Niš#History

Niš was known as НишьДанчо Господинов и кол. (2003) История на града Лом и Ломска околия. Изток-Запад, {{ISBN|9789548945691}}, стр. 387. or Ньшь{{Cite book |title=Leksikon gradova i trgova srednjovekovnih srpskih zemalja — prema pisanim izvorima |trans-title=Lexicon of towns and market places in the medieval Serbian lands — according to written sources |editor-last=Mišić |editor-first=Siniša |year=2010 |publisher=Zavod |location=Belgrade |page=188}} (Nyšь) in Old Serbian and Old Bulgarian. Nāissus is the Ancient name of the city.{{cite book |last=Detelić |first=Mirjana |title=Epski gradovi. Leksikon |trans-title=Epic Cities. A lexicon |date=2007 |publisher=Balkanološkog instituta SANU |location=Belgrade |isbn=9788671790406 |page=289 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dk0WAQAAIAAJ}} Naissus is itself probably a derivative of the older *Nāviskos, from *Nāvia ("trough valley"), the Celtic name of the Nišava River, which flows through the city. In historical sources, the town is mentioned as Naissus, Ναϊσσός, Naessus, urbs Naisitana, Нишь, Ньшь, Nisso and Nix.

Niš evolved from the toponym attested in Ancient Greek as ΝΑΙΣΣΟΣ (Naissos) achieving its present form via phonetic changes in Proto-Albanian and thereafter the placename entered Slavic.{{harvnb|Geniş|Maynard|2009|p=557}}{{cite book|title=The Indo-European Languages|last=Rusakov|first=Alexander|publisher=Routledge|year=2017 |isbn=9781317391531|editor1-last=Kapović|editor1-first=Mate|pages=556|chapter=Albanian|editor2-last=Giacalone Ramat |editor2-first=Anna|editor3-last=Ramat|editor3-first=Paolo|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8i0lDwAAQBAJ}}{{Cite thesis|last=Curtis|first=Matthew Cowan|title=Slavic-Albanian Language Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1338406907|publisher=The Ohio State University|year=2012|page=42|access-date=27 May 2022|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207075619/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1338406907|url-status=dead}}{{cite thesis |last1=Prendergast |first1=Eric |year=2017 |title=The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area |page=80 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7nk454x6 |publisher=UC Berkeley}}

• {{cite book | last=Vermeer | first=Williem | title=The Disintegration of Yugoslavia | publisher=Rodopi | series=European Studies | year=1992 | isbn=978-90-5183-353-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfWpy1D3StAC&pg=PA107 | page=107}}
• {{Cite book|last=Katičić|first=Radoslav|author-link=Radoslav Katičić|title=Ancient Languages of the Balkans|date=1976|publisher=Mouton|isbn=9789027933157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8ZhAAAAMAAJ|page=186|quote=On the other hand Niš from Ναϊσσός, Štip from Ἄστιβος, Šar from Scardus, and Ohrid from Lychnidus presuppose the sound development characteristic for Albanian.}}
• The contemporary form of the name of ancient Naissos, an important place in Dardania which is now called Niš, is best explained with the help of the historical phonetics of the Albanian language. For more see: Vladimir I. Georgiev (1981) Introduction to the History of the Indo-European Languages. Publishing House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, p. 142, {{ISBN|9535172611}}.
• Hamp, Eric P. "Albanian" p. 1663 in Part 2, The study of languages, edited by Einar Haugen, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2019, pp. 1626-1692. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111684970-016 Nish might indicate that Proto-Albanian was spoken in the region in pre-Slavic antiquity.{{sfn|Vermeer|1992|p=107}} According to Ismajli (2015), when this settlement happened is a matter of debate, as Proto-Albanians might have moved relatively late in antiquity in the area which might have been an eastern expansion of Proto-Albanian settlement as no other toponyms known in antiquity in the area presuppose an Albanian development.{{cite book|last=Ismajli|first=Rexhep|title=Studime për historinë e shqipes në kontekst ballkanik|trans-title=Studies on the History of Albanian in the Balkan context |url=http://www.ashak.org/repository/docs/RISMAJLI_397704.pdf |editor=Eqrem Basha|publisher=Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts, special editions CLII, Section of Linguistics and Literature|number=55|year=2015|pages=109, 263|place=Prishtinë|language=sq}} It cannot be ruled out however that the development of Nish < Naiss- may also represent a regional development in late antiquity Balkans which, while closely related to Albanian (i.e. characterized by the same phonetic system), may not be identical with it.{{cite web |last1=Matzinger |first1=Joachim |title=Die albanische Autochthoniehypothese aus der Sicht der Sprachwissenschaft |url=https://www.albanologie.uni-muenchen.de/downloads/meldungen/gastvortrag_matzinger_nov_2016/muenchen_2_ethnogenese.pdf |page=13 |date=2016}} Attempts have been made to explain the place name in various ways as "a purely Slavic development", such as by Serbian linguist Aleksandar Loma,{{Cite journal |last=Лома |first=Александар |date=2003 |title=Откуде Ниш? |url=https://dais.sanu.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2173 |journal=Ниш и Византија, зборник радова I |language=sr |pages=15–21 |quote=Образовани људи знају да је Ниш пословењен облик античког имена града Naissus (као што се Видин своди преко средњовековног облика Бдињ на антички Bononia), дакле да је посреди предсловенски топоним. ({{translation|Educated individuals know that Niš is a Slavicized form of the city's ancient name Naissus (just as Vidin resolves – through the medieval form Bdin – to the ancient name Bononia), and hence that is a pre-Slavic toponym.}})}} however, Austrian linguist Joachim Matzinger, who maintains the Albanian transmission of Naiss > Niš, states that "a discussion with historical South Slavic linguistics is an urgent desideratum".Matzinger, Joachim (2016). "Die albanische Autochthoniehypothese aus der Sicht der Sprachwissenschaft": "Es wird versucht, den Ortsnamen auf verschiedene Weise auch als rein slawische Entwicklung zu erklären, siehe Aleksandar LOMA [...] Das letzte Wort ist hier noch nicht gesprochen, eine Diskussion mit der historischen südslawischen Linguistik ist ein dringendes Desiderat!", p. 14

{{main|History of Niš}}

File:Medijana_u_Nišu.JPG, erected by Constantine I near his birth town of Naissus.]]

The first settlement on the site of today's Niš may have been founded by the Celts at the end of the 3rd century BC.{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/415944/Nis |title=Nis|publisher=Britannica.com |access-date=February 18, 2013}} There is very little archaeological evidence however which can be used to reconstruct a pre-Roman history of Niš.{{Cite book|last=Petrović|first=Vladimir|title=Дарданија у римским итинерарима / Dardanie dans les itinéraires romaines|publisher=SANU|year=2007}} During the Roman era, the city of Naissus became a large urban center. During the Roman conquest of the Balkans, between 168 and 75 BC, the city was used as a base of operations. Naissus was first mentioned in Roman documents near the beginning of the 2nd century CE, and was considered a place worthy of note in the Geography of Ptolemy of Alexandria.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The Romans occupied the town during the Dardanian campaign (75–73 BC), and set up a legionary camp in the city.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D5IxWxCgFFwC&pg=PA207 |title=The provincial at Rome: and, Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14, p. 207 |access-date=February 18, 2013|isbn=9780859896320 |last1=Syme |first1=Ronald |year=1999 |publisher=University of Exeter Press }} The city, called refugia and vici in pre-Roman relation, as a result of its strategic position (the Thracians were based to the south) developed as an important garrison and market town in the province of Moesia Superior.{{cite web|url=http://www.balkaninstitut.com/pdf/izdanja/balcanica/Balcanica%20XXXVII%20(2006).pdf|title=BALCANICA XXXVII|website=Balkaninstitut.com|access-date=December 29, 2017}} In 169 AD, Naissus was established as a municipium and from Diocletian onwards it belonged to the province of Dardania. In 272, the future Emperor Constantine the Great was born in Naissus. Constantine created the Dacia Mediterranea province, of which Naissus was the capital, which also included Remesiana on the Via Militaris and the towns of Pautalia and Germania. He lived in Naissus briefly from 316 to 322.Pannonia and Upper Moesia: a history of the middle Danube provinces [https://books.google.com/books?id=6L49AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA51 p.51]

