Serbia is one of Europe's least known countries. Here are a few facts and figures about this land locked nation, a country that has eight borders and will next year celebrate a decade of independence:

• 17 Roman Emperors were born on the land that is now known as Serbia, the most famous of which was Constantine I, the first Christian Emperor. He was born in the place now known as Niš.
• A picture of the White Angel fresco, located in Miliseva monastery dating back to 1235, was transmitted, with other symbols of human achievement, into space in an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life forms.‪
• Serbia has many Roman archaeological sites, whilst the Roman Emperors' Route spans 600 km and includes the important Roman cities of Sirmium, Felix Romuliana (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and Naissus. In Roman times, Belgrade was a settlement called Singidunum.
• Seven Serbs were involved in the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. Referred to as the “Magnificient Seven” Serbs or “Serbo 7 Team”, all seven received NASA's “Apollo Achievement Award” which came with the following inscription: “In appreciation of dedicated service to the nation as a member of the team which has advanced the nation's capabilities in aeronautics and space and demonstrated them in many outstanding accomplishments culminating in Apollo 11's successful achievement of man's first landing on the moon, July 20, 1969.”
  • From left to right: Slavoljub “Sam” Vuich – Avionics Systems Engineer, Paul Duich – Logistics Manager, Danilo Bojic – Mechanical Engineer, Designed Apollo emergency escape system, Milojko “Mike” Vucelic – Apollo Spacecraft Launch Director, Milos Subatovich – Structural Engineer, Peter Galovich – Electronics Engineer, David Vuich – NASA Project Coordinator
• In 1166, Stefan Nemanja, a Serbian warrior and chief, founded the first Serbian state.
• Today, landlocked Serbia covers an area of 88,361km2 and has a population of over 7 million.
• Serbia has borders with eight countries – Hungary, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Romania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania.
• The Djerdap Gorge is the largest gorge in Europe. The Danube flows through it.
• The national currency is the Dinar.
• The Church of St. Sava in Belgrade is the world's largest Orthodox church. It is dedicated to the saint who founded the Serbian Orthodox religion.
• Serbs are the only people in the world to have a tradition called the Slava where each Serbian Orthodox family has its own patron saint whom they honour as their protector. UNESCO recognised this by adding it to their Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.
• Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Museum houses the world's greatest collection of documents and artefacts illustrating the life and work of Nikola Tesla, one of the world's greatest scientists and inventors.
• Serbia is one of the world's top exporters of plums and raspberries. In 2012, almost 95% of the world's raspberries came from Serbia.
• The town of Kikinda is home to over 300 owls that live in the city square's trees. This number rises to 750 in the winter months.
• Kikinda is home to one of the largest and best preserved mammoth remains. It is affectionately known as Kika. The remains of Mammuthus trogontherii were discovered in 1996, and today, 'Mamutfest' , held every September, celebrates Kika's discovery.
• Belgrade's Voždovac Football Stadium is one of the few rooftop stadiums in the world. It is located on top of a shopping centre.
• Read more about Successful Serbs.

AND FINALLY, IN SPORT IN 2015:

• WATERPOLO – the men's national team won the World Championships in Kazan, beating Croatia in the final.
• BASKETBALL – the women's national team won the European Championships in Budapest, beating France in the final.
• FOOTBALL – the men's under-20 national team won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in News Zealand, beating Brazil in the final.
• TENNIS – in addition to world No 1 Novak Djokovic again winning Wimbledon, beating Roger Federer in the final, a further 10 players from Serbia participated in the tournament.

Please contact Jovanka Ristich on +44 (0) 7889 425 725 or Jovanka@ipr-online.co.uk