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Belgrade

Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia.

Belgrade (Beograd) is the capital of Serbia, and has a population of around 1.6 million. It is situated in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe and has since ancient times been an important focal point for traffic, an intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe.[1][2][3][4][5]

Belgrade is the capital of Serbian culture, education, science and economy. As a result of its tumultuous history, Belgrade has for centuries been home to many nationalities, with Serbs of the Orthodox Christian religion making up the majority of the population (90%). The official language is Serbian, while visitors from abroad can use English to communicate.

"The sky above Belgrade is wide and high, unstable but always beautiful; even during winter serenities with their icy splendour; even during summer storms when the whole of it turns into a single gloomy cloud which, driven by the mad wind, carries the rain mixed with the dust of panonian plain; even in spring when it seems that it also blooms, along with the ground; even in autumn when it grows heavy with the autumn stars in swarms. Always beautiful and rich, as a compensation to this strange town for everything that isn't there, and a consolation because of everything that shouldn't be there.

But the greatest splendour of that sky above Belgrade, that are the sunsets. In autumn and in summer, they are broad and bright like desert mirages, and in winter they are smothered by murky clouds and dark red hazes. And in every time of year frequently come the days when the flame of that sun setting in the plain, between the rivers beneath Belgrade, gets reflected way up in the high celestial dome, and it breaks there and pours down over the scattered town. Then, for a moment, the reddish tint of the sun paints even the remotest corners of Belgrade and reflects into the windows, even of those houses it otherwise poorly illuminates."

Written about Belgrade by: Ivo Andri, Serbian Nobel prize laureate

Facts

Geographical Position

At Knez Mihailova street, the coordinates of Belgrade are marked:

• 44049'14" of northern latitude
• 20027'44" of eastern longitude
• altitude 116, 75 m.

Belgrade is the intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe which lead through the Morava-Vardar valley and Niava-Marica valley to the shores of the Aegean Sea, to Asia Minor and to the Middle East. Belgrade lies on the Danube river, the sailing route, which connects the Western Europe and Central Europe countries with the countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. By the construction of the artificial lake and the erdap power station, Belgrade became a river and sea port. The ships from the Black Sea sail to its docks, and with opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, Belgrade came to the center of the most important sailing route in Europe: The North Sea - Atlantic - Black Sea route.

Belgrade's surroundings consist of two different natural systems: On the north, the Pannonian depression, covered with wheat and corn, and umadija, with orchards and vineyards, south of the rivers Sava and Danube. The highest relief forms in umadija hillside are Kosmaj (628 m) and Avala (511 m). Starting from south, the terrain gradually descends to the north, in shapes of wide plateaus, sectioned by stream and river valleys. High plasticity of Belgrade relief, south of the rivers Sava and Danube, makes the city spread over many hills (Banovo, Lekino, Topidersko, Kanarevo, Julino, Petlovo, Zvezdara, Vraar, Dedinje). North from the rivers Sava and Danube there are alluvial plains and loessial plateaus, which are divided by a steep section, up to 30 m high. New Belgrade is situated on the left bank of Sava, beneath a loessial plateau (Beanijska kosa), and Zemun is situated on the right bank of Danube, beneath a loessial plateau.

The highest point of inner-city area of Belgrade, is at Torlak (Vodovac), being the Holy Trinity Church at 303.1 m, while the lowest point is on Ada Huja (river island) at 70.15 m. The highest point of the larger-city area is on the Kosmaj mountain (Mladenovac) at 628 m. The absolute altitude of the Meteorological Observatory - 132 m - is considered the average altitude of Belgrade.

The Danube flows through 60 km of Belgrade area, from Stari Banovci to Grocka, while the Sava covers 30 km from Obrenovac to its intake. The length of river banks of Belgrade is 200 km. There are 16 river islands in that area, and the best known of them are Ada Ciganlija, Veliko ratno ostrvo and Groanska ada.

There are many woods in the city area, and the best preserved are the woods of Kosmaj, Avala, Trenja, Lipovica, Topider, Obrenovaki zabran and Bojin.