The city was of great importance for the Constantinian dynasty. It is the birthplace of Constantine the Great who turned it from a middle-sized town to a large city with many public buildings. The city flourished greatly in the Constantinian period. A bronze bust of Constantine decorated city. It was his temporary residence and the city where he promulgated many laws, preserved in the Theodosian code. In Constantinian narratives, Naissus was the city where the usurper Vetranio abdicated to Constantius II after a powerful speech he gave to the rebel armies. Julian, the last Constantinian emperor, used Naissus, which had arms factories, as his base in the civil war and recruited Illyrians and others as soldiers for his campaign.{{cite journal |last1=Kaegi |first1=Walter Emil |title=The Emperor Julian at Naissus |journal=L'Antiquité Classique |date=1975 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=163–65 |doi=10.3406/antiq.1975.1770 |jstor=41650264 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41650264|url-access=subscription }}

In 364 AD, the imperial Villa Mediana {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=on}} was the site where emperors Valentinian and Valens met and divided the Roman Empire into halves which they would rule as co-emperors.{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/gibbon/02/daf02049.htm |title=Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2: Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The Empire. Part II |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=February 18, 2013}}

It was besieged by the Huns in 441 and devastated in 448, and again in 480 when the partially-rebuilt town was demolished by the Barbarians. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I restored the town but it was destroyed by the Avars once again. The Slavs, in their campaign against Byzantium, conquered Niš and settled here in 540.

File:Picta Sal.jpg and Prince Géza receive gifts from the locals at Niš in 1072 (Chronicon Pictum, 1358)]]

In 805, the town and its surroundings were taken by Bulgarian Emperor Krum.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=}} In the 11th century Byzantium reclaimed control over Naissus and the surrounding area.

File:SiegeNish1096.jpg attacking Naissus on 4 July 1096]]

King Solomon of Hungary and Prince Géza marched along the valley of the river Great Morava as far as Niš. The Hungarians seized the Byzantine city without any resistance in 1072.{{Cite book |last=Bánlaki |first=József |url=https://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0003/182.html |title=A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme (The Military History of the Hungarian Nation) |year=1928 |pages=A belgrádi hadjárat 1071-ben és a nisi hadművelet 1072-ben |language=Hungarian}} During the People's Crusade, on 3 July 1096, Peter the Hermit clashed with Byzantine forces at Naissus. Manuel I fortified the town, but under his successor Andronikos I it was seized by the Hungarian king Béla III. Byzantine control was eventually reestablished, but in 1185 it fell under Serbian control. By 1188, Niš became the capital of Serbian king Stefan Nemanja.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=7}} On 27 July 1189, Nemanja received German emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his 100,000 crusaders at Niš.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=24}} Niš is mentioned in descriptions of Serbia under Vukan in 1202, highlighting its special status.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=48}} In 1203, Kaloyan of Bulgaria annexed Niš.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=54}} Stefan Nemanjić later regained the region.

The fall of the Serbian Empire, which was conquered by Ottoman Sultan Murad I in 1385, decided the fate of Niš as well. After a 25-day-long siege the city fell to the Ottomans. It was returned to Serbian rule in 1443. Niš again fell under Ottoman rule in 1448, and remained thusly for 241 years. During Ottoman rule Niš was a seat of the empire's military and civil administration. A Silesian traveler stated in 1596 that the route from Sofia to Niš was littered with corpses and described the gates of Niš as bedecked with the freshly-severed heads of poor Bulgarian peasants.{{cite book|title=Kultur der Nationen|page=110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WDAPAQAAIAAJ&q=friedrich+seidel+nis|language=de}} In 1689, Niš was seized by the Austrian army during the Great Turkish War, but the Ottomans regained it in 1690. In 1737, Niš was again seized by the Austrians, who attempted to rebuild the fortifications around the city. The same year, the Ottomans reclaimed the city without resistance. The existing fortification is of Ottoman Turkish origin, dating from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–1723). It is well known as one of the most significant and best preserved monuments of this kind in the mid-Balkans. The Fortress was erected on the site of earlier fortifications – the ancient Roman, Byzantine, and later yet Medieval forts.{{Cite web |title=NİŞ |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/nis |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi |language=tr}}

File:Bali Begova Dzamija.jpg

During the First Serbian uprising in 1809, Serbian revolutionaries attempted to liberate Niš in the Battle of Čegar. After the defeat of the Serbian forces, the Ottoman commander of Niš ordered the heads of the slain Serbs mounted on a tower to serve as a warning. The structure became known as Skull Tower ({{langx|sr|Ćele Kula|italics=yes}}).{{cite book|last=Vucinich|first=Wayne S.|author-link=Wayne S. Vucinich|editor-last=Vucinich|editor-first=Wayne S.|year=1982|title=First Serbian Uprising, 1804–1813|chapter=The Serbian Insurgents and the Russo-Turkish War of 1809–1812|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-930888-15-2|page=141}} In 1821, the Ottomans arrested the Bishop of Niš, Milentija, as well as 200 Serbian patriots, on charges of preparing an uprising in the Niš area in support of the Greek War of Independence. On June 13 of that year, Bishop Milentija and other Serbian leaders were hanged in public.

In the 19th century Niš was an important town, but populated by Bulgarians in the 19th century, when the Niš rebellion broke out in 1841.{{cite book|last1=Chalcraft|first1=John|title=Popular Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107007505|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JhW8CwAAQBAJ&q=pirot+rebellion+bulgarian+1836&pg=PA95|language=en|date=March 22, 2016}} According to Ottoman statistics during the Tanzimat the population of Sanjak of Niš was treated as Bulgarian,{{cite journal |last1=Pinson |first1=Mark |title=Ottoman Bulgaria in the First Tanzimat Period: The Revolts in Nish (1841) and Vidin (1850) |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |date=May 1975 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=103–146 |doi=10.1080/00263207508700291 |jstor=4282564 }} and according to French travelers such as Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui and Ami Boue in 1837/1841. According to all authors between 1840 and 1872 the delineation between Bulgarians and Serbs is undisputed and ran north of Nis,{{cite book|last1=Light|first1=Andrew|last2=Smith|first2=Jonathan M.|title=Philosophy and Geography II: The Production of Public Space|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780847688104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2_Do4Hd8skC&q=Davidovic+map+1848&pg=PA240|pages=240, 241|year=1998}} although one author Cyprien Robert claims that half of the population of the town was made up by Serbians.{{cite web|url=https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12606837/index.pdf|title=Engin Deniz Tanir, October 2005, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, p. 70.|website=Etd.lib.metu.edu.tr|access-date=December 29, 2017}} Serbian cartographers of the time (such as Dimitrije Davidović in 1828 and Milan Savić in 1878) also accepted South Morava river as such delineation and added Niš outside the borders of the Serbian people.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeNBAAAAYAAJ|title=Istoriya na bŭlgarskiy narod |last1=Savić|first1=Milan|year=1981}} In 1862 some Muslim families from Belgrade and Smederevo settled in Nis due to the forced displacement of Muslims in the Principality of Serbia.{{Cite journal |last=Özkan |first=Ayşe |title=The Expulsion of Muslims from Serbia after the International Conference in Kanlıca and Withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from Serbia (1862-1867) |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/gav/issue/6522/86468 |journal=Akademik Bakış|date=January 2011 |volume=5 |issue=9 |pages=123–138 }} The urban population of Niš consisted of 17,107 Christian and 4,291 Muslim males, with total number of 3,500 Serbian houses and 2,000 Muslim houses. Muslim population of Niš consisted mainly of Turks, of which a part were of Albanian origin, and the rest were Muslim Albanians and Muslim Romani.

