми - Възстановяване и утвърждаване на Българската държава. Национално-освободителни борби /1878-1903/, София, 1991, с. 421-423.</ref><ref>[http://www.bulgari-istoria-2010.com/booksBG/S_Christov_Pirot_i_negovoto_naselenie.pdf Христов, Симеон. Пиротският окръг и неговото население, Сборник за народни умотворения, наука и книжнина, книга ХІ, 1894, с. 289-302.]</ref> The [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)]] saw Pirot and Vranje ceded to Serbia.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=50}} A part of the local Bulgarians left the town and settled in [[Bulgaria]].<ref name="ИБ,421-423"/><ref>Българите от Западните покрайнини (1878-1975), Главно управление на архивите, Архивите говорят, т. 35, София 2005, с. 62-64 - А list of immigrants from Pirot in Bulgaria containing 160 names of heads of families.</ref>
The 1879 Serbian regional population census registered that Pirot had a population of 76,892 people, and 11,005 households.<ref>{{cite web|author=Svetlana Radovanović|year=1995|title=Demographic Growth and Ethnodemographic Changes in the Republic of Serbia|url=http://www.rastko.rs/istorija/srbi-balkan/sradovanovic-demography.html}}</ref> It was temporarily occupied by the Bulgarian army after the [[Serbo-Bulgarian War]], between 15 November and 15 December 1885 [O.S.].{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=56}} During [[World War I]], the Bulgarian army entered Pirot on 14 October 1915.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=63}}
In the Interwar period, the Bulgarian terrorist organization VZRO engaged in repeated attacks against the Yugoslav police and army. From 1929 to 1941, Pirot was part of the [[Morava Banovina]] of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. During [[World War II]] Bulgaria occupied the so-called [[Western Outlands]], as well as Pirot and [[Vranje]]. After the [[World War II|Second World War]], these regions were returned to Yugoslavia. After the [[Breakup of Yugoslavia|dissolution of Yugoslavia]], these areas remained within the Serbian state.
Pirot was granted city status in February 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2016&mm=02&dd=29&nav_id=1102137 | title=Pirot, Kikinda i Vršac dobili status grada | publisher=[[B92]] | date=29 February 2016 | access-date=26 June 2016 |trans-title=Pirot, Kikinda and Vršac Granted City Status}}</ref>
==Settlements==
Aside from the city of Pirot itself, the city territory covers over 70 settlements:
{{div col|colwidth=13em}}
*[[Bazovik]]
*[[Barje Čiflik]]
*[[Basara, Pirot|Basara]]
*[[Bela (Pirot)|Bela]]
*[[Berilovac]]
*[[Berovica]]
*[[Blato (Pirot)|Blato]]
*[[Brlog]]
*[[Velika Lukanja]]
*[[Veliki Jovanovac]]
*[[Veliki Suvodol]]
*[[Veliko Selo (Pirot)|Veliko Selo]]
*[[Visočka Ržana]]
*[[Vlasi]]
*[[Vojnegovac]]
*[[Vranište]]
*[[Gnjilan]]
*[[Gornja Držina]]
*[[Gostuša, Pirot|Gostuša]]
*[[Gradašnica (Pirot)|Gradašnica]]
*[[Gradište (Pirot)|Gradište]]
*[[Dobri Do (Pirot)|Dobri Do]]
*[[Dojkinci]]
*[[Držina]]
*[[Zaskovci]]
*[[Izvor (Pirot)|Izvor]]
*[[Jalbotina]]
*[[Jelovica]]
*[[Kamik]]
*[[Koprivštica]]
*[[Kostur (Pirot)|Kostur]]
*[[Krupac (Pirot)|Krupac]]
*[[Kumanovo (Pirot)|Kumanovo]]
*[[Mali Jovanovac]]
*[[Mali Suvodol]]
*[[Milojkovac]]
*[[Mirkovci]]
*[[Nišor]]
*[[Novi Zavoj]]
*[[Obrenovac (Pirot)|Obrenovac]]
*[[Oreovica (Pirot)|Oreovica]]
*[[Orlja]]
*[[Osmakova]]
*[[Pakleštica]]
*[[Pasjač]]
*[[Petrovac (Pirot)|Petrovac]]
*[[Planinica (Pirot)|Planinica]]
*[[Pokrevenik]]
*[[Poljska Ržana]]
*[[Ponor (Pirot)|Ponor]]
*[[Prisjan]]
*[[Ragodeš]]
*[[Rasnica]]
*[[Rosomač]]
*[[Rsovci]]
*[[Rudinje]]
*[[Sinja Glava]]
*[[Slavinja]]
*[[Sopot (Pirot)|Sopot]]
*[[Srećkovac]]
*[[Staničenje]]
*[[Sukovo]]
*[[Temska]]
*[[Topli Do (Pirot)|Topli Do]]
*[[Trnjana]]
*[[Cerev Del]]
*[[Cerova (Pirot)|Cerova]]
*[[Crvenčevo]]
*[[Crnoklište]]
*[[Činiglavci]]
*[[Šugrin]]
{{div col end}}
==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
| type =
|1948|70049 |1953|69210 |1961|68073 |1971|69285 |1981|69653 |1991|67658 |2002|63791 |2011|57928
| source = <ref>{{cite web|title=2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia|url=http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>
}}
According to the 2011 census results, the city of Pirot has a population of 57,928 inhabitants.
===Ethnic groups===
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Ethnic group
! Population
!%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Serbs]]||align="right"|53,232
|91.89%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Romani people in Serbia|Romani]]||align="right"|2,576
|4.45%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Bulgarians in Serbia|Bulgarians]]||align="right"|549
|0.95%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Gorani people|Gorani]]||align="right"|80
|0.14%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Macedonians in Serbia|Macedonians]]||align="right"|67
|0.12%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Yugoslavs in Serbia|Yugoslavs]]||align="right"|47
|0.08%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Croats of Serbia|Croats]]||align="right"|42
|0.07%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Montenegrins of Serbia|Montenegrins]]||align="right"|23
|0.04%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Albanians in Serbia|Albanians]]||align="right"|19
|0.03%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Others||align="right"|1,293
|2.23%
|-
|style="background:#F0F0F0;"|'''Total'''||align="right"|57,928
|
|}
==Culture==
Notable brands of Pirot include the [[Pirot Kilim]], [[Pirot opanak]], [[Pirot cheese]], and [[ironed sausage]].
==Tourist attractions==
* [[Pirot Fortress]], dating to the 14th-century [[Serbian Empire]]
* [[Temska Monastery]], 16th-century Orthodox monastery
* [[Zavoj Lake]]
* [[National Park Old Mountain]]
* [[Mountain home]]
==Economy==
On the territory of the city of Pirot operates tire manufacturer [[Tigar Tyres]] which is one of top Serbian exporters in the period from 2013 to 2017. As of September 2017, Pirot has one of 14 [[free economic zone]]s established in Serbia.<ref name="srbeconomiczone2017">{{cite news |last1=Mikavica |first1=A. |title=Slobodne zone mamac za investitore |url=http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/388105/Slobodne-zone-mamac-za-investitore |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=politika.rs |date=3 September 2017 |language=sr}}</ref>
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):<ref name="stats18">{{cite web|title=MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019.|url=https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2019/PdfE/G201913046.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=[[Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia]]|date=25 December 2019|access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! Activity
! Total
|-
|Agriculture, forestry and fishing||align="right"|163
|-
|Mining and quarrying||align="right"|117
|-
|Manufacturing||align="right"|5,792
|-
|Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply||align="right"|178
|-
|Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities||align="right"|291
|-
|Construction||align="right"|640
|-
|Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles||align="right"|1,645
|-
|Transportation and storage||align="right"|510
|-
|Accommodation and food services||align="right"|590
|-
|Information and communication||align="right"|217
|-
|Financial and insurance activities||align="right"|245
|-
|Real estate activities||align="right"|9
|-
|Professional, scientific and technical activities||align="right"|321
|-
|Administrative and support service activities||align="right"|692
|-
|Public administration and defense; compulsory social security||align="right"|927
|-
|Education||align="right"|857
|-
|Human health and social work activities||align="right"|1,191
|-
|Arts, entertainment and recreation||align="right"|183
|-
|Other service activities||align="right"|394
|-
|Individual agricultural workers||align="right"|124
|- class="sortbottom"
|'''Total'''||align="right"|'''15,088'''
|}
==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Pirot Fortress - 3.jpg|''Southeastern walls of [[Pirot Fortress]]''
File:1900 Pirot.jpg|''Postcard from Pirot in 1900''
File:Pirot Town Hall.jpg|''The District Hall''
File:Pirot central area.jpg|''The central pedestrian area in the city''
File:Pirot Courthouse.jpg|''The courthouse in Pirot''
File:Pirot Employment Service building.jpg|''The National Employment Service building in Pirot''
File:NisavaPirot.JPG|''[[Nišava River]] in Pirot''
File:Church of the Nativity of Christ - Pirot.jpg|''[[Church of the Nativity of Christ, Pirot|Church of the Nativity of Christ]]''
</gallery>
==Notable people==
{{further|:Category:People from Pirot}}
* [[Dragutin Gostuški]], Serbian composer, musicologist and art historian
* [[Dobrosav Živković]], illustrator and caricaturist
* [[Zoran Đorđević (football manager)|Zoran Đorđević]], football manager
* [[Svetislav Pešić]], basketball coach and former player
* [[Nikola Đurđić]], Serbian football player
* [[Krastyo Krastev]], writer and translator, notable as the first Bulgarian [[literary critic]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Kostić|first=Kosta N.|date=1973|title=Istorija Pirota|publisher=Muzej Ponišavlja|location=Pirot|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_042|id=NBPI-knjige-042}}
*{{cite book|last=Lilić|first=Borislava V.|title=Istorija Pirota i okoline: Pirot u periodu turske vlasti 1804-1878. Deo 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kuB-PgAACAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Izdavač NiP Hemikale, štampa "Grafika"|isbn=978-86-82473-01-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Nikolić|first=Vladimir M.|title=Стари Пирот|year=1974|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_061}}
*{{cite book|last=Petrović|first=Svetislav|year=1996|publisher=Хемикалс|location=Пирот|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_007|title=Историја града Пирота|id=NBPI-knjige-007}}
*{{cite book|last=Stanković|first=Stevan M.|year=1996|title=Пирот и околина|publisher=Sloboda|location=Pirot|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_050|id=NBPI-knjige-050}}
*{{cite book|last=Živković|first=Vitomir V.|year=1994|title=Торлак|location=Пирот|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_030|id=NBPI-knjige-030}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Pirot}}
* {{official website|http://www.pirot.rs}}
{{Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Pirot| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Pirot District]]
[[Category:Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Infobox settlement
| name = Pirot
| native_name = {{native name|sr-Cyrl|Град Пирот|italics=off}}
| native_name_lang = sr
| official_name = City of Pirot
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[List of cities in Serbia|City]]
| image_shield = Emblem of Pirot.png
| image_flag =
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage|position=center
|photo1a = Pirot fortress, Serbia 11.jpg
|photo2a =Pirot Central Square.jpg
|photo2b =Музеј Понишавља Пирот.jpg
|photo3a =Pirot Town Hall.jpg
|photo3b =Pirot Courthouse.jpg
|photo4a =Pirot fortress, Serbia 09.jpg
|size = 270
|spacing = 1
|color = #FFFFFF
|border = 1
|foot_montage = From top: Panoramic view of Pirot, Pirot Central Square, [[Old House, Pirot|Museum Old House]], Pirot Town Hall, Pirot Courthouse, [[Pirot Fortress]]}}
| image_caption =
| image_map = Municipalities of Serbia Pirot.png
| map_caption = Location of the city of Pirot within Serbia
| mapsize =
| coordinates = {{coord|43|10|N|22|36|E|region:RS|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Serbia}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Subdivisions of Serbia|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Southern and Eastern Serbia]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Serbia|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Pirot District|Pirot]]
| established_title = Founded
| established_date =
| established_title1 = City status
| established_date1 = {{Start date|2016|03|df=yes}}
| parts_type = Settlements
| parts_style = para
| p1 = 72
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = [[Vladan Vasić]] ([[Serbian Progressive Party|SNS]])
| area_blank1_title = Urban
| area_blank1_km2 = 29.53
| area_blank2_title = Administrative
| area_blank2_km2 = 1232
| area_rank = [[List of cities in Serbia|5th]]
| area_footnotes = <ref>{{Serbian municipalities 2006}}</ref>
| elevation_m = 367
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Serbian census 2011}}</ref>
| population_as_of = 2011 census
| population_blank1_title = Urban
| population_blank1 = 38785
| population_density_blank1_km2 = auto
| population_blank2_title = Administrative
| population_blank2 = 57928
| population_density_blank2_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| postal_code_type = [[Postal codes in Serbia|Postal code]]
| postal_code = 18300
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in Serbia|Area code]]
| area_code = +381(0)10
| blank_name = [[Vehicle registration plates of Serbia|Car plates]]
| blank_info = PI
| website = {{url|www.pirot.rs}}
}}
'''Pirot''' ({{lang-sr-cyr|Пирот}}) is a [[List of cities in Serbia|city]] and the administrative center of the [[Pirot District]] in southeastern [[Serbia]]. According to 2011 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 38,785, while the population of the city administrative area has 57,928 inhabitants.
