Bor (; ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bor District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city administrative area has a population of 40,845 inhabitants.
Bor has one of the largest copper mines in Europe. It has been a mining center since 1904, when a French company began operations there. With 810 residential buildings, it presents the highest ration of urban area to number of citizens in the country, and is one of top-five cities in Serbia by number of buildings.
Name The name is derived from meaning "pine".
History
In 1835, Miloš Obrenović invited J.G. Herder offspring August to the Bor region to carry out geological investigations.
Đorđe Vajfert invested in exploration and sought foreign capital to initiate industrial exploitation. Managing to obtain support for this endeavour, he signed a contract with Mirabaud, and his Compagnie française des mines de Bor was established on 30 September 1903 in Paris.Knight of Serbia - George I. Weifert, Association of Serbian Banks.
On 27 March 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia. Führer’s directive No. 25 mentioned that possession of the Bor copper mines were very important, which covered 50 percent of the copper requirement of Nazi Germany's war industry until 1944. Since 1941 to 1944, Hungarian forced laborers of Jewish origin were gradually deported to this area, at least 6,000 Hungarians were used as Kapos. In May 1943, the total number of inmates (excluding Kapos) came to about 23,000 forced laborers from Serbia.Eleonore Lappin-Eppel, Ungarisch-Jüdische Zwangsarbeiter und Zwangsarbeiterinnen in Österreich 1944/45. Arbeitseinsatz – Todesmärsche – Folgen. LIT, Vienna 2010, , p. 18.Johannes Bähr and Ralf Banken, Das Europa des "Dritten Reichs": Recht, Wirtschaft, Besatzung, Klostermann, Frankfurt/Main 2005, , p. 212.
On 3 September 1944, a column of about 3,000 Kapos left the camp under supreme command of Horthy task forces and marched over a pontoon bridge between Smederovo and Požarevac to Baja via Pančevo. Hungarian forces were supported by regional paramilitary operation echelon Deutsche Mannschaft including Banater Staatswache unit.
On 16 September, a second column of 3,000 Kapos left the camp under supreme command of SS-Polizei-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment Nr. 18 on the same route to Baja. In Pančevo, supreme command had been taken over by paramilitary operation echelon Deutsche Mannschaft and Volksdeutsche Ordnungspolizei. During both marches, exhausted prisoners were murdered by the roadside.
In Baja arrived, prisoners were either used to build the German South-east wall or transported by train to concentration camps such as Auschwitz.
Some Danube Swabian officials including family members also took the opportunity to escape by train from Baja. During both forced marches, there were several attacks carried out by Yugoslavian Partisans south of Danube river. Meanwhile, some prisoners took the opportunity to flee to the partisans and thus found life-saving protection. Notable Kapos from both death marches were people like Gyula Trebitsch, and Miklós Radnóti.Tomislav Beker and Biljana Regoje, Pančevački i južnobanatski Jevreji u holokaustu, Šalom Tora, Pančevo 2012, ISBN 978-86-916511-0-7.Erhard Roy Wiehn, Zwangsarbeit, Todesmarsch, Massenmord. Erinnerungen überlebender ungarischer Zwangsarbeiter des Kupferbergwerks Bor in Jugoslawien 1943-1944. Hartung-Gorre, Konstanz 2007, .Theresia Richard, born 1909 in Jabuka, died 1993 in Vienna.Friedrich Scharinger, born 1903 in Jabuka, died 1971 in Eisenstadt, Member of Staatswache: April 8, 1941-Sept.12 1944.
In 1947, Bor received urban status from the political authorities. At the time its population was 11,000.
In June 2018, Bor gained the status of a city, along with Prokuplje.
Geography The town is bordered by the Kriveljska River, and in its vicinity lies a reservoir, Bor Lake.
Climate Bor has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb) with warm summers, cold winters and uniformly distributed precipitation throughout the year
Flora and fauna
The Lazar's Canyon is home to several rare plants – Crimean pine, relic species of Taxus and Serbian ramonda, and animals like Chamois, Golden eagles, and Peregrine falcons.
Settlements Aside from the city proper area, the city includes the following settlements:http://www.parlament.gov.rs/files/cir/pdf/zakoni/2007/4308-07-cir.zip
Brestovac Bučje Gornjane Donja Bela Reka Zlot Krivelj Luka Metovnica Oštrelj Slatina Tanda Topla Šarbanovac
Demographics
According to the 1910, 1931 and 1971 censuses, the inhabitants of the urban area of Bor numbered 2,613 in 1910, 4,749 in 1931 and 29,118 residents in 1971. According to the 2011 census, the population of Bor numbered 48,615 residents, while the urban area of Bor had 34,160 residents.RÉSULTATS PRÉLIMINAIRES DU DÉNOMBREMENT DE LA POPULATION ET DES ANIMAUX DE FERME DANS LE ROYAUME DE SERBIE LE 31 DÉCEMBRE 1910, Direction de la Statistique d'État, Belgrade 1911, p.60, PDF on the Website by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, retrieved on 2017-12-21.Opšta Državna Statistika: Definitivni rezultati popisa stanovništva od 31 marta 1931 godine. Knjiga 2: Prisutno stanovništvo po veroispovesti. Opšta Državna Statistika, Beograd 1938, p. 76. Popis stanovništva i stanova 1971, Knjiga 7: Stanovništvo i domaćinstava u 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971. Savezni zavod za statistiku. Beograd 1975, p. 289.2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia, Volume 20: Comparative overview of the number of population in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002 and 2011, Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade 2014, p. 95, retrieved on 2017-12-21.