File:Srbi ulaze u osvojeni Niš.jpg]]

In 1870, Niš was included in the Bulgarian Exarchate.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire: Facts on File library of world history |first1=Gábor |last1=Ágoston |first2=Bruce Alan |last2=Masters |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-1438110257 |page=104}} Before the area had been under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. The city was also stipulated the area to be ceded to Bulgaria according to the Constantinople Conference in 1876.Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire; Gabor Agoston, Bruce Alan Masters; 2009, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&dq=%22bulgarian+exarchate%22+Ni%C5%A1&pg=PA104 p. 104]

Niš was finally taken by the Serbian Army during the Serbo–Ottoman War of 1876–1878. The battle for the liberation of Niš started on 29 December 1877, and the Serbian Army entered Niš on 11 January 1878, and it became a part of Serbia. The Albanian quarter was burned and some of the town's Muslim population, which the majority were Albanians, were forced to flee to the Ottoman vilayet of Kosovo, resettling in Pristina, while others went to Skopje.{{Cite journal |last=Jagodić |first=Miloš |date=1998-12-01 |title=The Emigration of Muslims from the New Serbian Regions 1877/1878 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/balkanologie/265 |journal=Balkanologie. Revue d'études pluridisciplinaires |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |doi=10.4000/balkanologie.265 |s2cid=262022722 |issn=1279-7952|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal|last=Jagodić|first=Miloš|title=The Emigration of Muslims from the New Serbian Regions 1877/1878|url=http://balkanologie.revues.org/265|journal=Balkanologie|volume=2|issue=2|year=1998|doi=10.4000/balkanologie.265|s2cid=140637086 |url-access=subscription}} para. 6. "According to the information about the language spoken among the Muslims in the cities, we can see of which nationality they were. So, the Muslim population of Niš and Pirot consisted mostly of Turks; para. 11. "The Turks have been mostly city dwellers. It is certain, however, that part of them was of Albanian origin, because of the well-known fact that the Albanians have been very easily assimilated with Turks in the cities."; para. 23, 30, 49.{{cite book|last=Judah|first=Tim|title=Kosovo: What everyone needs to know|year=2008|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjTRCwAAQBAJ|isbn=9780199704040|pages=35}} "This was the year that saw Serbia expanding southward and taking Nis. The Albanian quarter was burned and Albanians from the surrounding villages forced to flee." The descendants of the Albanians that resettled in parts of now Kosovo, are now known as Muhaxhir.Pllana, Emin (1985). "Les raisons de la manière de l'exode des refugies albanais du territoire du sandjak de Nish a Kosove (1878–1878) [The reasons for the manner of the exodus of Albanian refugees from the territory of the Sanjak of Nish to Kosovo (1878–1878)] ". Studia Albanica. 1: 189–190. The number of remaining Muslims counted were 1,168, with many being Muslim Romani, out of the pre-war ca. 8,500.{{cite journal|last=Jagodić|first=Miloš|title=The Emigration of Muslims from the New Serbian Regions 1877/1878|url=http://balkanologie.revues.org/265|journal=Balkanologie|volume=2|issue=2|year=1998|doi=10.4000/balkanologie.265|s2cid=140637086 |quote=Before the war, there were about 8 500 Muslims in Niš. 1 168 of them were listed in the first Serbian inventory in 1879. 797 Gypsy Muslims were probably included in that number95. According to the stated data, approximately 7 332 Muslims moved out from Niš.|url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal|last1=Geniş|first1=Şerife|last2=Maynard|first2=Kelly Lynne|title=Formation of a Diasporic Community: The history of migration and resettlement of Muslim Albanians in the Black Sea Region of Turkey|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=45|issue=4|year=2009|pages=556|doi=10.1080/00263200903009619|s2cid=143742189}} "that the Muslim Albanians of Nish were forced to leave in 1878, and that at that time most of these Nishan Albanians migrated south into Kosovo, although some went to Skopje in Macedonia." The Albanian bazaar in Niš was destroyed. 12 out of 15 mosques and about 1,300 out of 4,000 houses were torn down, while the rest of the Muslim houses were sold at discounted prices. The destruction of buildings owned by Muslims, Jews and recalcitrant Christians was followed by the widening of streets and other measures to "modernise" the town and weaken its Ottoman outlook. Albanian traders who wanted to stay were subjected to a targeted campaign of murder. The Serbian authorities subjected the Jewish community to extortion of money, arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property, forced labour and desecration of graves.{{cite book | last=Hoare | first=M.A. | title=Serbia: A Modern History | publisher=Hurst Publishers | year=2024 | page=224}} The demographics of Niš underwent change whereby Serbs who formed half the urban population prior to 1878 became 80 percent in 1884.{{cite journal|last=Stefanović|first=Djordje|title=Seeing the Albanians through Serbian eyes: The Inventors of the Tradition of Intolerance and their Critics, 1804–1939|journal=European History Quarterly|volume=35|issue=3|year=2005|pages=465–492|doi=10.1177/0265691405054219|hdl=2440/124622|s2cid=144497487|hdl-access=free}} "Prior to 1878, the Serbs comprised not more than one half of the population of Nis, the largest city in the region; by 1884 the Serbian share rose to 80 per cent."

In the following years, the city saw rapid development. The city library was founded in 1879 and the famous Serbian writer Stevan Sremac, a native of Niš, was its first clerk.{{cite web |last1=Momčilović |first1=Milan |title=Stevan Sremac i stari Niš |url=https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/6801/Стеван-Сремац-и-стари-Ниш |website=Politika.rs |date=5 November 2007}}{{cite web |title=City National Library Celebrated 139th Anniversary |url=https://www.gu.ni.rs/2018/05/14/city-national-library-celebraterd-139th-anniversary/?pismo=lat |website=gu.ni.rs |publisher=City of Niš |date=14 May 2018}} The first hotel, Europe, was built in 1879; shortly after the first district hospital{{cite web |last1=Zivic |first1=Misko |last2=Zivic |first2=Sasa |last3=Zivic |first3=Misa |last4=Babic |first4=Rade R. |title=Founding of the District Hospital in Nis |url=https://publisher.medfak.ni.ac.rs/AMM_1/amm-stari/2007-html/1-broj/FOUNDING%20OF%20THE%20DISTRICT%20HOSPITAL%20IN%20NIS.pdf |website=www.ni.ac.rs |publisher=Acta Medica Medianae}} and the first bank started operating in 1881.{{cite web |url=http://www.ni.rs/chronology.html |title=Chronology |publisher=Ni.rs |access-date=February 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218025545/http://www.ni.rs/chronology.html |archive-date=February 18, 2013 |url-status=dead }} In 1878, the first Grammar School (Gimnazija),{{cite web |title=140th Anniversary of the Stevan Sremac Grammar School |url=https://www.gu.ni.rs/2018/11/23/140th-anniversary-of-the-stevan-sremac-grammar-school/ |website=gu.ni.rs |publisher=City of Niš |date=23 November 2018}} in 1882 the Teacher Training College, and in 1894, the Girls' College were founded in Niš. The City Hall was built from 1882 to 1887.