The city has a rich geographical features, including the mountains of [[Stara Planina]], [[Vlaška Planina]], [[Belava]], [[Suva Planina]]; rivers which flow through the town, including [[Nišava]], [[Jerma]], Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica; and four lakes, the Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukovo Lake.
It also has a rich culture, with notable Orthodox church buildings, including the [[Church of St. Petka in Staničenje|Church of St. Petka]], and the monastery of St. Georges and [[Poganovo monastery|St. John the Theologian]] from the late 14th century, both of which display an example of medieval architecture. Pirot is known for its traditional woven carpet, the [[Pirot carpet]] (''Pirot ćilim'').<ref>http://www.rastko.rs/isk/mfruht-applied_art.html</ref>
==Geography==
The municipality of Pirot covers an area of {{convert|1235|km²|2|abbr=on}}, with over seventy settlements, including the city of Pirot. According to the 2002 census report, in the municipality of Pirot lived 63791 residents. Around 45,000 people live in the city itself and about 22,000 people live in the villages around the city.
The river [[Nišava]] divides the Pirot into two districts: Tijabara and Pazar.
Pirot has several mountains in the vicinity, including [[Stara Planina]], [[Vlaška planina]], [[Belava]], and [[Suva Planina]].
The following rivers flow through Pirot: the [[Nišava]], [[Jerma]], Rasnička Reka, Temštica, and Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Lake Zavoj, Lake Berovacko, Lake Krupac, and Lake Sukov.
==History==
===Roman era===
During the rule of Roman Emperor Tiberius (14–37), [[Ponišavlje]] was part of [[Moesia]], and during Vespasian (69–79) it was, as the rest of Serbia, organized into [[Upper Moesia]] (as opposed to most of Bulgaria, [[Lower Moesia]]).{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} At the end of the 4th century the basin of the [[Nišava]] was organized into the province of [[Dacia Mediterranea]].{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} The Roman settlement of Turres (Latin for "towers"), which was a military residence, is mentioned in the first half of the 3rd century.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} Later, the Byzantine town of Quimedava is mentioned here, with remains that have survived.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}}
The town was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here overnight, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settlement advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.
===Early Byzantine era===
According to the written accounts ''On Buildings'' by [[Procopius of Caesarea]], writing during the reign of the emperor [[Justinian I]] (527 – 565), the emperor ordered the reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from [[Niš]] to [[Sofia]], including the towers of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlement was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.
Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, [[thermae]] (public baths), a [[necropolis]], and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement ([[vicus]]) existed on the site called [[Majilka]]. By the late 6th century and early 7th century, successive barbarian invasions had broke through the Byzantine [[Danube]] frontier, and Slavs settled in large numbers across the Balkans.
===Middle Ages===
[[File:Pirotski Grad (by Pudelek).JPG|thumb|left|[[Pirot Fortress]] dates back to the 14th century.]]
By the mid-6th century Slavs had settled the area.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}} In 679 the [[Bulgars]] crossed the Danube into Lower Moesia, and eventually expand to the west and south.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|pp=9–10}} Since the beginning of the 9th century the region of Pirot is part of the [[First Bulgarian State]]. The Byzantine emperor [[Basil II]] (r. 960–1025) reconquered the Balkans from the Bulgars.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=10}}
In 1153, Arab geographer Burizi crossed the country, and recorded the place of ''Atrubi'' at the site of old Turres, describing it as situated by a small river which arrives from the Serbian mountains and was a tributary of the Morava.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=10}}{{Verify source|date=May 2018}} In 1182–83 the Serbian army led by Grand Prince [[Stefan Nemanja]] conquered Byzantine territories from Niš to Sofia. The Serbians were expelled by the Byzantine emperor [[Isaac II Angelus]] in 1190{{sfn|Petrović|1996|pp=10–11}} Pirot and Bela Palanka (Remesiana) were not mentioned as they were in ruin since the rebellions in the 940s.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=10}} Since the end of the 12th century the region of Pirot was part of the [[Uprising of Asen and Peter|restored Bulgarian state]].<ref>Коледаров, Петър. Политическа география на средновековната българска държава, Втора част (1188-1396), София 1989, с. 27, карти 2, 4, 5, 7, 8. {{quote|На запад по-значителни опорни точки на царството били Сталак (дн. Сталач на сръбски), Соколица (дн. Сокобаня), Свърлиг, Ниш, Пирот, Белоградчик, Вратица (дн. Враца), Каменец (при Плевен) и др.}}</ref> The region was for some time in the domains of Bulgarian noble [[Kaloyan (sebastocrator)|sevastokrator Kaloyan]]. In 1331-1332 [[Church of St. Petka in Staničenje]] was built - at the time of [[Bulgaria]]n [[Emperor]] [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria|Joan Asen]] (Ivan Alexander) and [[Vidin]] master [[Belaur]].<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/2002453/Crkva_Svetog_Nikole_u_Stanicenju_The_Church_of_St_Nicholas_in_Stanicenje Church of St Nikola in Staničenje] ''The Ktetors' Portraits (by Branislav Cvetković), page 81''{{quote|ва дни благовернаго цара . Иоана . Асена : и при господине Бе(лауре)..}}</ref>
Some authors suggest that during the 1370s the region of Pirot was included in the Serbian state<ref>Пеjић, Предраг. Пиротски град кроз векове, Пирот, 1996, с. 12 {{quote|Средином 70-тих година XIV века пиротски краj изгледа улази у оквир старих српских земља под влашћу кнеза Лазара}}</ref> Pirot was part of [[Lazar of Serbia|Prince Lazar]]'s [[Moravian Serbia|state]], in which it was an important strategical point.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=13}} The city was captured by the Ottomans in 1386.<ref>История на България, Том трети - Втора българска държава, София 1982, с. 358.</ref> The name of the city, Pirot, dates to the 14th century and is derived from Greek ''pirgos'' ("tower").{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=9}}
===Ottoman rule===
At the beginning of the 15th century the region of Pirot was one of the centers of the [[Uprising of Konstantin and Fruzhin]]. A significant blow to the efforts of the Bulgarian princes for the restoration of the Bulgarian state is imposed by the Ottoman ruler Sulejman, who conquered the Bulgarian fortress Temsko, near the today's village of [[Temska]], to the north of Pirot.<ref>[http://liternet.bg/publish13/p_pavlov/konstantin_II_asen.htm Павлов, Пламен. Цар Константин II Асен (1397-1422) – последният владетел на Средновековна България]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/glasniks42srpsuoft#page/292/mode/2up Jagić, V., ed. "Константин Филозоф, „Живот Стефана Лазаревића"". Гласник Српског ученог друштва, књига XLII, 1875, с. 292.]</ref>
Its Turkish name, ''Şehirköy'' (meaning "city, town village"{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}}), is first mentioned in 1443.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=16}} It was organized into the [[Sanjak of Niš]].{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}} In 1469, the body of Serbian king Stefan Milutin was transferred via Pirot.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=17}} In 1561, hieromonk Isaija from Pirot visited [[Hilandar]] where he contributed a book.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=17}} Hilandar had dependencies in Pirot up until the 19th century.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=18}} Travel writer Stephen Gerlach (fl. 1578) recorded that Pirot Christians claimed that the town was the earlier estate of [[Miloš Obilić]], the slayer of Sultan Murad at Kosovo.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=18}} He also noted that Pirot was a significant place in [[Bulgaria]].<ref>Пеjић, Предраг. Пиротски град кроз векове, Пирот, 1996, с. 12 {{quote|па затим закључуjе "да jе ово било значаjно место у Бугарскоj и да су овде живели кнезови"}}</ref> In 1659, Austrian deputy August von Mayern visited the town and described it as "''Schiarchici'', a town called by the Orthodox as Pirot, but is not surrounded by walls and inhabited by Turks and Rascians" (Rasciani according to the author were even the citizens of [[Sofia]], [[Ihtiman]] etc.).{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=19}} In 1664, Austrian deputy Leslie and English nobleman John Burberry visited the town, the latter noting that there were three churches, one of which was earlier Dominican.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=19}} In 1688 Ottoman renegade Yegen Pasha resided in the town.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=20}}
During the [[Great Turkish War]], after taking Niš on 25 September 1689, Austrian general Piccolomini with his army of Serb volunteers and some Germans chased Turks towards Sofia. Arriving at Pirot, the town was empty of Turks, and he reported that the town was in flames and some parts in ash.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=20}} In August 1690 the large Ottoman army took Pirot, defended only by 100 Germans, and then besieged Niš, taking it after three weeks.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}} Hungarian detachments retreating via Temska ravaged the monastery and terrorized the surrounding population, as inscribed by a priest on the church walls.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}} That year, many locals fled northwards with Patriarch Arsenije III.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}}
During the [[Austro-Turkish War (1737–39)]] the Austrian army took Pirot on 23 July 1737. In 1739, upon Ottoman return, the town was burnt down and its churches destroyed (one transformed into a mosque). 140 houses were burnt down which is evidence that [[hajduks]] of the region participated. Many locals from the region fled northwards with Patriarch Arsenije IV.{{sfn|Petrović|1996|p=21}}
The first known literary monument, influenced by [[Torlakian dialect]]s is the Manuscript from [[Temštica#Temska|Temska]] Monastery from 1762, in which its author, the Monk [[Kiril Zhivkovich]] from Pirot, considered his language as "simple Bulgarian".<ref name="Paleobulgarica, IX 1986">Василев, В.П. Темският ръкопис – български езиков паметник от 1764 г, Paleobulgarica, IX (1986), кн. 1, с. 49-72</ref>
In 1768, the town is described as half in ruins.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}} From 1761 to 1878, Pirot was the seat of the Metropolitan of Nišava.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=20}}
[[File:Church of the Nativity of Christ - Pirot.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The [[Church of the Nativity of Christ, Pirot|Church of the Nativity of Christ]] was built through donations by the local community in the 1830s.]]
In 1806, during the [[First Serbian Uprising]] (1804–13), [[Hajduk-Veljko]] attacked Bela Palanka.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=21}} Ibrahim Pasha, unable to enter Serbia cross Aleksinac and Deligrad, planned to attack from Pirot and Lom with the intent to clash with the Serbian army before Niš; the Serbian army went to stop this and defeated him in the mountains between Pirot, Knjaževac and Chiprovtsi.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=21}} Rebel leaders from Pirot included Mita and Marinko, who were tasked to defend the border towards Pirot (in Ottoman hands).{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=21}} After the [[Serbian Revolution]], some of the population in the area migrated to avoid Ottoman retribution.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=22}} It was estimated in 1836 that there were 6–8,000 inhabitants.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=22}} Carpetry was the main occupation, there were many shops and cafés in the centre, the population was mixed, and it was the domain of the sister of the Sultan.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=22}} On 24 May 1836 a [[Pirot rebellion|rebellion broke]] out in the town, which was suppressed by early June, and then another one broke out in August, also unsuccessful.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|pp=23–24}} The rebels corresponded with Prince Miloš Obrenović.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|pp=23–25}} The [[Niš Uprising (1841)]], which included the Pirot area, was also suppressed by the Ottomans. In 1846–1864 Pirot was administratively part of the [[Niš Eyalet]]. With the establishment of the [[Bulgarian Exarchate]] in 1870 Pirot was the part of the Nishava diocese.
