My love for Belgrade, Serbia is well-known. It is one of the most interesting cities I have ever traveled to. It has beautiful girls, great food, lots of historic buildings and structures, hundreds if not thousands of cafes and bars all throughout the city. It would be listed in my ” 25 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE!” list.Little did I know that my country also had a few cities named Belgrade. I did a little research and found 7 total!
Serbian filmmaker, Miodrag Kolaric heard about them too. He decided to travel to the USA and visit 4 of the cities named Belgrade . He wanted to find out what the people did for a living, how they spent their time, if they had heard of the Belgrade,Serbia and to see if there was anything in common with his Belgrade. He determined that 90% of the residents had never heard of Belgrade, Serbia or heard of the other US cities with the same name. He noted that “the Americans were a little friendlier than his countrymen”…:) It is hard to compare a city of 2.5 million to one with 7,000! I experienced nothing but extreme friendliness and helpfulness in all my trips to Belgrade. I think a foreigner in a foreign land pays more attention to the attitudes and treatment of strangers than you do your own surroundings. If you are interested in reading and listening to the interview with Miodrag…. click the link…..http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120896251
I compiled a little tidbit of info on each of the 7 towns in the USA. A few of them are TINY and it was almost impossible to find info on them! I listed them from most populous to least populous….Enjoy…
#1……Belgrade, Montana
Belgrade, Montana is a small town that is located in the SouthWest corner of Montana. The town site was established in 1881 and incorporated in 1906. They named the town Belgrade as an expression of appreciation to Serbian investors who helped finance a portion of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The city has a population of around 7,300 and a median family income of $40,378 dollars a year.
#2……Belgrade, Maine….
Belgrade, Maine was first settled in 1774 and incorporated in 1796. It received its name due to a suggestion from a local resident. John Davis was a local resident and world traveler. He was impressed with the fact that Serbs had fought Turkish rules and kept the Christian beliefs after years of Turkish rule. Today, the city has a population of around 3,000 people but the population doubles in the summer due to all the lakes. It is popular among fisherman and sportsman throughout the North East. The median family income is $42,300 dollars a year.
Belgrade, Minnesota
#3……Belgrade, Minnesota…
Minnesota is one of my favorite states. The state motto is LAND OF 10,000 lakes. It is also home to my favorite baseball team.. the MINNESOTA TWINS! Belgrade is located in the center of the state and is home to 750 people. It is said that the name was taken to honor Serbian rail workers or investors. It is not very clear. Today, it has 340 homes and a median family income of $32,500 dollars a year.
Belgrade, Missouri
old country school that was painted in 1938
#4……Belgrade, Missouri…
Belgrade, Missouri is a tiny town of 200. It is located in the South Central part of the state. It isn’t far from St Louis and has been known for ghost sightings. It and many surrounding towns are listed in HAUNTED AMERICA. There isn’t a clear mention of why it was named Belgrade.
Belgrade, Nebraska
beautiful sign in Belgrade, Nebraska
#5……Belgrade, Nebraska
Belgrade, Nebraska is located in East Central Nebraska. The last census listed Belgrade with a population of 134 residents. There are 64 homes and 36 families living in this little beauty. The median family income is $36,143 dollars a year.
Belgrade, North Carolina
#6……Belgrade, North Carolina
This little burg has little to no info available on it. It is close to the coast and is noted for being a stop on the First Post Road in 1738. The population and further data is unknown. If anyone has further info, please email me.
Belgrade, Texas
Centennial marker in Belgrade, Texas
#7……Belgrade, Texas
Belgrade, Texas was formerly known as Biloxi by the local Indians. It is was a river town located on the Eastern side of Texas on the Mississippi border. It received the name Belgrade in 1837 because they had dreams of Belgrade, Texas being a successful and important port like its European counterpart. Belgrade was once a thriving community until the beginning of the Civil War, now abandoned, a cemetery remains as well as a centennial marker. It is currently a ghost town with no inhabitants.
It is great to find some similarities between my country and my favorite foreign land.