In 1883, Kosta Čendaš established the first printing house. In 1884, the first newspaper in the city Niški Vesnik was started. In 1884, Jovan Apel built a brewery.{{cite web |title=Niška pivara ponovo proizvodi pivo |url=https://rs.n1info.com/biznis/a161004-ponovo-pocela-proizvodnja-u-niskoj-pivari/ |website=rs.n1info.com |publisher=N1 |date=17 May 2016}} A railway line to Niš was built in 1884, as well as the city's railway station; on 8 August 1884, the first train arrived from Belgrade.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} In 1885, Niš became the last station of the Orient Express, until the railroad was built between Niš and Sofia in 1888. In 1887, the Niš Theatre Sinđelić was built.

In 1897 Mita Ristić founded the Nitex textile factory. In 1905 the female painter Nadežda Petrović established the Sićevo art colony. The first film was screened in 1897, and the first permanent cinema started operating in 1906. The hydroelectric dam in Sićevo Gorge on the Nišava was built in 1908; at the time, it was the largest in Serbia. The airfield was built in 1912 on the Trupale field, and the first aeroplane arrived on 29 December 1912. The city's museum was founded in 1913.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

During the First Balkan War, Niš was the seat of The Main Headquarters of the Serbian Army, which led military operations against the Ottoman Empire. In World War I, Niš was the wartime capital of Serbia, hosting the Government and the National Assembly, until Central Powers conquered Serbia in November 1915, when the city was ceded to Bulgaria. After the breakthrough of the Salonika front, the First Serbian Army commanded by general Petar Bojović liberated Niš on 12 October 1918.{{cite web |title=The Day of the Liberation of Nis in the First World War |url=https://www.gu.ni.rs/2017/10/12/the-day-of-the-liberation-of-nis-in-the-first-world-war/ |website=gu.ni.rs |publisher=City of Niš |date=12 October 2017}}

File:Spomenik kralju aleksandru 2010.JPG, King Alexander Square]]

File:NisTramvaj1930.gif

In the first few years after the war, Niš was recovering from the damage. In 1921, Niš became the centre of the Region (oblast), governed by a grand-župan, appointed by royal decree. From 1929 to 1941, Niš was the capital of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The tram system in Niš started to run in November 1930. The national airline Aeroput included Niš as a regular destination for the route Belgrade—Niš—Skopje—Thessaloniki in 1930. During the time of German occupation in World War II, the first Nazi Crveni Krst concentration camp in Yugoslavia was in Niš. About 30,000 people passed through this camp, of whom over 10,000 were shot on nearby Bubanj hill. On 12 February 1942, 147 prisoners staged a mass escape. In 1944, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies.{{cite web |url=http://www.danas.rs/20040417/vikend3.html |title=Danas.rs greška |access-date=January 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725135730/http://www.danas.rs/20040417/vikend3.html |archive-date=July 25, 2011 }} In September 1943, the Germans established the Dulag 413 transit camp for Italian Military Internees in the city.{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=122|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}

On 14 October 1944, after a long and exhausting battle, the 7th German SS Division 'Prinz Eugen' was defeated and Niš was liberated by Bulgarian Army,Christopher Chant. The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II (Routledge Revivals; 2013); {{ISBN|1134647875}}, p. 209.Elisabeth Barker et al., British Political and Military Strategy in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe in 1944, Springer (1988); {{ISBN|1349193798}}, p. 249.Jozo Tomasevich. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia: 1941–1945, Volume 2, Stanford University Press (2001); {{ISBN|0804779244}}, p. 156. and Partisans. The city was also the site of a unique and accidental friendly fire air war on November 7, 1944 between the air forces of the United States and Soviet Union. On 23 June 1948, Niš was the site of a catastrophic flood during which the Nišava river's water level raised by an unprecedented 5.5 meters.{{cite web|url=http://niskevesti.rs/10775-katastrofalna-poplava-u-nisu-1948-godine-foto/|author=Milan Novaković|title=Niškevesti.rs: Katastrofalna poplava u Nišu juna 1948. godine|language=sr|date=August 1, 2008|access-date=August 10, 2017}}

After World War II, the University of Niš was founded on 15 June 1965.

File:Ниш_32.JPG

Over the course of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Niš was subject to airstrikes on 40 occasions.{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/reportaze/aktuelno.293.html:546968-Suze-za-16-zrtava-kasetnih-bombi|author=D. Stojanović|title=Novosti: Suze za 16 žrtava kasetnih bombi|language=sr|date=May 7, 2015|access-date=August 10, 2017}} On 7 May 1999, the city was the site of a NATO cluster bomb raid which killed 16 civilians. By the end of the NATO bombing campaign, a total of 56 people in Niš had been killed from airstrikes.

In April 2012, the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center was established in the city of Niš. In December 2017, a new building of Clinical Centre of Niš spreading over 45,000 square meters was opened.{{cite news|title=Otvoren Klinički centar u Nišu, došli Vučić, Brnabić...|url=https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2017&mm=12&dd=17&nav_category=11&nav_id=1337173|access-date=December 17, 2017|work=b92.net|agency=Tanjug|date=December 17, 2017|language=sr}}

The road running from the North, from Western and Central Europe and Belgrade down to the Morava River valley, forks into two major lines at Niš: the southern line, leading to Thessalonica and Athens, and the eastern one leading towards Sofia and Istanbul.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

File:Suva_planina_UM.jpg (Dry Mountain) surrounds the city]]

File:Pogled_na_glavnu_ulaz_u_Nišku_tvrđavu_sa_keja_Nišave.JPG.]]

File:Bubanj-Pesnice_4.jpg.]]

Niš is situated at the 43°19' latitude north and 21°54' longitude east, in the Nišava valley, near the spot where it joins the South Morava. The main city square, the city's central part, is at {{convert|194|m|0|abbr=on}} above sea level. The highest point in the city area is "Sokolov kamen" (Falcon's rock) on the Suva Planina (Dry Mountain) ({{convert|1523|m|0|abbr=on}}) while the lowest spot is at Trupale, near the mouth of the Nišava ({{convert|173|m|0|abbr=on}}). The city covers {{convert|596.71|km²|0|abbr=out}} of five municipalities. Below Niska Banja and Nis, under the ground is a natural source of hot water, unique potential of clean and renewable geothermal energy at the surface of up to 65 square kilometers. According to some sources, the natural reservoir is at a depth of 500 to 800 meters, and the estimated capacity is about 400 million cubic meters of thermal mineral water.{{cite web|url=http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/212428/Srbija/Jezero-tople-vode-ispod-Nisa|title=Jezero tople vode ispod Niša|website=Politika.rs|access-date=December 29, 2017}}

Niš has a humid subtropical climate, but with continental influences. Average annual temperature in the area of Niš is {{convert|12.4|°C|1|abbr=on}}. July is the warmest month of the year, with an average of {{convert|23.1|°C|1|abbr=on}}. The coldest month is January, averaging at {{convert|0.9|°C|1|abbr=on}}. The average of the annual rainfall is {{convert|613.8|mm|2|abbr=on}}. The average barometer value is 992.74 mb. On average, there are 134 days with rain and snow cover lasts for 41 days.