[[Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui]], when traveling across Bulgaria in 1841, describes the population of the [[Sanjak of Niš]] as Bulgarians.<ref>[[Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui]], „Voyage en Bulgarie pendant l'année 1841“ (Жером-Адолф Бланки. Пътуване из България през 1841 година. Прев. от френски Ел. Райчева, предг. Ив. Илчев. София: Колибри, 2005, 219 с. {{ISBN|978-954-529-367-2}}.) The author describes the population of [[Sanjak of Niš]] as ethnic Bulgarians.[http://liternet.bg/publish13/r_zaimova/pytuvane.htm]</ref> In the 19th century [[Johann Georg von Hahn]] stated that the Christian population of Pirot is Bulgarian. [[Philipp Kanitz]] claimed that some inhabitants "Did not imagine that six years later the cursed Turkish rule in their city would end, and even less, because they always felt that they are Bulgarians, that they would belong to the Principality of Serbia".<ref>[[Felix Philipp Kanitz]], ''Овога пута сам се од Пирота растао с пријатнијим осећањима. Захвалио сам ханџији за његову собицу коју ми je уступио, његовој љупкој жени за изврстан опроштајни ручак. Бољег расположења je био и мој драгоман (тумач, преводилац); певушио je, што већ дуго нисам чуо, неку пољску песмицу за свој рачун; ваљда се радовао и томе што смо се приближавали циљу нашег путовања - Дунаву. Око два часа по подне мој мали караван je преко моста на Нишави кренуо кроз хришћанску махалу, у којој je због панађура било веома живо. Трговци и занатлије које сам посећивао поздрављали су ме скидањем капе и довикивали »срећан пут!« Тада нису ни слутили да ће шест година доцније често проклињаној турској владавини у њиховом граду доћи крај, a још мање, јер су се увек осећали Бугарима, да ће припасти Кнежевини Србији.''. [http://www.maksimovic.rs/literatura/eknjige/FeliksKanic-SrbijaZemljaIStanovnistvo.pdf ("Србија, земља и становништво од римског доба до краја XIX века", Друга књига, Београд 1986], p. 215)</ref>
===Modern history===
[[File:Spomenik poginulima u Drugom srpsko-turskom ratu.jpg|thumb|right|Monument to fallen soldiers during the [[Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)]]]]
On 16 December 1877, during the [[Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)]], the Serbian army entered Pirot.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=50}} This raises a conflict between the Serbian authorities and the local Bulgarian citizens led by the local bishop.<ref name="ИБ,421-423">История на България, том седми - Възстановяване и утвърждаване на Българската държава. Национално-освободителни борби /1878-1903/, София, 1991, с. 421-423.</ref><ref>[http://www.bulgari-istoria-2010.com/booksBG/S_Christov_Pirot_i_negovoto_naselenie.pdf Христов, Симеон. Пиротският окръг и неговото население, Сборник за народни умотворения, наука и книжнина, книга ХІ, 1894, с. 289-302.]</ref> The [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)]] saw Pirot and Vranje ceded to Serbia.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=50}} A part of the local Bulgarians left the town and settled in [[Bulgaria]].<ref name="ИБ,421-423"/><ref>Българите от Западните покрайнини (1878-1975), Главно управление на архивите, Архивите говорят, т. 35, София 2005, с. 62-64 - А list of immigrants from Pirot in Bulgaria containing 160 names of heads of families.</ref>
The 1879 Serbian regional population census registered that Pirot had a population of 76,892 people, and 11,005 households.<ref>{{cite web|author=Svetlana Radovanović|year=1995|title=Demographic Growth and Ethnodemographic Changes in the Republic of Serbia|url=http://www.rastko.rs/istorija/srbi-balkan/sradovanovic-demography.html}}</ref> It was temporarily occupied by the Bulgarian army after the [[Serbo-Bulgarian War]], between 15 November and 15 December 1885 [O.S.].{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=56}} During [[World War I]], the Bulgarian army entered Pirot on 14 October 1915.{{sfn|Kostić|1973|p=63}}
In the Interwar period, the Bulgarian terrorist organization VZRO engaged in repeated attacks against the Yugoslav police and army. From 1929 to 1941, Pirot was part of the [[Morava Banovina]] of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. During [[World War II]] Bulgaria occupied the so-called [[Western Outlands]], as well as Pirot and [[Vranje]]. After the [[World War II|Second World War]], these regions were returned to Yugoslavia. After the [[Breakup of Yugoslavia|dissolution of Yugoslavia]], these areas remained within the Serbian state.
Pirot was granted city status in February 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2016&mm=02&dd=29&nav_id=1102137 | title=Pirot, Kikinda i Vršac dobili status grada | publisher=[[B92]] | date=29 February 2016 | access-date=26 June 2016 |trans-title=Pirot, Kikinda and Vršac Granted City Status}}</ref>
==Settlements==
Aside from the city of Pirot itself, the city territory covers over 70 settlements:
{{div col|colwidth=13em}}
*[[Bazovik]]
*[[Barje Čiflik]]
*[[Basara, Pirot|Basara]]
*[[Bela (Pirot)|Bela]]
*[[Berilovac]]
*[[Berovica]]
*[[Blato (Pirot)|Blato]]
*[[Brlog]]
*[[Velika Lukanja]]
*[[Veliki Jovanovac]]
*[[Veliki Suvodol]]
*[[Veliko Selo (Pirot)|Veliko Selo]]
*[[Visočka Ržana]]
*[[Vlasi]]
*[[Vojnegovac]]
*[[Vranište]]
*[[Gnjilan]]
*[[Gornja Držina]]
*[[Gostuša, Pirot|Gostuša]]
*[[Gradašnica (Pirot)|Gradašnica]]
*[[Gradište (Pirot)|Gradište]]
*[[Dobri Do (Pirot)|Dobri Do]]
*[[Dojkinci]]
*[[Držina]]
*[[Zaskovci]]
*[[Izvor (Pirot)|Izvor]]
*[[Jalbotina]]
*[[Jelovica]]
*[[Kamik]]
*[[Koprivštica]]
*[[Kostur (Pirot)|Kostur]]
*[[Krupac (Pirot)|Krupac]]
*[[Kumanovo (Pirot)|Kumanovo]]
*[[Mali Jovanovac]]
*[[Mali Suvodol]]
*[[Milojkovac]]
*[[Mirkovci]]
*[[Nišor]]
*[[Novi Zavoj]]
*[[Obrenovac (Pirot)|Obrenovac]]
*[[Oreovica (Pirot)|Oreovica]]
*[[Orlja]]
*[[Osmakova]]
*[[Pakleštica]]
*[[Pasjač]]
*[[Petrovac (Pirot)|Petrovac]]
*[[Planinica (Pirot)|Planinica]]
*[[Pokrevenik]]
*[[Poljska Ržana]]
*[[Ponor (Pirot)|Ponor]]
*[[Prisjan]]
*[[Ragodeš]]
*[[Rasnica]]
*[[Rosomač]]
*[[Rsovci]]
*[[Rudinje]]
*[[Sinja Glava]]
*[[Slavinja]]
*[[Sopot (Pirot)|Sopot]]
*[[Srećkovac]]
*[[Staničenje]]
*[[Sukovo]]
*[[Temska]]
*[[Topli Do (Pirot)|Topli Do]]
*[[Trnjana]]
*[[Cerev Del]]
*[[Cerova (Pirot)|Cerova]]
*[[Crvenčevo]]
*[[Crnoklište]]
*[[Činiglavci]]
*[[Šugrin]]
{{div col end}}
==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
| type =
|1948|70049 |1953|69210 |1961|68073 |1971|69285 |1981|69653 |1991|67658 |2002|63791 |2011|57928
| source = <ref>{{cite web|title=2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia|url=http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>
}}
According to the 2011 census results, the city of Pirot has a population of 57,928 inhabitants.
===Ethnic groups===
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Ethnic group
! Population
!%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Serbs]]||align="right"|53,232
|91.89%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Romani people in Serbia|Romani]]||align="right"|2,576
|4.45%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Bulgarians in Serbia|Bulgarians]]||align="right"|549
|0.95%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Gorani people|Gorani]]||align="right"|80
|0.14%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Macedonians in Serbia|Macedonians]]||align="right"|67
|0.12%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Yugoslavs in Serbia|Yugoslavs]]||align="right"|47
|0.08%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Croats of Serbia|Croats]]||align="right"|42
|0.07%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Montenegrins of Serbia|Montenegrins]]||align="right"|23
|0.04%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|[[Albanians in Serbia|Albanians]]||align="right"|19
|0.03%
|-
|style="background:#F5F5DC;"|Others||align="right"|1,293
|2.23%
|-
|style="background:#F0F0F0;"|'''Total'''||align="right"|57,928
|
|}
==Culture==
Notable brands of Pirot include the [[Pirot Kilim]], [[Pirot opanak]], [[Pirot cheese]], and [[ironed sausage]].
==Tourist attractions==
* [[Pirot Fortress]], dating to the 14th-century [[Serbian Empire]]
* [[Temska Monastery]], 16th-century Orthodox monastery
* [[Zavoj Lake]]
* [[National Park Old Mountain]]
* [[Mountain home]]
==Economy==
On the territory of the city of Pirot operates tire manufacturer [[Tigar Tyres]] which is one of top Serbian exporters in the period from 2013 to 2017. As of September 2017, Pirot has one of 14 [[free economic zone]]s established in Serbia.<ref name="srbeconomiczone2017">{{cite news |last1=Mikavica |first1=A. |title=Slobodne zone mamac za investitore |url=http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/388105/Slobodne-zone-mamac-za-investitore |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=politika.rs |date=3 September 2017 |language=sr}}</ref>
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):<ref name="stats18">{{cite web|title=MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019.|url=https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2019/PdfE/G201913046.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=[[Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia]]|date=25 December 2019|access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! Activity
! Total
|-
|Agriculture, forestry and fishing||align="right"|163
|-
|Mining and quarrying||align="right"|117
|-
|Manufacturing||align="right"|5,792
|-
|Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply||align="right"|178
|-
|Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities||align="right"|291
|-
|Construction||align="right"|640
|-
|Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles||align="right"|1,645
|-
|Transportation and storage||align="right"|510
|-
|Accommodation and food services||align="right"|590
|-
|Information and communication||align="right"|217
|-
|Financial and insurance activities||align="right"|245
|-
|Real estate activities||align="right"|9
|-
|Professional, scientific and technical activities||align="right"|321
|-
|Administrative and support service activities||align="right"|692
|-
|Public administration and defense; compulsory social security||align="right"|927
|-
|Education||align="right"|857
|-
|Human health and social work activities||align="right"|1,191
|-
|Arts, entertainment and recreation||align="right"|183
|-
|Other service activities||align="right"|394
|-
|Individual agricultural workers||align="right"|124
|- class="sortbottom"
|'''Total'''||align="right"|'''15,088'''
|}
==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Pirot Fortress - 3.jpg|''Southeastern walls of [[Pirot Fortress]]''
File:1900 Pirot.jpg|''Postcard from Pirot in 1900''
File:Pirot Town Hall.jpg|''The District Hall''
File:Pirot central area.jpg|''The central pedestrian area in the city''
File:Pirot Courthouse.jpg|''The courthouse in Pirot''
File:Pirot Employment Service building.jpg|''The National Employment Service building in Pirot''
File:NisavaPirot.JPG|''[[Nišava River]] in Pirot''
File:Church of the Nativity of Christ - Pirot.jpg|''[[Church of the Nativity of Christ, Pirot|Church of the Nativity of Christ]]''
</gallery>
==Notable people==
{{further|:Category:People from Pirot}}
* [[Dragutin Gostuški]], Serbian composer, musicologist and art historian
* [[Dobrosav Živković]], illustrator and caricaturist
* [[Zoran Đorđević (football manager)|Zoran Đorđević]], football manager
* [[Svetislav Pešić]], basketball coach and former player
* [[Nikola Đurđić]], Serbian football player
* [[Krastyo Krastev]], writer and translator, notable as the first Bulgarian [[literary critic]]
* [[Aleksa Tošić]], direktor instituta za nuklearnu fiziku. Specijalnost: cepanje atoma u drvetu.
