Rakovica (, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has 108,641 inhabitants. The municipality of Rakovica is located south of downtown Belgrade. It is bordered by the municipalities of Savski Venac on the north, Voždovac on the west and Čukarica on the east and south. Its neighborhood of Resnik marks the southernmost point of the Belgrade City Proper (uža teritorija grada). History The first settlement on the territory of present-day Rakovica was mentioned in the Ottoman 1560 population census as a village called Vlaha. Tradition has it that the place got its name after the crayfish (Serbian: rak, rakovica), which allegedly inhabited the Rakovički potok which streamed through the village. The first mention of the monastery, already under the name of Rakovica, was from the 17th century. The village gradually turned into a suburb and then the neighborhood of Belgrade, one of the most heavily industrialized areas of Belgrade. According to the 1981 census, the neighborhood (local community, mesna zajednica) of Rakovica had a population of 17,871, about one fifth of the municipal population. However, the local community was later split into several smaller ones, and those strictly comprising the area of the neighborhood of Rakovica had a population of 9,901 in 2002. From June 1945 to December 1946, Rakovica was one of 5 administrative neighborhoods within Belgrade’s Raion VII. Municipality of Rakovica was created in 1952, after the previous division of Belgrade into raions, from 1945 to 1952, ended. In 1960 the municipality was annexed to the neighboring Čukarica, but split again in 1974. The Day of the Municipality is October 14, the patron day of the Shroud of the Most Holy Virgin. 1999 NATO bombing During the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia, Rakovica was the only municipality in Belgrade to be targeted almost every night, and eventually every day. The most heavy attacks were suffered by the hill "Strazevica" (under which was the Yugoslavian underground base), as well as the "Monastery forest", most probably because anti-aircraft weapons were located there. Although not all of Rakovica was under direct attack, the largest part of the municipality suffered collateral damage. Geography Rakovica is located in the valley of the Topčiderka river, where the brook of Rakovički potok flows into the river Sava, 9-10 kilometers (~6 mi) from Terazije, downtown Belgrade. The neighborhood developed between two large woods, Košutnjak on