Average temperatures in Niš are rising and they are about 1 °C higher in last 15 years than in period from 1991 to 2020. Number of snow days and days with frost is decreasing, since January is the only month with average lows below 0 °C.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Niš, Serbia (2010-2024)

| Jan high C = 5.5

| Feb high C = 9.6

| Mar high C = 13.9

| Apr high C = 19.3

| May high C = 23.4

| Jun high C = 28.2

| Jul high C = 31.2

| Aug high C = 31.6

| Sep high C = 26.5

| Oct high C = 19.9

| Nov high C = 13.6

| Dec high C = 7.2

| year high C = 19.2

| Jan mean C = 2.1

| Feb mean C = 5.1

| Mar mean C = 8.5

| Apr mean C = 13.2

| May mean C = 17.5

| Jun mean C = 21.9

| Jul mean C = 24.2

| Aug mean C = 24.3

| Sep mean C = 19.8

| Oct mean C = 13.9

| Nov mean C = 9.1

| Dec mean C = 3.8

| year mean C = 13.6

| Jan low C = -1.5

| Feb low C = 0.5

| Mar low C = 3.1

| Apr low C = 7.1

| May low C = 11.6

| Jun low C = 15.6

| Jul low C = 17.2

| Aug low C = 16.9

| Sep low C = 13.1

| Oct low C = 7.9

| Nov low C = 4.5

| Dec low C = 0.5

| year low C = 8.1

| Jan precipitation mm = 59.5

| Feb precipitation mm = 39.3

| Mar precipitation mm = 54.9

| Apr precipitation mm = 51.0

| May precipitation mm = 68.6

| Jun precipitation mm = 57.4

| Jul precipitation mm = 50.0

| Aug precipitation mm = 35.1

| Sep precipitation mm = 36.9

| Oct precipitation mm = 45.7

| Nov precipitation mm = 58.7

| source = {{cite web |url=https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?LANG=en&PLZ=_____&PLZN=_____&WMO=13388&CONT=euro&R=160&LEVEL=162®ION=0005&LAND=YG&MOD=tab&ART=TEM&NOREGION=1&FMM=1&FYY=2008&LMM=12&LYY=2022 |title=www.weatheronline.co.uk |publisher= |access-date={{#time:F j, Y}} }}

| source 2 =

}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Niš (1991–2020, extremes 1940–present)

|metric first = y

|single line = y

|Jan record high C = 21.7

|Feb record high C = 24.0

|Mar record high C = 33.5

|Apr record high C = 33.0

|May record high C = 35.3

|Jun record high C = 40.3

|Jul record high C = 44.2

|Aug record high C = 42.2

|Sep record high C = 39.6

|Oct record high C = 35.0

|Nov record high C = 29.0

|Dec record high C = 22.2

|year record high C = 44.2

|Jan high C = 5.3

|Feb high C = 8.3

|Mar high C = 13.6

|Apr high C = 19.0

|May high C = 23.8

|Jun high C = 27.9

|Jul high C = 30.4

|Aug high C = 30.9

|Sep high C = 25.4

|Oct high C = 19.5

|Nov high C = 13.0

|Dec high C = 6.3

|year high C = 18.6

|Jan mean C = 0.9

|Feb mean C = 3.1

|Mar mean C = 7.5

|Apr mean C = 12.6

|May mean C = 17.2

|Jun mean C = 21.1

|Jul mean C = 23.1

|Aug mean C = 23.1

|Sep mean C = 18.0

|Oct mean C = 12.6

|Nov mean C = 7.4

|Dec mean C = 2.3

|year mean C = 12.4

|Jan low C = -2.5

|Feb low C = -1.1

|Mar low C = 2.4

|Apr low C = 6.7

|May low C = 11.1

|Jun low C = 14.6

|Jul low C = 16.2

|Aug low C = 16.2

|Sep low C = 12.1

|Oct low C = 7.6

|Nov low C = 3.3

|Dec low C = -0.9

|year low C = 7.1

|Jan record low C = -23.7

|Feb record low C = -21.6

|Mar record low C = -13.2

|Apr record low C = -5.6

|May record low C = -1.0

|Jun record low C = 4.2

|Jul record low C = 4.1

|Aug record low C = 4.6

|Sep record low C = -2.2

|Oct record low C = -6.8

|Nov record low C = -14.0

|Dec record low C = -16.6

|year record low C = -23.7

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 42.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 39.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 47.6

|Apr precipitation mm = 55.9

|May precipitation mm = 69.8

|Jun precipitation mm = 57.6

|Jul precipitation mm = 49.4

|Aug precipitation mm = 43.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 49.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 55.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 49.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 53.9

|year precipitation mm = 613.8

|Jan humidity = 79.1

|Feb humidity = 73.3

|Mar humidity = 65.3

|Apr humidity = 63.0

|May humidity = 66.0

|Jun humidity = 64.6

|Jul humidity = 60.6

|Aug humidity = 60.3

|Sep humidity = 66.8

|Oct humidity = 73.5

|Nov humidity = 76.5

|Dec humidity = 80.3

|year humidity = 69.1

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 13.1

|Feb precipitation days = 12.4

|Mar precipitation days = 12.3

|Apr precipitation days = 12.6

|May precipitation days = 13.2

|Jun precipitation days = 10.9

|Jul precipitation days = 9.0

|Aug precipitation days = 7.5

|Sep precipitation days = 9.5

|Oct precipitation days = 9.6

|Nov precipitation days = 10.4

|Dec precipitation days = 13.6

|year precipitation days = 134.1

|Jan snow days = 9.8

|Feb snow days = 8.0

|Mar snow days = 4.9

|Apr snow days = 0.9

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.3

|Nov snow days = 3.0

|Dec snow days = 8.2

|year snow days = 35.1

|Jan sun = 67.5

|Feb sun = 93.7

|Mar sun = 156.0

|Apr sun = 179.2

|May sun = 212.5

|Jun sun = 250.2

|Jul sun = 272.7

|Aug sun = 275.6

|Sep sun = 200.6

|Oct sun = 142.4

|Nov sun = 84.4

|Dec sun = 51.6

|year sun = 1986.4

|source 1 = Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia{{cite web

| url = https://www.hidmet.gov.rs/ciril/meteorologija/stanica_sr_nis.php

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220421015539/https://www.hidmet.gov.rs/ciril/meteorologija/stanica_sr_nis.php

| archive-date = 21 April 2022

| title= Monthly and annual means, maximum and minimum values of meteorological elements for the period 1991–2020

| language = sr

| publisher = Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia

| access-date = 20 April 2022}}{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210620224058/http://www.hidmet.gov.rs/eng/meteorologija/stanica_sr.php?moss_id=13388

| archive-date = 20 June 2021

| url = http://www.hidmet.gov.rs/eng/meteorologija/stanica_sr.php?moss_id=13388

| title= Monthly and annual means, maximum and minimum values of meteorological elements for the period 1981–2010

| language = sr

| publisher = Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia

| access-date = February 25, 2017

}}

|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)