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Kostić|first=Kosta N.|date=1973|title=Istorija Pirota|publisher=Muzej Ponišavlja|location=Pirot|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_042|id=NBPI-knjige-042}}
*{{cite book|last=Lilić|first=Borislava V.|title=Istorija Pirota i okoline: Pirot u periodu turske vlasti 1804-1878. Deo 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kuB-PgAACAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Izdavač NiP Hemikale, štampa "Grafika"|isbn=978-86-82473-01-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Nikolić|first=Vladimir M.|title=Стари Пирот|year=1974|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_061}}
*{{cite book|last=Petrović|first=Svetislav|year=1996|publisher=Хемикалс|location=Пирот|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_007|title=Историја града Пирота|id=NBPI-knjige-007}}
*{{cite book|last=Stanković|first=Stevan M.|year=1996|title=Пирот и околина|publisher=Sloboda|location=Pirot|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_050|id=NBPI-knjige-050}}
*{{cite book|last=Živković|first=Vitomir V.|year=1994|title=Торлак|location=Пирот|url=http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_030|id=NBPI-knjige-030}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Pirot}}
* {{official website|http://www.pirot.rs}}
{{Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Pirot| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Pirot District]]
[[Category:Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia]]' |
Parsed HTML source of the new revision (new_html) | '<div class="mw-parser-output"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">City in Southern and Eastern Serbia, Serbia</div><table class="infobox geography vcard" style="width:22em;width:23em"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" style="text-align:center;font-size:125%;font-weight:bold;font-size:1.25em; white-space:nowrap"><div style="display:inline" class="fn org">Pirot</div>
<br /><div class="nickname" style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;" lang="sr"><span lang="sr-Cyrl" style="font-style: normal;" title="Serbian-language text">Град Пирот</span> <span class="languageicon" style="font-size:100%;font-weight:normal;">(<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian_language" title="Serbian language">Serbian</a>)</span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;background-color:#cddeff; font-weight:bold;"><div class="category"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Serbia" title="List of cities in Serbia">City</a></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;font-weight:bold;">City of Pirot</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid black;width:270px;display:table;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div style="display:table-row"><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:1px 0 0 1px"><div style="display:table;background-color:#FFFFFF;border-collapse:collapse"><div style="display:table-row"><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:0 1px 1px 0"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_fortress,_Serbia_11.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Pirot fortress, Serbia 11.jpg" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Pirot_fortress%2C_Serbia_11.jpg/270px-Pirot_fortress%2C_Serbia_11.jpg" decoding="async" width="270" height="151" data-file-width="4224" data-file-height="2368" /></a></div></div></div><div style="display:table;background-color:#FFFFFF;border-collapse:collapse"><div style="display:table-row"><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:0 1px 1px 0"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Central_Square.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Pirot Central Square.jpg" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Pirot_Central_Square.jpg/134px-Pirot_Central_Square.jpg" decoding="async" width="134" height="87" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="1946" /></a></div><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:0 1px 1px 0"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%98_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%99%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Музеј Понишавља Пирот.jpg" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%98_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%99%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82.jpg/134px-%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%98_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%99%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82.jpg" decoding="async" width="134" height="89" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="531" /></a></div></div></div><div style="display:table;background-color:#FFFFFF;border-collapse:collapse"><div style="display:table-row"><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:0 1px 1px 0"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Town_Hall.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Pirot Town Hall.jpg" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Pirot_Town_Hall.jpg/134px-Pirot_Town_Hall.jpg" decoding="async" width="134" height="92" data-file-width="2612" data-file-height="1800" /></a></div><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:0 1px 1px 0"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Courthouse.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Pirot Courthouse.jpg" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Pirot_Courthouse.jpg/134px-Pirot_Courthouse.jpg" decoding="async" width="134" height="91" data-file-width="2661" data-file-height="1800" /></a></div></div></div><div style="display:table;background-color:#FFFFFF;border-collapse:collapse"><div style="display:table-row"><div style="display:table-cell;border-top:0;padding:0 1px 1px 0"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_fortress,_Serbia_09.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Pirot fortress, Serbia 09.jpg" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Pirot_fortress%2C_Serbia_09.jpg/270px-Pirot_fortress%2C_Serbia_09.jpg" decoding="async" width="270" height="151" data-file-width="4224" data-file-height="2368" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<div style="font-size:95%">From top: Panoramic view of Pirot, Pirot Central Square, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Old_House,_Pirot" title="Old House, Pirot">Museum Old House</a>, Pirot Town Hall, Pirot Courthouse, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_Fortress" title="Pirot Fortress">Pirot Fortress</a></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="maptable" style="text-align:center"><div style="display:table; width:100%; background:none;">
<div style="display:table-row"><div style="display:table-cell;vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Emblem_of_Pirot.png" class="image" title="Coat of arms of Pirot"><img alt="Coat of arms of Pirot" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Emblem_of_Pirot.png/100px-Emblem_of_Pirot.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="136" data-file-width="347" data-file-height="471" /></a><div style="padding:0.2em 0 0.2em 0;">Coat of arms</div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Municipalities_of_Serbia_Pirot.png" class="image" title="Location of the city of Pirot within Serbia"><img alt="Location of the city of Pirot within Serbia" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Municipalities_of_Serbia_Pirot.png/250px-Municipalities_of_Serbia_Pirot.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="318" data-file-width="1565" data-file-height="1988" /></a><div style="padding:0.3em 0 0 0;">Location of the city of Pirot within Serbia</div></td></tr><tr class="mergedbottomrow"><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center">Coordinates: <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r994658806">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="/enwiki//geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Pirot&params=43_10_N_22_36_E_region:RS_type:city"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">43°10′N</span> <span class="longitude">22°36′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">43.167°N 22.600°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">43.167; 22.600</span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="coordinates"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system">Coordinates</a>: <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r994658806"/><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="/enwiki//geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Pirot&params=43_10_N_22_36_E_region:RS_type:city"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">43°10′N</span> <span class="longitude">22°36′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">43.167°N 22.600°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">43.167; 22.600</span></span></span></a></span></span></span></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states" title="List of sovereign states">Country</a></th><td><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Flag_of_Serbia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Serbia.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="thumbborder" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Flag_of_Serbia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Serbia.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Flag_of_Serbia.svg/45px-Flag_of_Serbia.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="945" data-file-height="630" /> </span><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Subdivisions_of_Serbia" class="mw-redirect" title="Subdivisions of Serbia">Region</a></th><td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia" title="Southern and Eastern Serbia">Southern and Eastern Serbia</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Districts_of_Serbia" title="Districts of Serbia">District</a></th><td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_District" title="Pirot District">Pirot</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row">City status</th><td>March 2016<span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated">2016-03</span>)</span></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row">Settlements</th><td><b></b>72</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" style="text-align:center;text-align:left">Government<div style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;"></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Mayor</th><td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vladan_Vasi%C4%87" title="Vladan Vasić">Vladan Vasić</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian_Progressive_Party" title="Serbian Progressive Party">SNS</a>)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" style="text-align:center;text-align:left">Area<div style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;"><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row">Area rank</th><td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Serbia" title="List of cities in Serbia">5th</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Urban</th><td>29.53 km<sup>2</sup> (11.40 sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Administrative</th><td>1,232 km<sup>2</sup> (476 sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row">Elevation<div style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;"></div></th><td>367 m (1,204 ft)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" style="text-align:center;text-align:left">Population<div style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;"><span class="nowrap"> </span>(2011 census)<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Urban<div style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;"></div></th><td>38,785</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Urban density</th><td>1,300/km<sup>2</sup> (3,400/sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Administrative<div style="font-weight:normal;display:inline;"></div></th><td>57,928</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"> • Administrative density</th><td>47/km<sup>2</sup> (120/sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Time_zone" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th><td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/UTC%2B1" class="mw-redirect" title="UTC+1">UTC+1</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Central_European_Time" title="Central European Time">CET</a>)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"><span style="white-space:nowrap"> • Summer (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Daylight_saving_time" title="Daylight saving time">DST</a>)</span></th><td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/UTC%2B2" class="mw-redirect" title="UTC+2">UTC+2</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Central_European_Summer_Time" title="Central European Summer Time">CEST</a>)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Postal_codes_in_Serbia" title="Postal codes in Serbia">Postal code</a></th><td class="adr"><div class="postal-code">18300</div></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_Serbia" title="Telephone numbers in Serbia">Area code</a></th><td>+381(0)10</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Serbia" title="Vehicle registration plates of Serbia">Car plates</a></th><td>PI</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row">Website</th><td><span class="url"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pirot.rs">www<wbr />.pirot<wbr />.rs</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>Pirot</b> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian_Cyrillic_alphabet" title="Serbian Cyrillic alphabet">Serbian Cyrillic</a>: <span lang="sr-Cyrl">Пирот</span>) is a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Serbia" title="List of cities in Serbia">city</a> and the administrative center of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_District" title="Pirot District">Pirot District</a> in southeastern <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a>. According to 2011 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 38,785, while the population of the city administrative area has 57,928 inhabitants.
</p><p>The city has a rich geographical features, including the mountains of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Stara_Planina" class="mw-redirect" title="Stara Planina">Stara Planina</a>, <a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Vla%C5%A1ka_Planina&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Vlaška Planina (page does not exist)">Vlaška Planina</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Belava" title="Belava">Belava</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Suva_Planina" title="Suva Planina">Suva Planina</a>; rivers which flow through the town, including <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1ava" title="Nišava">Nišava</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Jerma" title="Jerma">Jerma</a>, Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica; and four lakes, the Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukovo Lake.
</p><p>It also has a rich culture, with notable Orthodox church buildings, including the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Church_of_St._Petka_in_Stani%C4%8Denje" title="Church of St. Petka in Staničenje">Church of St. Petka</a>, and the monastery of St. Georges and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Poganovo_monastery" class="mw-redirect" title="Poganovo monastery">St. John the Theologian</a> from the late 14th century, both of which display an example of medieval architecture. Pirot is known for its traditional woven carpet, the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_carpet" title="Pirot carpet">Pirot carpet</a> (<i>Pirot ćilim</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup>
</p>
<div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Geography"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Geography</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Roman_era"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Roman era</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Early_Byzantine_era"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Early Byzantine era</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Middle_Ages"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Middle Ages</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Ottoman_rule"><span class="tocnumber">2.4</span> <span class="toctext">Ottoman rule</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Modern_history"><span class="tocnumber">2.5</span> <span class="toctext">Modern history</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Settlements"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Settlements</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Demographics"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Demographics</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Ethnic_groups"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Ethnic groups</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#Culture"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Culture</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#Tourist_attractions"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Tourist attractions</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#Economy"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Economy</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#Gallery"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Gallery</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#Notable_people"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Notable people</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17"><a href="#Sources"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">Sources</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Geography">Geography</span></h2>
<p>The municipality of Pirot covers an area of 1,235 km<sup>2</sup> (476.84 sq mi), with over seventy settlements, including the city of Pirot. According to the 2002 census report, in the municipality of Pirot lived 63791 residents. Around 45,000 people live in the city itself and about 22,000 people live in the villages around the city.
</p><p>The river <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1ava" title="Nišava">Nišava</a> divides the Pirot into two districts: Tijabara and Pazar.
</p><p>Pirot has several mountains in the vicinity, including <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Stara_Planina" class="mw-redirect" title="Stara Planina">Stara Planina</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vla%C5%A1ka_planina" title="Vlaška planina">Vlaška planina</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Belava" title="Belava">Belava</a>, and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Suva_Planina" title="Suva Planina">Suva Planina</a>.
</p><p>The following rivers flow through Pirot: the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1ava" title="Nišava">Nišava</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Jerma" title="Jerma">Jerma</a>, Rasnička Reka, Temštica, and Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Lake Zavoj, Lake Berovacko, Lake Krupac, and Lake Sukov.
</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span></h2>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Roman_era">Roman era</span></h3>
<p>During the rule of Roman Emperor Tiberius (14–37), <a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Poni%C5%A1avlje&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ponišavlje (page does not exist)">Ponišavlje</a> was part of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Moesia" title="Moesia">Moesia</a>, and during Vespasian (69–79) it was, as the rest of Serbia, organized into <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Upper_Moesia" class="mw-redirect" title="Upper Moesia">Upper Moesia</a> (as opposed to most of Bulgaria, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lower_Moesia" class="mw-redirect" title="Lower Moesia">Lower Moesia</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4">[4]</a></sup> At the end of the 4th century the basin of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1ava" title="Nišava">Nišava</a> was organized into the province of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dacia_Mediterranea" title="Dacia Mediterranea">Dacia Mediterranea</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4">[4]</a></sup> The Roman settlement of Turres (Latin for "towers"), which was a military residence, is mentioned in the first half of the 3rd century.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4">[4]</a></sup> Later, the Byzantine town of Quimedava is mentioned here, with remains that have survived.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4">[4]</a></sup>
</p><p>The town was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here overnight, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settlement advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.