Belgrade has a moderate continental climate, with four seasons. Autumn is longer than spring, with longer sunny and warm periods - the so-called Indian summer. Winter is not so severe, with an average of 21 days with temperature below zero. January is the coldest month, with average temperature of 0.10C. Spring is short and rainy. Summer arrives abruptly.

The average annual air temperature is 11.70C. The hottest month is July (22.10C). The lowest temperature in Belgrade was recorded on January 10, 1893 (-26.20C), and the highest on August 12, 1921 and on September 9, 1946 (41.80C). From 1888 to 1995 only six days with temperature of over 400C were recorded. The average annual number of days with temperature higher than 300C - the so-called tropical days - is 31 and that of summer days with temperature higher than 250C is 95.

The characteristic of Belgrade climate is also Koava - the southeast-east wind, which brings clear and dry weather. It mostly blows in autumn and winter, in 2-3 days intervals. The average speed of Koava is 25-43 km/h but certain strokes can reach up to 130 kmh. Koava is the largest air cleaner of Belgrade.

The average annual rainfall on Belgrade and its surroundings is 669, 5 mm. The rainiest months are May and June. The average annual insolation is 2.096 hours. The highest insolation of about 10 hours a day is in July and August, while December and January are the cloudiest, with insolation of 2 to 2.3 hours per day. The average number of snowy days is 27, snow cover lasts from 30 to 44 days, and its average thickness is 14 to 25 cm.

Mean atmospheric pressure in Belgrade is 1, 001 millibars and mean relative humidity is 69.5%.

The Belgrade territory cover an area of 322.268 ha (inner-city area covers 35.996 ha), and it is administratively divided into 17 municipalities - 10 urban (ukarica, Vodovac, Vraar, Novi Beograd, Palilula, Rakovica, Savski venac, Stari grad, Zemun, Zvezdara) and 7 suburban municipalities (Barajevo, Grocka, Lazarevac, Obrenovac, Mladenovac, Sopot, Surin).

The first records of Belgrade coat of arms come from the time of Czar Lazar's son, Despot Stefan Lazarevi, when Belgrade in 1403 became the capital of the Serbian state for the first time, but until today it has not been determined for certain how it has looked like. The next coat of arms dates back to the time of Hungarian rule and it is presented in the heraldry register "Fugersko ogledalo asti" of 1555. The tradition of Belgrade coat of arms has been interrupted under Turkish occupation, for the Turks haven't been familiar with this sort of symbols, and it has resumed again when the Austrians conquered Belgrade in the XVIII century. At that time, upon the proposal of the royal governor Alexander of Wurttemberg, the Royal War Council adopted a new seal in 1725. The literature mentions also: the coat of arms from the Brockhaus Encyclopedia, the coat of arms from the Larousse Encyclopedia, and a supposed town's ancient coat of arms. It is important to mention that all of these coats of arms are known only by their prints on engravings or from the literature. Besides that, those have been mostly the coats of arms assigned to Belgrade by non-Serbian governments.

The creation of Belgrade coat of arms was started in 1931 by the President of the Municipality of Belgrade, Mr Milan Nei. An expanded committee was formed, consisting of artists, heraldists, university professors, generals and state counsellors. The expanded committee has had many sessions, and has examined the matter, and at the meeting of the regular committee in May 19, 1931 the following conclusions were made:
1. The Belgrade coat of arms must be shield-shaped, slightly pointed at the bottom.
2. The elements of the coat of arms: national colours, a river - as a symbol of primordial power of Belgrade, a Roman galley (trireme) - as a symbol of antiquity of Belgrade, white walls with a tower and an open gate - the walls represent the settlement, the tower represents the city, and the open gate represents free communication.
3. The ground between the rivers and under the walls is red, as a symbol of blood, eternal suffering of Belgrade; the rivers are white according to the laws of heraldry; the walls and the tower are white, as a symbol of the "white city" (NOTE: The name of Belgrade - Beograd literally means "the white city"); the sky is blue, as a symbol of faith and hope for a better future.
The convincing winner of the open competition was the sketch of the Belgrade painter or'e Andrejevi - Kun. Minor changes have been made upon suggestion of the jury, so the awarded and officially adopted sketch of the coat of arms was printed in colour in the official gazette of Belgrade, "Beogradske optinske novine", No. 1/32.