{{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1955

| title = Station Nis

| publisher = Meteo Climat

| language = fr

| access-date = November 11, 2017}}

|date=September 2012

}}

{{See also|Demographic history of Niš}}

File:Град Ниш парк Св. Саве поглед на цркву.jpg

File:Sacred Heart Church - Nish.jpg

File:Ниш 19.JPG

File:The synagogue in Nis 0686.JPG

{{Historical populations

|title = Historical population of city proper

|1878|12801|1884|16178 |1890|19877 |1900|24573|1948|47296|1953|56589|1961|78712|1971|124264|1981|157326|1991|175649|2002|175631|2011|183164|2022|178976|source = Демографска структура Ниша од 1878 до краја 19. века, Историја Ниша књига 2 стр. 24-25 Градина и Просвета Ниш 1983.Austria. Statistische Zentralkommission - Austria, Statistische Mitteilungen/Statistische Monatschrift, Volume 33, 1907 - pp. 140{{cite web|title=Comparative overview of the number of population in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002, 2011. and 2022|url=https://popis2022.stat.gov.rs/en-US/popisni-podaci-eksel-tabele/|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia}}

}}

According to the final results from the 2022 census, the population of city proper of Niš was 182,797, while its administrative area had a population of 260,237.

File:Niš.IMG 4885.jpg Boulevard]]

The city of Niš has 87,975 households with 2,96 members on average, while the number of homes is 119,196.{{cite web|title=Number and the floor space of housing units|url=http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga%2022_Broj%20i%20povrsina%20stambenih%20jedinica-Number%20and%20the%20floor%20space%20of%20housing%20units.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=March 21, 2018|language=sr}}

Religion structure in the city of Niš is predominantly Serbian Orthodox (240,765), with minorities like Muslims (2,486), Catholics (809), Protestants (258), Atheists (109) and others.{{cite web|title=Religion, Mother tongue, and Ethnicity|url=http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga4_Veroispovest.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=March 21, 2018|language=sr}} Most of the population speaks Serbian language (249,949).

The composition of population by sex and average age:

• Male – 126,645 (40.90 years) and
• Female – 133,592 (42.81 years).

A total of 120,562 citizens (older than 15 years) have secondary education (53.81%), while the 51,471 citizens have higher education (23.0%). Of those with higher education, 34,409 (15.4%) have university education.{{cite web|title=Educational attainment, literacy and computer literacy|url=http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Skolska%20sprema,%20pismenost%20i%20kompjuterska%20pismenost-Educational%20attainment,%20literacy%20and%20computer%20literacy%20.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=March 21, 2018|language=sr}}

The ethnic composition of the city of Niš:{{cite web|title=Ethnicity|url=http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Nacionalna%20pripadnost-Ethnicity.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=April 23, 2017}}

The city of Niš is the administrative, industrial, commercial, financial and cultural center of the south-eastern part of Republic of Serbia. The position of Niš is strategically important, at the intersection of European highway and railway networks connecting Europe with Asia. Niš is easily accessible, having an airport – Niš Constantine the Great Airport and being a point of intersection of numerous railroad and highway lines.

It is in Niš that the trunk road running from the north down the Morava River valley forks into two major lines:

• the south one, leading to Thessalonica and Athens, along the Vardar River valley,
• and the east one, running along the Nišava and the Marica, leading towards Sofia and Istanbul, and further on, towards the Near East.

These roads have been widely known from ancient times, because they represented the beaten tracks along which peoples, goods and armies moved. Known as 'Via Militaris' in Roman and Byzantine periods, or 'Constantinople road' in Middle Ages, these roads still represent major European traffic arteries. Niš thus stands at a point of intersection of the roads connecting Asia Minor to Europe, and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Nis had been a relatively developed city in the former Yugoslavia. In 1981, its GDP per capita was 110% of the Yugoslav average.{{cite book|title=Atlas svijeta: Novi pogled na Zemlju|year=1984|edition=3rd|publisher=Sveučilišna naklada Liber|location=Zagreb|language=hr|editor1-first=Radovan|editor1-last=Radovinović|editor2-first=Ivan|editor2-last=Bertić}}

As of September 2017, Niš has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia.{{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=March 17, 2019 |work=politika.rs |date=September 3, 2017 |language=sr}}

Economic preview

File:Saborna_crkva_april_2012a.jpg.]]

File:Nišava_River,_Niš,_Serbia.jpg river.]]

File:Kazandzijsko_Nis.JPG, old urban downtown built in the first half of the 18th century.]]

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):{{cite web|title=MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2023.|url=https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2023/PdfE/G202313050.pdf|website=stat.gov.rs|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia|access-date=20 September 2024}}

File:Nis forum.JPG

File:TC_Kalča.jpg

File:Ниш_09.JPG]]

Niš is one of the most important industrial centers in Serbia, well known for its tobacco, electronics, construction, mechanical-engineering, textile, nonferrous-metal, food-processing and rubber-goods industries.

Among the manufacturing companies which had a huge impact during the second half of the 20th century on Niš's development are: EI Niš (electronics industry), Mechanical Industry Niš, "Građevinar" (construction company), Niš Tobacco Factory, "Nitex – Niš" (textile industry), "Niš Brewery" (beverages) and "Žitopek" (bakery). Other prominent companies which went bankrupt during the 1990s and 2000s are: "Vulkan" (rubber-goods manufacturer), "NISSAL" (nonferrous-metal industry).

Prominent tobacco manufacturer "Niš Tobacco Factory" was sold to Philip Morris in August 2003 for 518 million euros, while Nitex was sold to Benetton Group.{{cite news |title="Filip Moris" kupuje DIN, BAT kupuje DIV |url=https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2003&mm=08&dd=05&nav_category=9&nav_id=115924 |access-date=October 18, 2018 |work=b92.net |date=August 5, 2003 |language=sr}} In recent years, Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., Yura Corporation, Zumtobel Group, Johnson Electric and Shinwon opened their plants in Niš. Currently, Chinese manufacturer, Xingyu automotive systems, is building its factory.

In former Electronic and Mechanical Industry complexes, many smaller manufacturers opened their plants.

In 2019, companies with highest operating income were Philip Morris International, with over 190,000,000 Euros and Johnson Electric with over 140,000,000 Euros.{{Cite web| title=Нацрт Плана развоја града Ниша за период 2021. - 2027. | language=sr | trans-title=Draft Development Plan of the City of Niš for the period 2021 - 2027 | url=https://investnis.rs/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Nacrt20Plana20Razvoja20Grada20Nisa20JAVNI20UVID.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126034107/https://investnis.rs/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Nacrt20Plana20Razvoja20Grada20Nisa20JAVNI20UVID.pdf | archive-date=2021-01-26}}

{{wide image|Science technology parc Nis.IMG 4975.jpg|700px|Science and Technology Park}}

Niš is strategically between the Morava river valley in North and the Vardar river valley in the south, on the main route between Greece and Central Europe. In the Niš area, this major transportation and communication route is linked with the natural corridor formed by the Nišava river valley, which runs Eastwards in the direction of Sofia and Istanbul. The city has been a passing station for the Orient Express.

The first highways date back to the 1950s when Niš was linked with capital Belgrade through the Brotherhood and Unity Highway, the first in Southeastern Europe.

Historically, because of its location, the city had always great importance in the region. The first to take advantage of it was the Roman Empire that built the important road Via Militaris, linking the city with Singidunum (current Belgrade) to the North and Constantinople (current Istanbul) to the southeast. Nowadays, the city is connected by the highway E75 with Belgrade and Central Europe in north, and Skopje, Thessaloniki and Athens in the south. The road E80 connects Niš with Sofia, Istanbul towards the Middle East, and Pristina, Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea to the West. The road E771 connects the city with Zaječar, Kladovo and Drobeta-Turnu Severin in Romania.