</p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_Byzantine_era">Early Byzantine era</span></h3>
<p>According to the written accounts <i>On Buildings</i> by <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Procopius_of_Caesarea" class="mw-redirect" title="Procopius of Caesarea">Procopius of Caesarea</a>, writing during the reign of the emperor <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Justinian_I" title="Justinian I">Justinian I</a> (527 – 565), the emperor ordered the reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1" title="Niš">Niš</a> to <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sofia" title="Sofia">Sofia</a>, including the towers of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlement was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.
</p><p>Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Thermae" title="Thermae">thermae</a> (public baths), a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Necropolis" title="Necropolis">necropolis</a>, and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vicus" title="Vicus">vicus</a>) existed on the site called <a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Majilka&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Majilka (page does not exist)">Majilka</a>. By the late 6th century and early 7th century, successive barbarian invasions had broke through the Byzantine <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Danube" title="Danube">Danube</a> frontier, and Slavs settled in large numbers across the Balkans.
</p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Middle_Ages">Middle Ages</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirotski_Grad_(by_Pudelek).JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Pirotski_Grad_%28by_Pudelek%29.JPG/220px-Pirotski_Grad_%28by_Pudelek%29.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="3156" data-file-height="2104" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirotski_Grad_(by_Pudelek).JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_Fortress" title="Pirot Fortress">Pirot Fortress</a> dates back to the 14th century.</div></div></div>
<p>By the mid-6th century Slavs had settled the area.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4">[4]</a></sup> In 679 the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bulgars" title="Bulgars">Bulgars</a> crossed the Danube into Lower Moesia, and eventually expand to the west and south.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969–10_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969–10-5">[5]</a></sup> Since the beginning of the 9th century the region of Pirot is part of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/First_Bulgarian_State" class="mw-redirect" title="First Bulgarian State">First Bulgarian State</a>. The Byzantine emperor <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Basil_II" title="Basil II">Basil II</a> (r. 960–1025) reconquered the Balkans from the Bulgars.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610-6">[6]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 1153, Arab geographer Burizi crossed the country, and recorded the place of <i>Atrubi</i> at the site of old Turres, describing it as situated by a small river which arrives from the Serbian mountains and was a tributary of the Morava.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610-6">[6]</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability"><span title="The material near this tag needs to be fact-checked with the cited source(s). (May 2018)">verification needed</span></a></i>]</sup> In 1182–83 the Serbian army led by Grand Prince <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Stefan_Nemanja" title="Stefan Nemanja">Stefan Nemanja</a> conquered Byzantine territories from Niš to Sofia. The Serbians were expelled by the Byzantine emperor <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Isaac_II_Angelus" class="mw-redirect" title="Isaac II Angelus">Isaac II Angelus</a> in 1190<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610–11_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610–11-7">[7]</a></sup> Pirot and Bela Palanka (Remesiana) were not mentioned as they were in ruin since the rebellions in the 940s.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610_6-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610-6">[6]</a></sup> Since the end of the 12th century the region of Pirot was part of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Uprising_of_Asen_and_Peter" title="Uprising of Asen and Peter">restored Bulgarian state</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> The region was for some time in the domains of Bulgarian noble <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kaloyan_(sebastocrator)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kaloyan (sebastocrator)">sevastokrator Kaloyan</a>. In 1331-1332 <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Church_of_St._Petka_in_Stani%C4%8Denje" title="Church of St. Petka in Staničenje">Church of St. Petka in Staničenje</a> was built - at the time of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgarian</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Emperor" title="Emperor">Emperor</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ivan_Alexander_of_Bulgaria" title="Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria">Joan Asen</a> (Ivan Alexander) and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vidin" title="Vidin">Vidin</a> master <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Belaur" title="Belaur">Belaur</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup>
</p><p>Some authors suggest that during the 1370s the region of Pirot was included in the Serbian state<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup> Pirot was part of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lazar_of_Serbia" title="Lazar of Serbia">Prince Lazar</a>'s <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Moravian_Serbia" title="Moravian Serbia">state</a>, in which it was an important strategical point.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197313_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197313-11">[11]</a></sup> The city was captured by the Ottomans in 1386.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a></sup> The name of the city, Pirot, dates to the 14th century and is derived from Greek <i>pirgos</i> ("tower").<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4">[4]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Ottoman_rule">Ottoman rule</span></h3>
<p>At the beginning of the 15th century the region of Pirot was one of the centers of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Uprising_of_Konstantin_and_Fruzhin" title="Uprising of Konstantin and Fruzhin">Uprising of Konstantin and Fruzhin</a>. A significant blow to the efforts of the Bulgarian princes for the restoration of the Bulgarian state is imposed by the Ottoman ruler Sulejman, who conquered the Bulgarian fortress Temsko, near the today's village of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Temska" title="Temska">Temska</a>, to the north of Pirot.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[13]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[14]</a></sup>
</p><p>Its Turkish name, <i>Şehirköy</i> (meaning "city, town village"<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197320-15">[15]</a></sup>), is first mentioned in 1443.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199616_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199616-16">[16]</a></sup> It was organized into the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sanjak_of_Ni%C5%A1" title="Sanjak of Niš">Sanjak of Niš</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197320-15">[15]</a></sup> In 1469, the body of Serbian king Stefan Milutin was transferred via Pirot.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617-17">[17]</a></sup> In 1561, hieromonk Isaija from Pirot visited <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Hilandar" title="Hilandar">Hilandar</a> where he contributed a book.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617-17">[17]</a></sup> Hilandar had dependencies in Pirot up until the 19th century.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618-18">[18]</a></sup> Travel writer Stephen Gerlach (fl. 1578) recorded that Pirot Christians claimed that the town was the earlier estate of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Milo%C5%A1_Obili%C4%87" title="Miloš Obilić">Miloš Obilić</a>, the slayer of Sultan Murad at Kosovo.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618_18-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618-18">[18]</a></sup> He also noted that Pirot was a significant place in <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[19]</a></sup> In 1659, Austrian deputy August von Mayern visited the town and described it as "<i>Schiarchici</i>, a town called by the Orthodox as Pirot, but is not surrounded by walls and inhabited by Turks and Rascians" (Rasciani according to the author were even the citizens of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sofia" title="Sofia">Sofia</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ihtiman" title="Ihtiman">Ihtiman</a> etc.).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619-20">[20]</a></sup> In 1664, Austrian deputy Leslie and English nobleman John Burberry visited the town, the latter noting that there were three churches, one of which was earlier Dominican.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619_20-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619-20">[20]</a></sup> In 1688 Ottoman renegade Yegen Pasha resided in the town.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620-21">[21]</a></sup>
</p><p>During the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Great_Turkish_War" title="Great Turkish War">Great Turkish War</a>, after taking Niš on 25 September 1689, Austrian general Piccolomini with his army of Serb volunteers and some Germans chased Turks towards Sofia. Arriving at Pirot, the town was empty of Turks, and he reported that the town was in flames and some parts in ash.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620_21-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620-21">[21]</a></sup> In August 1690 the large Ottoman army took Pirot, defended only by 100 Germans, and then besieged Niš, taking it after three weeks.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621-22">[22]</a></sup> Hungarian detachments retreating via Temska ravaged the monastery and terrorized the surrounding population, as inscribed by a priest on the church walls.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621-22">[22]</a></sup> That year, many locals fled northwards with Patriarch Arsenije III.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621-22">[22]</a></sup>
</p><p>During the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austro-Turkish_War_(1737%E2%80%9339)" class="mw-redirect" title="Austro-Turkish War (1737–39)">Austro-Turkish War (1737–39)</a> the Austrian army took Pirot on 23 July 1737. In 1739, upon Ottoman return, the town was burnt down and its churches destroyed (one transformed into a mosque). 140 houses were burnt down which is evidence that <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Hajduks" class="mw-redirect" title="Hajduks">hajduks</a> of the region participated. Many locals from the region fled northwards with Patriarch Arsenije IV.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621-22">[22]</a></sup>
</p><p>The first known literary monument, influenced by <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Torlakian_dialect" title="Torlakian dialect">Torlakian dialects</a> is the Manuscript from <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Tem%C5%A1tica#Temska" title="Temštica">Temska</a> Monastery from 1762, in which its author, the Monk <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kiril_Zhivkovich" class="mw-redirect" title="Kiril Zhivkovich">Kiril Zhivkovich</a> from Pirot, considered his language as "simple Bulgarian".<sup id="cite_ref-Paleobulgarica,_IX_1986_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Paleobulgarica,_IX_1986-23">[23]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 1768, the town is described as half in ruins.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197320-15">[15]</a></sup> From 1761 to 1878, Pirot was the seat of the Metropolitan of Nišava.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197320-15">[15]</a></sup>
</p>
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg/180px-Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="132" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="2590" data-file-height="1900" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ,_Pirot" title="Church of the Nativity of Christ, Pirot">Church of the Nativity of Christ</a> was built through donations by the local community in the 1830s.</div></div></div>
<p>In 1806, during the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/First_Serbian_Uprising" title="First Serbian Uprising">First Serbian Uprising</a> (1804–13), <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Hajduk-Veljko" class="mw-redirect" title="Hajduk-Veljko">Hajduk-Veljko</a> attacked Bela Palanka.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197321_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197321-24">[24]</a></sup> Ibrahim Pasha, unable to enter Serbia cross Aleksinac and Deligrad, planned to attack from Pirot and Lom with the intent to clash with the Serbian army before Niš; the Serbian army went to stop this and defeated him in the mountains between Pirot, Knjaževac and Chiprovtsi.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197321_24-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197321-24">[24]</a></sup> Rebel leaders from Pirot included Mita and Marinko, who were tasked to defend the border towards Pirot (in Ottoman hands).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197321_24-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197321-24">[24]</a></sup> After the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian_Revolution" title="Serbian Revolution">Serbian Revolution</a>, some of the population in the area migrated to avoid Ottoman retribution.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197322_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197322-25">[25]</a></sup> It was estimated in 1836 that there were 6–8,000 inhabitants.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197322_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197322-25">[25]</a></sup> Carpetry was the main occupation, there were many shops and cafés in the centre, the population was mixed, and it was the domain of the sister of the Sultan.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197322_25-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197322-25">[25]</a></sup> On 24 May 1836 a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_rebellion" title="Pirot rebellion">rebellion broke</a> out in the town, which was suppressed by early June, and then another one broke out in August, also unsuccessful.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–24_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–24-26">[26]</a></sup> The rebels corresponded with Prince Miloš Obrenović.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–25_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–25-27">[27]</a></sup> The <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1_Uprising_(1841)" class="mw-redirect" title="Niš Uprising (1841)">Niš Uprising (1841)</a>, which included the Pirot area, was also suppressed by the Ottomans. In 1846–1864 Pirot was administratively part of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1_Eyalet" title="Niš Eyalet">Niš Eyalet</a>. With the establishment of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bulgarian_Exarchate" title="Bulgarian Exarchate">Bulgarian Exarchate</a> in 1870 Pirot was the part of the Nishava diocese.
