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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central- and Southeastern Europe, covering the southern lowlands of the Carpathian basin and central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania, Bulgaria to the east; Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro to the west; its border with Albania is disputed. Serbia's capital city, Belgrade, is among the most populous in Southeastern Europe. After their settlement in the Balkans, Serbs formed a medieval kingdom that evolved into a Serbian Empire, which reached its peak in the 14th century. By the 16th century Serbian lands were conquered and occupied by Ottomans, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 1800s, Serbian revolution established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy which subsequently expanded its territory, pioneering the abolition of feudalism and serfdom in the Southeastern Europe. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina joined Serbia in 1918. Decimated as a result of World War I, the country united with other South Slavic peoples into a Yugoslav state which would exist in several formations up until 2006, when Serbia once again became independent |