The city is also a major regional railway junction linking Serbia to Sofia and Istanbul.

The Niš Constantine the Great Airport is the second most important airport in Serbia. The first airfield serving the city of Niš was established in 1910, near the village of Donje Međurovo. In the 1930s then-national airline company Aeroput used the airport for civil service. In 1935 Aeroput included a stop in Niš in its route linking Belgrade with Skoplje.[http://www.europeanairlines.no/drustvo-za-vazdusni-saobracaj-a-d-aeroput-1927-1948/ Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput (1927–1948)] at europeanairlines.no

The city public transportation consists nowadays of 13 bus lines. A tram system existed in Niš between 1930 and 1958.{{cite web|url=http://www.arhivnis.co.rs/cirilica/idelatnost/br%201/cpksaobsrbije.htm|title=Istorijski Arhiv Niš|publisher=Arhivnis.co.rs|access-date=February 18, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027123134/http://www.arhivnis.co.rs/cirilica/idelatnost/br%201/cpksaobsrbije.htm|archive-date=October 27, 2012}} Niš Bus Station is the city's largest and main bus station which offers both local urban and intercity transport to international destinations. The largest intercity bus carrier based in the city is Niš-Ekspres, which operates to various cities and villages in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

File:Nis Airport new terminal.jpg|Niš Constantine the Great Airport

File:Nis Express buses in Nish Serbia.jpg|Central Bus Station

File:Niš railway station 2.JPG|Main Railway Station

{{See also|Culture of Serbia}}

File:GSLUN Srbija.JPG

File:Oficirski dom Niš.2016.2.jpeg

File:Ниш_30.JPG.]]

Niš is a home of the National Theatre in Niš, that was founded as "Sinđelić" Theatre in 1889.

File:INisville Jazz Museum.MG 3723.jpg

File:Irie FM, Pozitivni festival NIs 2018. 03.jpg

From 1981 Niš is the host of Nišville International Jazz music festival which begins in mid-August and lasts for 4 days. Galija, Kerber and Eyot are considered the most notable music bands to have originated from Niš. Other notable Niš music acts include Daltoni, Dobri Isak, Lutajuća Srca, Mama Rock, Hazari, Novembar, Trivalia and others.

File:Klinički centar Niš 4348.jpg.]]

File:Filmski_susreti.JPG held since 1966.]]

• Čegar – The place where the Battle of Čegar took place on 19 May 1809.
• Crveni Krst concentration camp – One of the few preserved Nazi concentration camps in Europe. It is on February 12 Boulevard.
• Memorial to Constantine the Great – built in the city centre in 2013, in commemoration to Constantine the Great who was born in the city, on the anniversary of the Edict of Milan.
• Bubanj – Monument to fallen Yugoslav World War II fighters, forming the shape of three clenched fists. The place where 10,000 civilian hostages from Niš and south Serbia were brutally murdered by German Nazis.
• Kalča, City passage and Gorča – Trade centers situated in Milana Obrenovića Street.
• Memorial Chapel in the memory of NATO bombing victims – The chapel was built by local authorities while the monument was built by the State government in 1999. They are situated in Sumatovacka street near Niš Fortress.
• Niš Fortress – The remaining fortification was built by the Turks, and dates from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–23). It is situated in the city center.
• The fortress-cafes – They are situated near Stambol gate (the main gate of the fortress).
• Mediana – Archeological site, an Imperial villa, from the late Roman period on the road leading to Sofia, Bulgaria, near EI Nis.
• Niška Banja (Niš spa) – A very popular spa during the summer season. It is {{convert|10|km|0|abbr=on}} from city center on the road leading to Sofia, in the bottom of Suva Planina Mountain.
• Tinkers Alley – An old urban downtown zone in today's Kopitareva Street, built in the first half of the 18th century. It was a street full of tinkers and other craftsmen, but today it is packed with cafes and restaurants.
• Skull Tower (Ćele Kula) – A monument to the Serbian revolutionaries (1804–13); a tower made out of skulls of Serbian uprisers, killed and decapitated by the Ottomans. It is situated on Zoran Đinđić Boulevard, on the old Constantinople road leading to Sofia.
• Sultans Trail Long-distance hiking and biking route from Vienna to İstanbul runs through Niš.

Buildings in Niš are constantly being built. Niš is the second city in Serbia after Belgrade by number of high-rises.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} The Ambassador Hotel is one of the tallest buildings in Niš, but there are also other buildings like TV5 Tower.

File:Sportska hala Čair.JPG hosted the group stage of 2012 European Men's Handball Championship.]]

File:Stadion cair atrajkovic.jpg]]

The city of Niš is home to numerous sport clubs including Radnički Niš, RK Železničar 1949, Mašinac, ŽRK Naisa, OK Niš, Mašinac, Sinđelić Niš etc.

The biggest stadium in Niš is the Stadion Čair, with a total seating-capacity of 18,151 after renovations.{{cite web|url=http://www.juznevesti.com/Sport/Radovi-na-stadionu-idu-po-planu.sr.html |title="Radovi na stadionu idu po planu" : Sport : Južne vesti |date=17 January 2012 |publisher=Juznevesti.com |access-date=February 18, 2013}} The stadium is part of the Čair Sports Complex that also includes an indoor swimming pool and an indoor arena. Niš was one of four towns which hosting the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship.

The people listed below were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Niš, and its surrounding metropolitan area.

