
Vrsac,
one of the 34th 2005 European Basketball Championship host towns,
is situated 85 km north-east of Belgrade, on the edge of the Pannonian
plain, at the foot of the Vršac mountains, only 14 km away from
the Romanian border. The town lies on the international road Belgrade-Timisoara
and one can arrive from the capital in an hour by car. Vatin, the
most frequent road border crossing with Romania, is only a ten-minute
drive away. Road distance from Vrsac to Novi Sad is 145 km.
The symbol of the town – The Tower of Vrsac is the first thing you
see when you arrive in Vrsac from any direction. This tower is a
remnant of the former military-strategic fortress, most probably
built in the mid-XIV century. Vrsac itself has 40,000 inhabitants,
and with other inhabited places, the Municipality of Vrsac has 60,000
inhabitants. The town is a multiethnic community where members of
16 nationalities live. Thanks to the dynamic economic and social
activities, as well as the natural potentials, significant population
of the neighboring municipalities gravitates towards Vrsac.
Genuine treasure of cultural inheritance of these regions is found
in the Town Museum (300,000 exhibits), which celebrated 120 years
of existence in 2002, and the Town Library (founded in 1887, library
holdings of 200,000 books). Theatre life in Vrsac has been in existence
for over two centuries (the first theatre performance was staged
as far back as 1773), while the National Theatre Sterija was opened
in 1945. Vrsac has been known as an organizer of large and well-attended
manifestations of different kinds for many years.

One of the best known events is the tourist-economic manifestation
¨Days of Grape Picking¨, which is held on the third weekend of September
and gathers thousands of people who celebrate grape picking, taste
excellent wine and enjoy good music. Festival of classics and neo-classics
the ¨Vrsac Theatre Autumn¨, held every October, gathers the best
accomplishments of the domestic theatre production. "Biennial
of Young Fine Art Artists” taking place in Vrsac every second year,
from June to August, gathers the most renowned domestic and foreign
young artists. Powerful industry, that citizens are particularly
proud of, is the carrier of the aggregate development of Vrsac and
its surroundings. Hemofarm Group, leader in the domestic pharmaceutical
industry and the model of many, even outside the country borders,
is the backbone of the Vrsac economy. Over 2000 workers are employed
in the Hemofarm Group. However, the boost development of Vrsac nowadays
could not be possible if other Vrsac companies had not achieved
significant successes in the previous period and positioned themselves
in the market too. Particularly powerful confectionary industry
is represented by Swiss lion and chocolate factory Banat. The products
of Vrsac confectioners are on the offer of candies all over the
world. Vrsac is also known for “Banatski rizling” (the Riesling
of Banat) and other wine brands produced by Vrsacki vinogradi (the
Vršac vineyards), as well as for the beer Champion and Zoffman produced
in Vršacka pivara (the Vrsac Brewery). The mentioned companies,
as well as many others in this area, guarantee that Vrsac will continue
to grow and become richer and more beautiful.