After World War II, due to altered social circumstances, the city seems to have begun forgetting its coat of arms. The statutory solutions have been going from total absence of relevant provisions, via use of the term "emblem", with no blazon (description) of it, to the provisions which give blazon of a stylized version with no supporting documents.

Having been faced with a confusion over parallel use of both coats of arms, in the beginning of 1991 the City Assembly of Belgrade formed a working group for finding solution to this problem. The working group has suggested reestablishing legitimacy of the 1931 coat of arms, three minor corrections of the graphic display and the blazon of the coat of arms and the flag.

How great importance this holiday has for the Serbs, shows the following example: the greatest historical-legal document of Serbian mediaeval state, the famous Duanov zakonik (Duan's Law), was proclaimed on the Ascension Day in 1349, and amended also on the Ascension Day, 1354. At the celebration of the Ascension Day in 1939, the City of Belgrade was awarded the highest war decoration - Kara'or'e's star with swords of the IV degree. It is worth mentioning that the Ascension Church, built in 1863 as the city church, has maintained the original flag of the City of Belgrade. On one side of that flag made of red brocade in an icon of the Ascension of Our Lord and inscription in gold: Municipality of Belgrade, 1938, and on the other side is an icon of St. Petka and a message: The baptismal name helps the one who celebrates it. This church which keeps the City Feast, was the starting place of the procession in 1992, led by His Holiness Patriarch Pavle.

The procession has an established route, symbolically closing the circle at the yard of the Ascension Church. The first stop is made at Terazije fountain (instead of the mark which used to be where now the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is), to say prayers for good health of the citizens of Belgrade. The second stop is made near the Cathedral Church, to say prayers to Our Lord to save us from suffering, for peace and prosperity. The third stop, to say prayers for peace for the souls of the fallen heroes of Belgrade, is at the yard of the Ascension Church, in from of the granite cross. Also, it is interesting that the City has its patron saint, the Most Holy Mother of God, to whom Despot Stefan Lazarevi has dedicated Belgrade.

On December 26, 2002, the Assembly of the City of Belgrade decided to start marking the period between the two major events in the history of our City - from April 16 to 19 - as the "Days of Belgrade". The Slavic name Belgrade was mentioned for the first time on April 16, 878, in a written document - a letter of Pope John VIII to the Bulgarian Khan Boris I while, on April 19, 1867, finally - after the last Ottoman commander Ali Friza Pasha had symbolically presented Prince Mihailo with the town keys on Kalemegdan - almost three-and-a-half centuries long occupation ceased and Belgrade became a Serbian town once again.

In its long and tumultuous history, Belgrade had often changed both its names and its rulers. As of the third century, when the Celtic tribe Scordisci had set up a stronghold Singidunum at the confluence of the Sava river into the Danube, the city at the "crossroads of the worlds" had been conquered by the Byzantines, the Gepidae, the Sarmatians, the Eastern Goths, the Slavs, the Avars, the Francs, the Bulgarians, the Hungarians, the Ottomans, the Austrians, the Germans... Each of the conquerors also used to give it their respective names: Singedon, Nandor, Fehervar, Nandor Alba, Alba Graeca, Grieschisch Weisenburg, Alba Bulgarica, Taurunum, all the way to the would-be name of Prince Eugenburg intended for it by the Germans in 1941. However, its Slavic name - Belgrade has lasted longest. The British Encyclopedia of Cities mentions that it is the city about which the greatest number of battles had been waged, but also the city with the greatest number of symbolic names: The Hill of Battle and Glory, the Hill for Meditation, the House of Wars, the Egypt of Rumelia, the House of Freedom, the Gateway of the East - the Gate of the West...