</p><p><a href="/enwiki/wiki/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me-Adolphe_Blanqui" title="Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui">Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui</a>, when traveling across Bulgaria in 1841, describes the population of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sanjak_of_Ni%C5%A1" title="Sanjak of Niš">Sanjak of Niš</a> as Bulgarians.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[28]</a></sup> In the 19th century <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Johann_Georg_von_Hahn" title="Johann Georg von Hahn">Johann Georg von Hahn</a> stated that the Christian population of Pirot is Bulgarian. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Philipp_Kanitz" class="mw-redirect" title="Philipp Kanitz">Philipp Kanitz</a> claimed that some inhabitants "Did not imagine that six years later the cursed Turkish rule in their city would end, and even less, because they always felt that they are Bulgarians, that they would belong to the Principality of Serbia".<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[29]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Modern_history">Modern history</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Spomenik_poginulima_u_Drugom_srpsko-turskom_ratu.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Spomenik_poginulima_u_Drugom_srpsko-turskom_ratu.jpg/220px-Spomenik_poginulima_u_Drugom_srpsko-turskom_ratu.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="2448" data-file-height="3264" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Spomenik_poginulima_u_Drugom_srpsko-turskom_ratu.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Monument to fallen soldiers during the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian-Ottoman_War_(1876%E2%80%931877)" class="mw-redirect" title="Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)">Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)</a></div></div></div>
<p>On 16 December 1877, during the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian-Ottoman_War_(1876%E2%80%931877)" class="mw-redirect" title="Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)">Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877)</a>, the Serbian army entered Pirot.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197350_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197350-30">[30]</a></sup> This raises a conflict between the Serbian authorities and the local Bulgarian citizens led by the local bishop.<sup id="cite_ref-ИБ,421-423_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ИБ,421-423-31">[31]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32">[32]</a></sup> The <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_(1878)" title="Treaty of Berlin (1878)">Treaty of Berlin (1878)</a> saw Pirot and Vranje ceded to Serbia.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197350_30-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197350-30">[30]</a></sup> A part of the local Bulgarians left the town and settled in <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-ИБ,421-423_31-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ИБ,421-423-31">[31]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[33]</a></sup>
</p><p>The 1879 Serbian regional population census registered that Pirot had a population of 76,892 people, and 11,005 households.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[34]</a></sup> It was temporarily occupied by the Bulgarian army after the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbo-Bulgarian_War" title="Serbo-Bulgarian War">Serbo-Bulgarian War</a>, between 15 November and 15 December 1885 [O.S.].<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197356_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197356-35">[35]</a></sup> During <a href="/enwiki/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>, the Bulgarian army entered Pirot on 14 October 1915.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197363_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197363-36">[36]</a></sup>
</p><p>In the Interwar period, the Bulgarian terrorist organization VZRO engaged in repeated attacks against the Yugoslav police and army. From 1929 to 1941, Pirot was part of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Morava_Banovina" title="Morava Banovina">Morava Banovina</a> of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia" title="Kingdom of Yugoslavia">Kingdom of Yugoslavia</a>. During <a href="/enwiki/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> Bulgaria occupied the so-called <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Western_Outlands" title="Western Outlands">Western Outlands</a>, as well as Pirot and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vranje" title="Vranje">Vranje</a>. After the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">Second World War</a>, these regions were returned to Yugoslavia. After the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia" title="Breakup of Yugoslavia">dissolution of Yugoslavia</a>, these areas remained within the Serbian state.
</p><p>Pirot was granted city status in February 2016.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37">[37]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Settlements">Settlements</span></h2>
<p>Aside from the city of Pirot itself, the city territory covers over 70 settlements:
</p>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r998391716">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 13em;">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bazovik" title="Bazovik">Bazovik</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Barje_%C4%8Ciflik" title="Barje Čiflik">Barje Čiflik</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Basara,_Pirot" title="Basara, Pirot">Basara</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bela_(Pirot)" title="Bela (Pirot)">Bela</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Berilovac" title="Berilovac">Berilovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Berovica" title="Berovica">Berovica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Blato_(Pirot)" title="Blato (Pirot)">Blato</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Brlog" title="Brlog">Brlog</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Velika_Lukanja" title="Velika Lukanja">Velika Lukanja</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Veliki_Jovanovac" title="Veliki Jovanovac">Veliki Jovanovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Veliki_Suvodol" title="Veliki Suvodol">Veliki Suvodol</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Veliko_Selo_(Pirot)" title="Veliko Selo (Pirot)">Veliko Selo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Viso%C4%8Dka_R%C5%BEana" title="Visočka Ržana">Visočka Ržana</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vlasi" title="Vlasi">Vlasi</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vojnegovac" title="Vojnegovac">Vojnegovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vrani%C5%A1te" class="mw-redirect" title="Vranište">Vranište</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gnjilan" class="mw-redirect" title="Gnjilan">Gnjilan</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gornja_Dr%C5%BEina" title="Gornja Držina">Gornja Držina</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gostu%C5%A1a,_Pirot" title="Gostuša, Pirot">Gostuša</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grada%C5%A1nica_(Pirot)" title="Gradašnica (Pirot)">Gradašnica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gradi%C5%A1te_(Pirot)" title="Gradište (Pirot)">Gradište</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dobri_Do_(Pirot)" class="mw-redirect" title="Dobri Do (Pirot)">Dobri Do</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dojkinci" title="Dojkinci">Dojkinci</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dr%C5%BEina" title="Držina">Držina</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zaskovci" title="Zaskovci">Zaskovci</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Izvor_(Pirot)" title="Izvor (Pirot)">Izvor</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Jalbotina" title="Jalbotina">Jalbotina</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Jelovica" title="Jelovica">Jelovica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kamik" class="mw-redirect" title="Kamik">Kamik</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kopriv%C5%A1tica" title="Koprivštica">Koprivštica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kostur_(Pirot)" title="Kostur (Pirot)">Kostur</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Krupac_(Pirot)" title="Krupac (Pirot)">Krupac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kumanovo_(Pirot)" title="Kumanovo (Pirot)">Kumanovo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Mali_Jovanovac" title="Mali Jovanovac">Mali Jovanovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Mali_Suvodol" title="Mali Suvodol">Mali Suvodol</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Milojkovac" title="Milojkovac">Milojkovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Mirkovci" title="Mirkovci">Mirkovci</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1or" title="Nišor">Nišor</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Novi_Zavoj" title="Novi Zavoj">Novi Zavoj</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Obrenovac_(Pirot)" title="Obrenovac (Pirot)">Obrenovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Oreovica_(Pirot)" title="Oreovica (Pirot)">Oreovica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Orlja" title="Orlja">Orlja</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Osmakova" title="Osmakova">Osmakova</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pakle%C5%A1tica" title="Pakleštica">Pakleštica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pasja%C4%8D" title="Pasjač">Pasjač</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Petrovac_(Pirot)" title="Petrovac (Pirot)">Petrovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Planinica_(Pirot)" title="Planinica (Pirot)">Planinica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pokrevenik" title="Pokrevenik">Pokrevenik</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Poljska_R%C5%BEana" title="Poljska Ržana">Poljska Ržana</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ponor_(Pirot)" title="Ponor (Pirot)">Ponor</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Prisjan" title="Prisjan">Prisjan</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ragode%C5%A1" title="Ragodeš">Ragodeš</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Rasnica" title="Rasnica">Rasnica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Rosoma%C4%8D" title="Rosomač">Rosomač</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Rsovci" title="Rsovci">Rsovci</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Rudinje" title="Rudinje">Rudinje</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sinja_Glava" title="Sinja Glava">Sinja Glava</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Slavinja" title="Slavinja">Slavinja</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sopot_(Pirot)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sopot (Pirot)">Sopot</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sre%C4%87kovac" title="Srećkovac">Srećkovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Stani%C4%8Denje" title="Staničenje">Staničenje</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sukovo" title="Sukovo">Sukovo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Temska" title="Temska">Temska</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Topli_Do_(Pirot)" class="mw-redirect" title="Topli Do (Pirot)">Topli Do</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Trnjana" title="Trnjana">Trnjana</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Cerev_Del" title="Cerev Del">Cerev Del</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Cerova_(Pirot)" title="Cerova (Pirot)">Cerova</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Crven%C4%8Devo" title="Crvenčevo">Crvenčevo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Crnokli%C5%A1te" title="Crnoklište">Crnoklište</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/%C4%8Ciniglavci" title="Činiglavci">Činiglavci</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/%C5%A0ugrin" title="Šugrin">Šugrin</a></li></ul>
</div>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Demographics">Demographics</span></h2>
<table class="toccolours" style="width:15em;border-top-width:0;border-spacing: 0;float:right;clear:right;margin:0.5em 0 1em 0.5em;"><caption style="border-top:1px #aaa solid;border-left:1px #aaa solid;border-right:1px #aaa solid;background-color:lavender;padding:0.25em;font-weight:bold">Historical population</caption><tbody><tr style="font-size:95%"><th style="border-bottom:1px solid black;padding:1px;width:3em">Year</th><th style="border-bottom:1px solid black;padding:1px 2px;text-align:right"><abbr title="Population">Pop.</abbr></th><th style="border-bottom:1px solid black;padding:1px;text-align:right"><abbr title="Percent change">±%</abbr></th></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">1948</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">70,049</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">—    </td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">1953</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">69,210</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">−1.2%</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">1961</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">68,073</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">−1.6%</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">1971</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">69,285</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">+1.8%</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px;border-bottom:1px solid #bbbbbb">1981</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px;border-bottom:1px solid #bbbbbb">69,653</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px;border-bottom:1px solid #bbbbbb">+0.5%</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">1991</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">67,658</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">−2.9%</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">2002</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">63,791</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">−5.7%</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:center;padding:1px">2011</th><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">57,928</td><td style="text-align:right;padding:1px">−9.2%</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="border-top:1px solid black;font-size:85%;text-align:left">Source: <sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">[38]</a></sup></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>According to the 2011 census results, the city of Pirot has a population of 57,928 inhabitants.
</p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Ethnic_groups">Ethnic groups</span></h3>
<p>The ethnic composition of the municipality:
</p>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Ethnic group
</th>
<th>Population
</th>
<th>%
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbs" title="Serbs">Serbs</a></td>
<td align="right">53,232
</td>
<td>91.89%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Romani_people_in_Serbia" title="Romani people in Serbia">Romani</a></td>
<td align="right">2,576
</td>
<td>4.45%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bulgarians_in_Serbia" title="Bulgarians in Serbia">Bulgarians</a></td>
<td align="right">549
</td>
<td>0.95%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gorani_people" title="Gorani people">Gorani</a></td>
<td align="right">80
</td>
<td>0.14%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Macedonians_in_Serbia" title="Macedonians in Serbia">Macedonians</a></td>
<td align="right">67
</td>
<td>0.12%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Yugoslavs_in_Serbia" title="Yugoslavs in Serbia">Yugoslavs</a></td>
<td align="right">47
</td>
<td>0.08%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Croats_of_Serbia" title="Croats of Serbia">Croats</a></td>
<td align="right">42
</td>
<td>0.07%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Montenegrins_of_Serbia" title="Montenegrins of Serbia">Montenegrins</a></td>
<td align="right">23
</td>
<td>0.04%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Albanians_in_Serbia" title="Albanians in Serbia">Albanians</a></td>
<td align="right">19
</td>
<td>0.03%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F5F5DC;">Others</td>
<td align="right">1,293
</td>
<td>2.23%
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="background:#F0F0F0;"><b>Total</b></td>
<td align="right">57,928
</td>
<td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Culture">Culture</span></h2>
<p>Notable brands of Pirot include the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_Kilim" class="mw-redirect" title="Pirot Kilim">Pirot Kilim</a>, <a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Pirot_opanak&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Pirot opanak (page does not exist)">Pirot opanak</a>, <a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Pirot_cheese&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Pirot cheese (page does not exist)">Pirot cheese</a>, and <a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Ironed_sausage&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ironed sausage (page does not exist)">ironed sausage</a>.
