In Serbian, the city is known as Zaječar (Зајечар); in Romanian as Zaicear, Zăiicer (archaic name), Zăiceri, Zăicear or Zăiceari; in Macedonian as Заечар and in Bulgarian as Зайчар (Zaychar).

The relation between two spatial ensembles in this site is stressed by the tetrapylon which is placed on the crossroads between the worldly fortification and palace on the one side and the other-worldly mausoleums and consecration monuments on the other.

The population of the city and of the area to the south of it was partly Bulgarian, as the Serbian ethnographer Milan Đ. Milićević recognized.

In 1883, it was partially engulfed in the famous Timok Uprising, a reaction against a governmental order to confiscate peasants' firearms and against a law replacing the militia with a standing army.

The ethnic composition of the city:[12] The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):[13] Zaječar hosted 2006 Serbian triathlon championship.

The city has two sport-recreation centers, "Popova plaža" and "SRC Kraljevica" home of ŽRK Zaječar, while a third, "Kotlujevac", is under reconstruction.

Zaječar is home to the "Zoran Radmilović" theatre built 2 February 1947 under the name of the "Oblasno narodno pozorište".

[14] The Festival of Contemporary Art ZALET (stylised as ZA*73T) organizes manifestations, such as exhibitions, concerts, literary evenings and experimental theater.

Demo battles as a main item, with performances of artists and art exhibitions involving themes like rock, blues, metal and similar ones.