Čačak is located in the central part of Serbia, 144 km (about 2 ½ hours’ drive) south of Belgrade. The city lies at an altitude of 242 meters, with its bigger part lined along the right bank of the West Morava river. The 2002 census recorded that the municipality of Čačak had a population of 117,072, 73,217 of whom live in the city itself.

The beginnings of the city are lost in the haze of time. Its prominence in the days of the Roman Empire is evident through the remnants of the old settlement that used to exist at the very site of the modern city’s centre, such as the foundations of a large Roman bath, monuments to Jupiter, Serapis and Isida. The recently excavated remnants of the ancient settlement of Gradina nestle at a peak of the Jelica mountain; this is a major archaeological find, which spans the late Roman and the early Christian epochs. The name of Čačak itself was mentioned for the first time in a manuscript dated 1408. The city’s architectural core contains valuable architectural monuments, built between 12th and 19th centuries.

Čačak has developed industrial, business and services sectors and is a true economic, cultural, sport and tourist centre of the region. It is also a city of the young, with its two dozen schools and colleges.

The city’s western gate, the Ovčar and Kablar gorge is a protected nature reserve, and an area of primary cultural importance - because of the importance of its ten medieval monasteries, people like to call it ‘the Serbian Holy Mountain’, drawing a parallel with one of the most sacred places of the Orthodox Christians at the Mount of Athos in Greece.

This year Čačak, the host city to ANIMANIMA, will be celebrating an important anniversary: 600 years since the first mentioning of the city's name in a written document.