</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Tourist_attractions">Tourist attractions</span></h2>
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_Fortress" title="Pirot Fortress">Pirot Fortress</a>, dating to the 14th-century <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Serbian_Empire" title="Serbian Empire">Serbian Empire</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Temska_Monastery&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Temska Monastery (page does not exist)">Temska Monastery</a>, 16th-century Orthodox monastery</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zavoj_Lake" title="Zavoj Lake">Zavoj Lake</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=National_Park_Old_Mountain&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="National Park Old Mountain (page does not exist)">National Park Old Mountain</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Mountain_home&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mountain home (page does not exist)">Mountain home</a></li></ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Economy">Economy</span></h2>
<p>On the territory of the city of Pirot operates tire manufacturer <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Tigar_Tyres" title="Tigar Tyres">Tigar Tyres</a> which is one of top Serbian exporters in the period from 2013 to 2017. As of September 2017, Pirot has one of 14 <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Free_economic_zone" title="Free economic zone">free economic zones</a> established in Serbia.<sup id="cite_ref-srbeconomiczone2017_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-srbeconomiczone2017-39">[39]</a></sup>
</p><p>The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):<sup id="cite_ref-stats18_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-stats18-40">[40]</a></sup>
</p>
<table class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Activity
</th>
<th>Total
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Agriculture, forestry and fishing</td>
<td align="right">163
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Mining and quarrying</td>
<td align="right">117
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Manufacturing</td>
<td align="right">5,792
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply</td>
<td align="right">178
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities</td>
<td align="right">291
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Construction</td>
<td align="right">640
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles</td>
<td align="right">1,645
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Transportation and storage</td>
<td align="right">510
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Accommodation and food services</td>
<td align="right">590
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Information and communication</td>
<td align="right">217
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Financial and insurance activities</td>
<td align="right">245
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Real estate activities</td>
<td align="right">9
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Professional, scientific and technical activities</td>
<td align="right">321
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Administrative and support service activities</td>
<td align="right">692
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Public administration and defense; compulsory social security</td>
<td align="right">927
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Education</td>
<td align="right">857
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Human health and social work activities</td>
<td align="right">1,191
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Arts, entertainment and recreation</td>
<td align="right">183
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Other service activities</td>
<td align="right">394
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Individual agricultural workers</td>
<td align="right">124
</td></tr>
<tr class="sortbottom">
<td><b>Total</b></td>
<td align="right"><b>15,088</b>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Gallery">Gallery</span></h2>
<ul class="gallery mw-gallery-packed">
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 184.66666666667px"><div style="width: 184.66666666667px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 182.66666666667px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Fortress_-_3.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Pirot_Fortress_-_3.jpg/274px-Pirot_Fortress_-_3.jpg" decoding="async" width="183" height="120" data-file-width="2733" data-file-height="1800" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>Southeastern walls of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pirot_Fortress" title="Pirot Fortress">Pirot Fortress</a></i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 188px"><div style="width: 188px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 186px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:1900_Pirot.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/1900_Pirot.jpg/279px-1900_Pirot.jpg" decoding="async" width="186" height="120" data-file-width="552" data-file-height="356" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>Postcard from Pirot in 1900</i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 176px"><div style="width: 176px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 174px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Town_Hall.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Pirot_Town_Hall.jpg/261px-Pirot_Town_Hall.jpg" decoding="async" width="174" height="120" data-file-width="2612" data-file-height="1800" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>The District Hall</i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 155.33333333333px"><div style="width: 155.33333333333px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 153.33333333333px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_central_area.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Pirot_central_area.jpg/230px-Pirot_central_area.jpg" decoding="async" width="154" height="120" data-file-width="2555" data-file-height="2000" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>The central pedestrian area in the city</i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 179.33333333333px"><div style="width: 179.33333333333px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 177.33333333333px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Courthouse.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Pirot_Courthouse.jpg/266px-Pirot_Courthouse.jpg" decoding="async" width="178" height="120" data-file-width="2661" data-file-height="1800" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>The courthouse in Pirot</i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 134.66666666667px"><div style="width: 134.66666666667px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 132.66666666667px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Pirot_Employment_Service_building.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Pirot_Employment_Service_building.jpg/199px-Pirot_Employment_Service_building.jpg" decoding="async" width="133" height="120" data-file-width="2100" data-file-height="1900" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>The National Employment Service building in Pirot</i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 162px"><div style="width: 162px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 160px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:NisavaPirot.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/NisavaPirot.JPG/240px-NisavaPirot.JPG" decoding="async" width="160" height="120" data-file-width="1600" data-file-height="1200" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1ava_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Nišava River">Nišava River</a> in Pirot</i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 166px"><div style="width: 166px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 164px;"><div style="margin:0px auto;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg/246px-Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ_-_Pirot.jpg" decoding="async" width="164" height="120" data-file-width="2590" data-file-height="1900" /></a></div></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Church_of_the_Nativity_of_Christ,_Pirot" title="Church of the Nativity of Christ, Pirot">Church of the Nativity of Christ</a></i>
</p>
</div>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notable_people">Notable people</span></h2>
<div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Category:People_from_Pirot" title="Category:People from Pirot">Category:People from Pirot</a></div>
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dragutin_Gostu%C5%A1ki" title="Dragutin Gostuški">Dragutin Gostuški</a>, Serbian composer, musicologist and art historian</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dobrosav_%C5%BDivkovi%C4%87" title="Dobrosav Živković">Dobrosav Živković</a>, illustrator and caricaturist</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zoran_%C4%90or%C4%91evi%C4%87_(football_manager)" title="Zoran Đorđević (football manager)">Zoran Đorđević</a>, football manager</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Svetislav_Pe%C5%A1i%C4%87" title="Svetislav Pešić">Svetislav Pešić</a>, basketball coach and former player</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Nikola_%C4%90ur%C4%91i%C4%87" title="Nikola Đurđić">Nikola Đurđić</a>, Serbian football player</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Krastyo_Krastev" title="Krastyo Krastev">Krastyo Krastev</a>, writer and translator, notable as the first Bulgarian <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Literary_critic" class="mw-redirect" title="Literary critic">literary critic</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Aleksa_To%C5%A1i%C4%87&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Aleksa Tošić (page does not exist)">Aleksa Tošić</a>, direktor instituta za nuklearnu fiziku. Specijalnost: cepanje atoma u drvetu.</li></ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span></h2>
<div class="reflist columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;">
<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r999302996">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/axd/en/Zip/OG2006webE.zip">"Municipalities of Serbia, 2006"</a>. Statistical Office of Serbia<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2010-11-28</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Municipalities+of+Serbia%2C+2006&rft.pub=Statistical+Office+of+Serbia&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwebrzs.stat.gov.rs%2Faxd%2Fen%2FZip%2FOG2006webE.zip&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf">"2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia: Comparative Overview of the Number of Population in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002 and 2011, Data by settlements"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Statistical Office of Republic Of Serbia, Belgrade. 2014. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-86-6161-109-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-86-6161-109-4"><bdi>978-86-6161-109-4</bdi></a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2014-06-27</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=2011+Census+of+Population%2C+Households+and+Dwellings+in+the+Republic+of+Serbia%3A+Comparative+Overview+of+the+Number+of+Population+in+1948%2C+1953%2C+1961%2C+1971%2C+1981%2C+1991%2C+2002+and+2011%2C+Data+by+settlements&rft.pub=Statistical+Office+of+Republic+Of+Serbia%2C+Belgrade&rft.date=2014&rft.isbn=978-86-6161-109-4&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fpod2.stat.gov.rs%2FObjavljenePublikacije%2FPopis2011%2FKnjiga20.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span>
</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.rastko.rs/isk/mfruht-applied_art.html">http://www.rastko.rs/isk/mfruht-applied_art.html</a></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969_4-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 9.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969–10-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović19969–10_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, pp. 9–10.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610_6-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 10.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610–11-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199610–11_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, pp. 10–11.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Коледаров, Петър. Политическа география на средновековната българска държава, Втора част (1188-1396), София 1989, с. 27, карти 2, 4, 5, 7, 8. <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r996844942">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>На запад по-значителни опорни точки на царството били Сталак (дн. Сталач на сръбски), Соколица (дн. Сокобаня), Свърлиг, Ниш, Пирот, Белоградчик, Вратица (дн. Враца), Каменец (при Плевен) и др.</p></blockquote></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/2002453/Crkva_Svetog_Nikole_u_Stanicenju_The_Church_of_St_Nicholas_in_Stanicenje">Church of St Nikola in Staničenje</a> <i>The Ktetors' Portraits (by Branislav Cvetković), page 81</i><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r996844942"/><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>ва дни благовернаго цара . Иоана . Асена : и при господине Бе(лауре)..</p></blockquote></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Пеjић, Предраг. Пиротски град кроз векове, Пирот, 1996, с. 12 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r996844942"/><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Средином 70-тих година XIV века пиротски краj изгледа улази у оквир старих српских земља под влашћу кнеза Лазара</p></blockquote></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197313-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197313_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 13.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">История на България, Том трети - Втора българска държава, София 1982, с. 358.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://liternet.bg/publish13/p_pavlov/konstantin_II_asen.htm">Павлов, Пламен. Цар Константин II Асен (1397-1422) – последният владетел на Средновековна България</a></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/stream/glasniks42srpsuoft#page/292/mode/2up">Jagić, V., ed. "Константин Филозоф, „Живот Стефана Лазаревића"". Гласник Српског ученог друштва, књига XLII, 1875, с. 292.</a></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197320-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197320_15-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 20.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199616-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199616_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 16.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199617_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 17.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618_18-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199618_18-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 18.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Пеjић, Предраг. Пиротски град кроз векове, Пирот, 1996, с. 12 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r996844942"/><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>па затим закључуjе "да jе ово било значаjно место у Бугарскоj и да су овде живели кнезови"</p></blockquote></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619_20-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199619_20-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 19.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620_21-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199620_21-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 20.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPetrović199621_22-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFPetrović1996">Petrović 1996</a>, p. 21.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Paleobulgarica,_IX_1986-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Paleobulgarica,_IX_1986_23-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Василев, В.П. Темският ръкопис – български езиков паметник от 1764 г, Paleobulgarica, IX (1986), кн. 1, с. 49-72</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197321-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197321_24-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197321_24-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197321_24-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 21.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197322-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197322_25-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197322_25-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197322_25-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 22.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–24-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–24_26-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, pp. 23–24.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–25-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197323–25_27-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, pp. 23–25.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me-Adolphe_Blanqui" title="Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui">Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui</a>, „Voyage en Bulgarie pendant l'année 1841“ (Жером-Адолф Бланки. Пътуване из България през 1841 година. Прев. от френски Ел. Райчева, предг. Ив. Илчев. София: Колибри, 2005, 219 с. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-954-529-367-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-954-529-367-2">978-954-529-367-2</a>.) The author describes the population of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sanjak_of_Ni%C5%A1" title="Sanjak of Niš">Sanjak of Niš</a> as ethnic Bulgarians.<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://liternet.bg/publish13/r_zaimova/pytuvane.htm">[1]</a></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Felix_Philipp_Kanitz" title="Felix Philipp Kanitz">Felix Philipp Kanitz</a>, <i>Овога пута сам се од Пирота растао с пријатнијим осећањима. Захвалио сам ханџији за његову собицу коју ми je уступио, његовој љупкој жени за изврстан опроштајни ручак. Бољег расположења je био и мој драгоман (тумач, преводилац); певушио je, што већ дуго нисам чуо, неку пољску песмицу за свој рачун; ваљда се радовао и томе што смо се приближавали циљу нашег путовања - Дунаву. Око два часа по подне мој мали караван je преко моста на Нишави кренуо кроз хришћанску махалу, у којој je због панађура било веома живо. Трговци и занатлије које сам посећивао поздрављали су ме скидањем капе и довикивали »срећан пут!« Тада нису ни слутили да ће шест година доцније често проклињаној турској владавини у њиховом граду доћи крај, a још мање, јер су се увек осећали Бугарима, да ће припасти Кнежевини Србији.</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.maksimovic.rs/literatura/eknjige/FeliksKanic-SrbijaZemljaIStanovnistvo.pdf">("Србија, земља и становништво од римског доба до краја XIX века", Друга књига, Београд 1986</a>, p. 215)</span>
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<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197350-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197350_30-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197350_30-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 50.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-ИБ,421-423-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ИБ,421-423_31-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ИБ,421-423_31-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">История на България, том седми - Възстановяване и утвърждаване на Българската държава. Национално-освободителни борби /1878-1903/, София, 1991, с. 421-423.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bulgari-istoria-2010.com/booksBG/S_Christov_Pirot_i_negovoto_naselenie.pdf">Христов, Симеон. Пиротският окръг и неговото население, Сборник за народни умотворения, наука и книжнина, книга ХІ, 1894, с. 289-302.</a></span>
