1. Surnames
Most of Serbian last names end on „ić“. This suffix can be compared with Irish prefix „O’“, Nordic suffix „son“ or „dotir“, Hingarian „fi“, Bulgarian „ev/a“ or „ov/a“, Turkish „oglu“ and can be translated as „the offspring“, and is a genuine Serbian patronymic. Hence, Serbian last names remain always the same both for sons and daughters.

 

2. Raspberry
Serbia is the largest exporter of raspberry in the world – almost 95% of raspberries sold in the world originate from Serbia. Not only that, but Serbia used to be the largest exporter of plums and prunes; and its potential is coming back to life in the past several years. It is estimated that by 2017 Serbia will be the leader in plum, apple and pear export in Europe.

 

3. Roman emperors
18 Roman emperors were born on the land which is today Serbia. This is about 20% of all the Roman emperors. The most famous of them was definitely Constantine the Great, Roman emperor who declared Christianity as official religion. Not only that, but Serbia is a home of one of 4 Roman capitals – ancient city of Sirmium, today’s Sremska Mitrovica.

 

4. Vampire
The only Serbian word that is accepted and used across the world is “vampire”.

 

5. Clocks
The Serbian clock-making industry is even older than the world-famous Swiss one. The Serbs had their own clock 600 years before the Swiss did.

 

6. Ancient Belgrade
Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with excavations confirming that the settlements continuously existed here for at least 7000 years. Not far from Belgrade center, at the outskirts of the city, one can find remnants of two of the most prominent cultures in Bronze Age – Vinča and Starčevo cultures. These cities were pioneers in trade throughout Europe andMiddle East, and their potential was in trade with vulcanic glass – obsidian.

 

7. Serbian army
It took Serbian army only 18 days to breach the Thessaloniki front in 1918. French, Greek, Italian and British army – although outnumbering Serbian army – didn’t manage to do it in months. The breach of Thessaloniki front meant a complete disaster of Austro-Hungaria and Bulgaria. French general and supreme commander of the Allied armies on Thessaloniki front was overwhelmed with Serbian courage that he declared if he had had such men in other Allied armies – the war wouldn’t even have broken loose. It has been recorded that Serbian army liberated their homeland so quickly that the allied armies weren’t able to distribute supplies to them so fast.

 

8. Language
Serbian language was one of the four official languages in Ottoman Empire. Not only this, but Serbia gave several notable Great Veziers and dozens of generals to the Ottomans. On the other hand, Serbian dukes in Austria and Russia were known as the greatest enemies of Ottoman Empire. Thanks to this, it was quite usual to have battles between two Serbian generals on different sides.

 

9. Science
Serbs gave to the world some of the most respecting scientists ever: Nikola Tesla, a wonder-man whose ingenious inventions are still being ahead of time; Mihajlo Pupin, physicist and chemist whose ideas on telecommunications are still breathtaking; Milutin Milankovic, mathematician, astronomer, climatologist, geophysicist, civil engineer whose climatological researchers spread all over the solar system and inventor of the most accurate calendar with declination of only 2,75 seconds per astronomical year…

 

10. Hospitality
It is not only our proverb – according to the international polls, Serbs are statistically the most hospitable nation in the world. This custom is highly implemented in our legacy, and can be traced to the ancient Slavic belief that the host wouldn’t gain any favor of gods if he didn’t show hospitality to a guest.