• Constantius I, Roman Emperor, father of Constantine I
• Constantine I, the great, (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus) – ruled 306 to 337
• Constantius III, (Flavius Constantius) – ruled 421
• Justin I, (Flavius Iustinus) – ruled 518 to 527
• Nikephoros Lykaon protospatharios c. 1050
• Stevan Sinđelić, war leader (vojvoda), died in 1809 in the Battle of Čegar.
• Stevan Sremac (1855–1906), writer, came to Niš shortly after its liberation from the Turkish rule; wrote about life in old Niš (Ivkova slava, Zona Zamfirova).
• Nikola Uzunović, (b. 1873), prime minister of Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1926 to 1927.
• Paulina Lebl-Albala (1891-1967), feminist and professor
• Dragiša Cvetković, (1893–1969), prime minister of Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1939 to 1941.
• Svetislav Milosavljević, (1882–1960), a Yugoslav army general and first Ban of Vrbas Banovina.
• Dušan Radović, (1922–84), journalist and writer.
• Dušan Čkrebić, (b. 1927), President(1984–1986) and Prime Minister(1978–1982) of SR Serbia.
• Spiridon, (?–1389), Patriarch of Serbian Patriarchate of Peć.
• Irinej (1930–2020), Serbian patriarch (2010–2020) and Bishop of Niš (1975–2010)
• Nadja Regin, (1931–2019), Serbian and British actress.
• Predrag Antonijević, (b. 1959), film director.
• Branko Miljković (1934–61), poet.
• Bratislav Anastasijević (1936–1992), musician, conductor
• Šaban Bajramović (1936–2008), Romani singer and composer.
• Kornelije Kovač (1942–2022), rock musician and composer.
• Goran Paskaljević (1947–2020), movie director; raised by his grandparents in Niš 1949–63, after the divorce of his parents.
• Dragan Pantelić (b. 1951), former football goalkeeper, president of Radnički Niš.
• Eva Haljecka Petković (1870–1947), doctor.
• Predrag Miletić (b. 1952), actor.
• Miki Manojlović (b. 1950), actor.
• Zoran Živković (b. 1954), handball player and coach, Olympic champion
• Nenad Milosavljević (b. 1954), rock musician.
• Aki Rahimovski (1955–2022), rock musician.
• Biljana Krstić (b. 1959), rock and traditional music singer and songwriter.
• Ana Stanić (b. 1975), Serbian pop-rock singer
• Zoran Živković (b. 1960), politician, a former Prime Minister of Serbia.
• Zoran Ćirić (b. 1962), writer.
• Aleksandar Šoštar (b. 1964), water polo goalkeeper, Olympic, World and European champion.
• Dragan Stojković (b. 1965), football player, Olympic bronze medalist.
• Lidija Mihajlović (b. 1968), shooting champion.
• Branislava Ilić (b. 1970), playwright, screenwriter, prose writer, essayist.
• Ivan Miljković (b. 1979), volleyball player, Olympic and European champion.
• Bojana Popović (b. 1979), Montenegrin handball player, Olympic silver medalist.
• Nikola Karabatić (b. 1984), French handball player, Olympic, World and European champion.
• Nemanja Radulović (b. 1985), violinist.
• Ivan Kostic (b. 1989), footballer.
• Stefan Jović (b. 1990), basketball player, Olympic, World Cup, and EuroBasket silver medalist.
• Sava Ranđelović (b. 1993), water polo player, Olympic, World and European champion.
• Andrija Živković (b. 1996), footballer, U-20 World champion.
• Staša Gejo (b. 1997), sport climber, World and European champion.
• Nemanja Radonjić (b. 1996), footballer, Serbian champion.
• Georgios Sinas (Greek: Γεώργιος Σίνας, German: Georg Sina; 20 November 1783 – 18 May 1856) was an Austrian-Greek entrepreneur and banker. He became a national benefactor of Greece, he was born in Niš.

The city of Niš, after Belgrade, has the largest diplomatic corps in Serbia. Bulgaria has General Consulate in Niš. Until 2010, there was also a Consulate General of Greece.{{Cite web|title=Zatvara se grčki konzulat u Nišu|url=https://www.juznevesti.com/Drushtvo/Zatvara-se-grcki-konzulat-u-Nisu.sr.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|website=Južne vesti|date=26 October 2010 |language=sr}} Diplomatic agreements were given to five prominent citizens of Niš, who acquired the title of honorary consul. The United Kingdom, Hungary, France, Slovakia and Austria have chosen Nis as their honorary consuls, appreciating their commitment and contribution to strengthening ties and cooperation in various fields with these countries.{{Cite web|title=Počasni konzuli|url=http://www.gu.ni.rs/medjunarodna-saradnja/pocasni-konzuli/?pismo=lat|access-date=December 2, 2020|website=Grad Niš|language=en}}

{{unbulleted list|

• {{Flagicon|Bulgaria}} Bulgaria
• {{Flagicon|Turkey}} Turkey (to be opened, as of 2022){{Cite web|date=2022-01-18|title=VUĆIĆ and ERDOGAN: We will open general consulate in Niš|url=https://niskevesti.rs/vucic-i-erdogan-otvaramo-konzulat-u-nisu/|access-date=2022-01-18|website=Niške Vesti|language=sr-RS}}

}}

{{unbulleted list|

• {{Flag|United Kingdom}}
• {{Flag|Hungary}}
• {{Flag|Slovakia}}
• {{Flag|France}}
• {{Flag|Austria}}
• {{Flag|Poland}}{{Cite web |date=2022-06-08 |title=Otvorena kancelarija počasnog konzula Poljske u Nišu |url=https://niskevesti.rs/otvorena-kancelarija-pocasnog-konzula-poljske-u-nisu/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=Niške Vesti |language=sr-RS}}

}}

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Online newspaper:

• Narodne novine "Народне новине"{{cite web|url=http://www.narodne.com/|title=Narodne novine|work=narodne.com}} {{in lang|sr}}
• Južne vesti (Southern news){{cite web|url=http://www.juznevesti.com/|title=Južne vesti – Leskovac, Niš, Pirot, Prokuplje, Vranje – vesti iz južne Srbije|work=Južne vesti}} {{in lang|sr}}

Online radio stations:

• Internet.Radio.Magazin Super radio{{cite web|url=http://www.superradio.rs/info|title=Super Radio|work=Super Radio Niš}} {{in lang|sr}}

Radio stations:

• Baltazar radio (90.5) (renamed to Radio Jat (90.5))
• Banker radio (98.3)[http://www.bankerinter.net/media/banker_radio_live.php] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210001824/http://www.bankerinter.net/media/banker_radio_live.php |date=February 10, 2006 }}
• City radio (99.9){{cite web|url=http://www.radiocity.rs/|title=City|work=radiocity.rs}}
• Radio Nišava (104.0)[http://www.nisava.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223193602/http://www.nisava.org/ |date=February 23, 2009 }} (in Romany)
• Radio Belle Amie (95.6){{cite web|url=http://www.belami.rs|title=belami.rs – najnovije vesti, vesti iz Niša, vesti iz Srbije.|work=Belle Amie}}
• Radio Belle Amie Folk Kanal (98.7/100.7) (closed)
• Radio Seven (88.8)

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TV stations:

• Banker TV{{cite web|url=http://tv.bankerinter.net/|title=TV BANKER|author=Banker|work=bankerinter.net|access-date=May 2, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615064828/http://tv.bankerinter.net/|archive-date=June 15, 2006|url-status=dead}}
• TV 5{{cite web|url=http://www.rtv5.rs/|title=RTV5 – Nis -|work=rtv5.rs}} (closed)
• BelleAmie TV
• TV Nais
• RTV Nišava (in Romany)
• Čair (in Romany) (closed)
• NTV Media Niš{{cite web|url=http://www.ntv.medianis.net/|title=ck0M1|work=medianis.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610143545/http://www.ntv.medianis.net/|archive-date=June 10, 2007}}
• Art TV
• Puls TV (closed)
• Kopernikus Televizija{{cite web|url=http://www.tvkcn.net/main.php|title=Televizija Kopernikus TV K::CN|work=tvkcn.net|access-date=January 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126003807/http://www.tvkcn.net/main.php|archive-date=January 26, 2012|url-status=dead}}

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{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Serbia}}

Niš is twinned with the following cities, according to their City Hall website:{{cite web|url=http://www.ni.rs/index.php?section=pages&id=250|title=Niš Twinnings|publisher=Niš City Hall|access-date=April 17, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025}}

• Islam-aga's Mosque

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Fine |first1=John Van Antwerp |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |date=1994 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-47208-260-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC}}
• {{cite thesis|last=Prendergast|first=Eric|date=2017|title=The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area|type=Ph.D|publisher=UC Berkeley|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7nk454x6}}

{{commons category|Niš}}

{{wikivoyage|Nis}}

• {{Official website|http://www.ni.rs/ }}
• [http://www.rpknis.rs/ Regional Chamber of Economy Niš official website]

{{Historical capitals of Serbia}}

{{Nišava District}}

{{Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nis}}

Category:Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia

Category:Populated places in Nišava District

Category:Illyrian Serbia

Category:Cities in ancient Illyria

Category:Roman towns and cities in Serbia

Category:Former capitals of Serbia

Category:Dacia Mediterranea

Category:Southern Serbia