Serbia (Serbian: Србија, Srbija) is a country located in the Balkans, in Southern Europe. It was a founder and one of the six republics forming the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is surrounded by Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, Bulgaria to the southeast, Croatia to the northwest, Hungary to the north, Macedonia and Albania (through Kosovo) to the south, and Romania to the northeast. It is situated on one of the major land routes from Central Europe to Turkey and further on to the Near East.