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<li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Българите от Западните покрайнини (1878-1975), Главно управление на архивите, Архивите говорят, т. 35, София 2005, с. 62-64 - А list of immigrants from Pirot in Bulgaria containing 160 names of heads of families.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFSvetlana_Radovanović1995" class="citation web cs1">Svetlana Radovanović (1995). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rastko.rs/istorija/srbi-balkan/sradovanovic-demography.html">"Demographic Growth and Ethnodemographic Changes in the Republic of Serbia"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Demographic+Growth+and+Ethnodemographic+Changes+in+the+Republic+of+Serbia&rft.date=1995&rft.au=Svetlana+Radovanovi%C4%87&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rastko.rs%2Fistorija%2Fsrbi-balkan%2Fsradovanovic-demography.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></span>
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<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197356-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197356_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 56.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKostić197363-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKostić197363_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKostić1973">Kostić 1973</a>, p. 63.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2016&mm=02&dd=29&nav_id=1102137">"Pirot, Kikinda i Vršac dobili status grada"</a> [Pirot, Kikinda and Vršac Granted City Status]. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/B92" title="B92">B92</a>. 29 February 2016<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">26 June</span> 2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Pirot%2C+Kikinda+i+Vr%C5%A1ac+dobili+status+grada&rft.pub=B92&rft.date=2016-02-29&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.b92.net%2Finfo%2Fvesti%2Findex.php%3Fyyyy%3D2016%26mm%3D02%26dd%3D29%26nav_id%3D1102137&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></span>
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<li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf">"2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>stat.gov.rs</i>. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 March</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=stat.gov.rs&rft.atitle=2011+Census+of+Population%2C+Households+and+Dwellings+in+the+Republic+of+Serbia&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fpod2.stat.gov.rs%2FObjavljenePublikacije%2FPopis2011%2FKnjiga20.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></span>
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<li id="cite_note-srbeconomiczone2017-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-srbeconomiczone2017_39-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFMikavica2017" class="citation news cs1">Mikavica, A. (3 September 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/388105/Slobodne-zone-mamac-za-investitore">"Slobodne zone mamac za investitore"</a>. <i>politika.rs</i> (in Serbian)<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 March</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=politika.rs&rft.atitle=Slobodne+zone+mamac+za+investitore&rft.date=2017-09-03&rft.aulast=Mikavica&rft.aufirst=A.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politika.rs%2Fsr%2Fclanak%2F388105%2FSlobodne-zone-mamac-za-investitore&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></span>
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<li id="cite_note-stats18-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-stats18_40-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2019/PdfE/G201913046.pdf">"MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>stat.gov.rs</i>. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Statistical_Office_of_the_Republic_of_Serbia" title="Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia">Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia</a>. 25 December 2019<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 December</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=stat.gov.rs&rft.atitle=MUNICIPALITIES+AND+REGIONS+OF+THE+REPUBLIC+OF+SERBIA%2C+2019.&rft.date=2019-12-25&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fpublikacije.stat.gov.rs%2FG2019%2FPdfE%2FG201913046.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></span>
</li>
</ol></div>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Sources">Sources</span></h2>
<ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFKostić1973" class="citation book cs1">Kostić, Kosta N. (1973). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_042"><i>Istorija Pirota</i></a>. Pirot: Muzej Ponišavlja. NBPI-knjige-042.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Istorija+Pirota&rft.place=Pirot&rft.pub=Muzej+Poni%C5%A1avlja&rft.date=1973&rft.aulast=Kosti%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Kosta+N.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalna.nb.rs%2Fwb%2FNBS%2FZavicajne_zbirke%2FNarodna_biblioteka_Pirot%2FZbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu%2FNBPI_knjige_042&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></li>
<li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFLilić1994" class="citation book cs1">Lilić, Borislava V. (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=kuB-PgAACAAJ"><i>Istorija Pirota i okoline: Pirot u periodu turske vlasti 1804-1878. Deo 1</i></a>. Izdavač NiP Hemikale, štampa "Grafika". <a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-86-82473-01-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-86-82473-01-5"><bdi>978-86-82473-01-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Istorija+Pirota+i+okoline%3A+Pirot+u+periodu+turske+vlasti+1804-1878.+Deo+1&rft.pub=Izdava%C4%8D+NiP+Hemikale%2C+%C5%A1tampa+%22Grafika%22&rft.date=1994&rft.isbn=978-86-82473-01-5&rft.aulast=Lili%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Borislava+V.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DkuB-PgAACAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></li>
<li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFNikolić1974" class="citation book cs1">Nikolić, Vladimir M. (1974). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_061"><i>Стари Пирот</i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8+%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82&rft.date=1974&rft.aulast=Nikoli%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Vladimir+M.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalna.nb.rs%2Fwb%2FNBS%2FZavicajne_zbirke%2FNarodna_biblioteka_Pirot%2FZbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu%2FNBPI_knjige_061&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></li>
<li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFPetrović1996" class="citation book cs1">Petrović, Svetislav (1996). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_007"><i>Историја града Пирота</i></a>. Пирот: Хемикалс. NBPI-knjige-007.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0+%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B0+%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B0&rft.place=%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82&rft.pub=%D0%A5%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%81&rft.date=1996&rft.aulast=Petrovi%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Svetislav&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalna.nb.rs%2Fwb%2FNBS%2FZavicajne_zbirke%2FNarodna_biblioteka_Pirot%2FZbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu%2FNBPI_knjige_007&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></li>
<li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFStanković1996" class="citation book cs1">Stanković, Stevan M. (1996). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_050"><i>Пирот и околина</i></a>. Pirot: Sloboda. NBPI-knjige-050.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82+%D0%B8+%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0&rft.place=Pirot&rft.pub=Sloboda&rft.date=1996&rft.aulast=Stankovi%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Stevan+M.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalna.nb.rs%2Fwb%2FNBS%2FZavicajne_zbirke%2FNarodna_biblioteka_Pirot%2FZbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu%2FNBPI_knjige_050&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></li>
<li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r999302996"/><cite id="CITEREFŽivković1994" class="citation book cs1">Živković, Vitomir V. (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.digitalna.nb.rs/wb/NBS/Zavicajne_zbirke/Narodna_biblioteka_Pirot/Zbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu/NBPI_knjige_030"><i>Торлак</i></a>. Пирот. NBPI-knjige-030.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=%D0%A2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BA&rft.place=%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82&rft.date=1994&rft.aulast=%C5%BDivkovi%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Vitomir+V.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalna.nb.rs%2Fwb%2FNBS%2FZavicajne_zbirke%2FNarodna_biblioteka_Pirot%2FZbirka_knjiga_Narodne_biblioteke_u_Pirotu%2FNBPI_knjige_030&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APirot" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span></h2>
<table role="presentation" class="mbox-small plainlinks sistersitebox" style="background-color:#f9f9f9;border:1px solid #aaa;color:#000">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="mbox-image"><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="noviewer" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></td>
<td class="mbox-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <i><b><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pirot" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Pirot"><span style="">Pirot</span></a></b></i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul><li><span class="official-website"><span class="url"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pirot.rs">Official website</a></span></span></li></ul>
<div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Municipalities_and_cities_of_Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r992953826">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template:Municipalities_and_cities_of_Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia" title="Template:Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia"><abbr title="View this template" style=";;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template_talk:Municipalities_and_cities_of_Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia" title="Template talk:Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style=";;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Template:Municipalities_and_cities_of_Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia&action=edit"><abbr title="Edit this template" style=";;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Municipalities_and_cities_of_Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Municipalities and cities of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Southern_and_Eastern_Serbia" title="Southern and Eastern Serbia">Southern and Eastern Serbia</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Cities</th><td class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid;width:100%;padding:0px"><div style="padding:0em 0.25em">
<ul><li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bor,_Serbia" title="Bor, Serbia">Bor</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Leskovac" title="Leskovac">Leskovac</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1" title="Niš">Niš</a></b>
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Crveni_Krst,_Ni%C5%A1" title="Crveni Krst, Niš">Crveni Krst</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Medijana" title="Medijana">Medijana</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ni%C5%A1ka_Banja" title="Niška Banja">Niška Banja</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Palilula,_Ni%C5%A1" title="Palilula, Niš">Palilula</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pantelej,_Ni%C5%A1" class="mw-redirect" title="Pantelej, Niš">Pantelej</a></li></ul></li>
<li><b><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Pirot</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Po%C5%BEarevac" title="Požarevac">Požarevac</a></b>
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/City_municipality_of_Po%C5%BEarevac" title="City municipality of Požarevac">Požarevac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kostolac" title="Kostolac">Kostolac</a></li></ul></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Prokuplje" title="Prokuplje">Prokuplje</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Smederevo" title="Smederevo">Smederevo</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vranje" title="Vranje">Vranje</a></b>
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/City_municipality_of_Vranje" title="City municipality of Vranje">Vranje</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vranjska_Banja" title="Vranjska Banja">Vranjska Banja</a></li></ul></li>
<li><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zaje%C4%8Dar" title="Zaječar">Zaječar</a></b></li></ul>
</div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="2" style="width:1px;padding:0px 0px 0px 2px"><div><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg" class="image" title="Map of and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia"><img alt="Map of and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg/100px-Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="141" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg/150px-Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg/200px-Statistical_regions_of_Serbia.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="744" data-file-height="1052" /></a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Municipalities</th><td class="navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid;width:100%;padding:0px"><div style="padding:0em 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Aleksinac" title="Aleksinac">Aleksinac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Babu%C5%A1nica" title="Babušnica">Babušnica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bela_Palanka" title="Bela Palanka">Bela Palanka</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Blace" title="Blace">Blace</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bojnik" title="Bojnik">Bojnik</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Boljevac" title="Boljevac">Boljevac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bosilegrad" title="Bosilegrad">Bosilegrad</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bujanovac" title="Bujanovac">Bujanovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Crna_Trava" title="Crna Trava">Crna Trava</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dimitrovgrad,_Serbia" title="Dimitrovgrad, Serbia">Dimitrovgrad</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Doljevac" title="Doljevac">Doljevac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gad%C5%BEin_Han" title="Gadžin Han">Gadžin Han</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Golubac" title="Golubac">Golubac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kladovo" title="Kladovo">Kladovo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Knja%C5%BEevac" title="Knjaževac">Knjaževac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ku%C4%8Devo" title="Kučevo">Kučevo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kur%C5%A1umlija" title="Kuršumlija">Kuršumlija</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lebane" title="Lebane">Lebane</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Majdanpek" title="Majdanpek">Majdanpek</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Malo_Crni%C4%87e" title="Malo Crniće">Malo Crniće</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Medve%C4%91a" title="Medveđa">Medveđa</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Mero%C5%A1ina" title="Merošina">Merošina</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Negotin" title="Negotin">Negotin</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Petrovac,_Serbia" title="Petrovac, Serbia">Petrovac</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pre%C5%A1evo" title="Preševo">Preševo</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ra%C5%BEanj" title="Ražanj">Ražanj</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Smederevska_Palanka" title="Smederevska Palanka">Smederevska Palanka</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sokobanja" title="Sokobanja">Sokobanja</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Surdulica" title="Surdulica">Surdulica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Svrljig" title="Svrljig">Svrljig</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Trgovi%C5%A1te" title="Trgovište">Trgovište</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Velika_Plana" title="Velika Plana">Velika Plana</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Veliko_Gradi%C5%A1te" title="Veliko Gradište">Veliko Gradište</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vladi%C4%8Din_Han" title="Vladičin Han">Vladičin Han</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vlasotince" title="Vlasotince">Vlasotince</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/%C5%BDabari" title="Žabari">Žabari</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/%C5%BDagubica" title="Žagubica">Žagubica</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/%C5%BDitora%C4%91a" title="Žitorađa">Žitorađa</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_frameless_&#124;text-top_&#124;10px_&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata_&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q309343#identifiers&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th id="Authority_control_frameless_&#124;text-top_&#124;10px_&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata_&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q309343#identifiers&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control</a> <a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q309343#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" style="vertical-align: text-top" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></th><td class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid;width:100%;padding:0px"><div style="padding:0em 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/BNF_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="BNF (identifier)">BNF</a>: <span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb151184159">cb151184159</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb151184159">(data)</a></span></span></li>
<li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/GND_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="GND (identifier)">GND</a>: <span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/4403906-2">4403906-2</a></span></span></li>
<li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/NKC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="NKC (identifier)">NKC</a>: <span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&local_base=aut&ccl_term=ica=ge328962&CON_LNG=ENG">ge328962</a></span></span></li>
<li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/VIAF_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="VIAF (identifier)">VIAF</a>: <span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://viaf.org/viaf/241847602">241847602</a></span></span></li>
<li><span class="nowrap"> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/WorldCat_Identities_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="WorldCat Identities (identifier)">WorldCat Identities</a>: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/identities/viaf-241847602">viaf-241847602</a></span></li></ul>
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