Belgrade is situated at the place where the Sava joins the Danube. Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe and, beside Athens, the greatest urban whole of the Balkan Peninsula. The oldest archaeological artefacts from Belgrade area date back to the fifth millenium B.C. The members of a Celtic tribe founded Singidunum in the III century B.C., while the first record of the name Belgrade dates back to 878 A.D. During its long and tumultuous history, Belgrade has been conquered by 40 armies, and 38 times it has been raised up from the ashes.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, having around 1,6 million residents. In the field of traffic and transport, it is a city of the highest importance as a road and railway center, as a port for river and air traffic, and as a telecommunication center. It spreads over 3.6% of the territory of Serbia, and 15.8% of Serbian population lives in this city. Also, 31.2% of all employed workers in Serbia work in Belgrade.

Important economic and agricultural capacities are developed in Belgrade, especially metallurgy, metal-working industry and electronic industry, then commerce and banking. The free trade zone is located in the wider area of Belgrade, Smederevo and Pančevo, on the banks of the Danube river, covering 2,000 sqm of business space. Also, 30% of the national product of Serbia is made in Belgrade.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbian culture, education and science. It has the greatest concentration of institutions of national importance in the field of science and art. There is the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, established in 1886 as the Serbian Royal Academy: the National Library of Serbia, established in 1832; the National Museum, established in 1841 and the National Theatre, established in 1869. The city is also the seat of the Belgrade University, founded in 1808 as the Great School, and the seat of the University of Art.

Belgrade has the status of a separate teritorial unit in Serbia, having its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities, having their own local governmental bodies.