Ethnic groups With a total of 32 different ethnic groups being represented among the population, Bor is one of the most ethnically mixed cities in Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the settlements in the city of Bor with a Serbian ethnic majority were: Bor, Brestovac, Donja Bela Reka, and Oštrelj. The settlements with an ethnic Vlachs majority were: Bučje, Gornjane, Krivelj, Luka, Metovnica, Tanda, Topla, and Šarbanovac. Ethnically mixed settlements were: Zlot (relative Serb majority) and Slatina (relative Vlachs majority).
The ethnic composition of the city: Ethnic group 2002 census 2011 census 2022 censusSerbs 39,989 35,435 29,322Vlachs 10,064 6,701 4,483Roma 1,259 1,758 1,440Macedonians 540 429 216Romanians 107 293 356Albanians 115 113 87Others 3,743 3,886 4,375Total 55,817 48,615 40,845
Ethnic groups in Bor include also Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Gorani, Bunjevci, Yugoslavs, Montenegrins, Croatians, Slovenians, Hungarians, ethnic Muslims, Germans, Greeks, Slovaks, Russians, Rusyns, Chinese, Ukrainians, Italians, Turks, Ashkali, Czechs, Poles, Jews, Canadians, and Belarusians.
As the official number does not include foreign nationals, who are present in large numbers in Bor and its surroundings (especially the Chinese, who are estimated at 8,000-10,000), as well as workers from other countries (Turkey, India, Indonesia, African countries). Many people who work in Bor also immigrated from other parts of Serbia, but kept their residence in the place they came from, that are also not included in the official number.
Religion
Bor has a diverse religious landscape, with the majority of the population identifying as Orthodox Christian, but also including significant minorities of Muslims, Roman Catholics, Protestants, as well as Jews and other smaller religious groups. Other than Orthodox churches, in Bor there are a Roman Chatolic Church, the Mosque, Adventist Church.
Economy
Copper mining, mainly by the biggest employer Zijin Bor Copper, is the key basis of Bor's economy. On 31 August 2018, a Chinese mining company Zijin Mining took over 63% of the shares of the company RTB Bor, in a $1.26 billion deal with the Government of Serbia. A few Canadian companies operated in Bor, like Nevsun Resources, Dundee, Rakita and Avala resources, while the new smelter and sulfuric acid plant for RTB Bor were built by Canada's SNC Lavalin. Many companies from Canada, led to Canadians settling in the city and thus formed a new ethnic group in Bor. It is supposed that there are up to 10000 Chinese workers, as well those from Turkey, India, Indonesia, African countries etc. Apart from mining, some other companies that operate in Bor are Messer Tehnogas AD, Jinshan Construction, Drillex International, Sayin Construction, CCMC, Wolong ATB FOD, IT Center Bor, Metalka, Keramika Bor, Sandvik, Xella Sverige, Securitas, Epiroc etc. Bor is one of the wealthies cities in Serbia. In 2025, the average gross monthly wage in the city of Bor was US$1750 (€1500, 175687 RSD, 12455 CNY, 73200 Turkish liras) - as of July 2025.
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2024): Activity TotalAgriculture, forestry and fishing76Mining and quarrying7,070Manufacturing2,580Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply328Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities511Construction1,422Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles1,187Transportation and storage559Accommodation and food services457Information and communication161Financial and insurance activities125Real estate activities31Professional, scientific and technical activities667Administrative and support service activities287Public administration and defense; compulsory social security718Education853Human health and social work activities1,169Arts, entertainment and recreation238Other service activities170Registered individual agricultural workers43Total18,655
Education
Bor has a technical faculty of the University of Belgrade, which is the only faculty that is outside of the Belgrade. The Technical Faculty of Bor is a faculty of the University of Belgrade, with a tradition dating back to 1961. The Faculty was accredited as a scientific-research organisation in the area of technical-technological science in 2007. So far, 1,804 students graduated from this faculty, in addition to 18 students that completed specialist studies, 122 master studies, and 70 students that defended doctoral theses.
Technical faculty of Bor, University of Belgrade Technical and mechanical engineering college Trstenik (department)
Culture and society
Movies
Many films have been produced in Bor. Because of that, the city has the nickname "Boriwood". Serbian and international movies produced in Bor include Tears for Sale, Tilva Roš, White White World, Man Is Not a Bird, Winning of Freedom, On the Road to Katanga, Saga o tri nevina muškarca, Save Our Souls, Volja sinovljeva, and Vivegam.
Sports
Bor Sports Center () is an indoor sporting arena. The capacity of the arena is 3,000 people in the seating area, and 4,500 in the ground level area. The Bor Skate Plaza is the first and the biggest skate park in the Balkans. It is opened in 2012. Next to the Bor Skate Plaza is the Karting circuit that was built in the same year.
One of the most famous clubs in the city is FK Bor football club, which spent several seasons in Yugoslavia's top division, the Yugoslav First League, participating in the European Cup Winners Cup in the season of 1968/69, and played in the national Cup Finale in season 1967/1968 against Crvena Zvezda.
FK Bor is currently part of Serbian League East, which is the Third tier league in Serbia, while another city club, FK Slatina Bor, is in Zone League East, the fourth-level football league in Serbia. ZKK Rudar is in Second Women's Basketball League of Serbia, ŽORK Bor in Serbian First League of Handball for Women, while American football team Golden Bears Bor is in the top-level American Football League of Serbia.
Under the auspices of the Public Utility "Sportski Centar Bor" is the Bor Airport, with a paved runway, where traditional sport air show "Fly in" used to be held.