The Assembly of the City of Belgrade has adopted the decision on the Award of the City of Belgrade and the Award of the City of Belgrade for Creativity of the Young Ones. The awards are presented each year in April, on the occasion of the festivities of the Days of Belgrade.

The awards during the Days of Belgrade are presented to the authors in the areas of literature and translations, theater, film, and radio and television creations, visual and applied arts, music, social sciences and humanities, natural and technical sciences, architecture and town planning, journalism, educational and upbringing endeavors, sports, as well as of medicine and inventions.

The Award for Creativity of the Young Ones is presented to the pupils and students who particularly excel in their artistic and scientific work.

History

Belgrade, a city of very tumultuous history, is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Its history lasts full 7, 000 years. The area around two great rivers, the Sava and the Danube has been inhabited as early as palaeolithic period. Remains of human bones and skulls of Neanderthals, found in the stone-pit near Letane, in a cave in ukarica and near the Bajloni market, date back to the early Stone Age.

Remains of the late Stone Age culture have been found in Vina, .5arkovo and in Upper Town, above the Sava and Dunav confluence. It indicates that the area of Belgrade has been continually inhabited and that the intensity of the settling has been getting higher and higher. Many of today's settlements in Belgrade surroundings lie on cultural layers of earlier prehistoric settlements.

Vina near Belgrade comes among the most important settlements and cultural sites of the prehistoric period. The presence of Illyrians is characteristic for the Bronze Age. The archaeological excavations at Rospi uprija, Upper Town, Karaburma, Zemun and Vina confirm hypotheses that the Belgrade area has been intensively inhabited and that its population has been engaged in plough agriculture and other supporting economic activities. Necropolises of the Bronze and Metal Ages as well as the evidence of different cultural influences have been discovered at these locations.

In c. 600 B.C. the Thracian-Cimmerian and Scythian tribes moved across this area, while the Celtic tribes crossed this territory in the III century B.C. The founding of Singidunum is attributed to the Celtic tribe, the Scordiscs. As a fortified settlement, Singidunum was mentioned for the first time in 279 B.C. The first part of the word - Singi - means "round" and dunum means "fortress" or "town". It is possible that the name originated from the name of the Thracian tribe, the Sings, which was settled on this area when the Celts came. There are almost no traces about that Celtic town, except the necropolises found at the Karaburma and Rospi uprija locations. These contained valuable artistic artefacts, that belong to the warriors of the Scordiscan tribe. A considerable Celtic cultural influences have been woven into the spiritual culture of the Singidunum inhabitants, and later mixed with Roman classical cultural elements.

The Romans conquered Belgrade in the beginning of the I century A.D. and it has been under their rule for full four centuries. The soldiers of the Moesian legions made the first Roman garrison in Singidunum. The well-shaped graves found at Trg Republike and other locations in the city date from this period. A part of the Roman Empire, beside Singidunum, was Taurunum, today's Zemun. Both of these towns have become important military strongholds on the fortified Roman border - the "limes".

Singidunum was most prosperous in 86 A.D., when the IV Legion of Flavius arrived. The first stone fortress in Upper Town was constructed then. Its fragments can be noticed even today. That "castrum" (fort) was square-shaped and covered the area of today's Upper Town of Kalemegdan. During its development, Singidunum has overgrown its status of a "municipium" and become a colony of the Roman citizens. The shape of Taurunum (Zemun) of that period is not well known; it was probably located at the place of today's Lower Town. As an important Roman military camp, Singidunum gained municipal rights in the II century A.D. during the rule of emperor Hadrian. Its military importance became even higher in the III century, when the emperor Aurelian left Dacia and Upper Moesia gained new borders along the right bank of the Danube. In that period, Singidunum was the center of the Christian diocese. Some time later, it was the place of birth of the Roman emperor Flavius Jovianus.

Next to the military camp, the Romans settled veterans of their legions in order to strengthen their border even more. In time, a quite large settlement came into existence, having a rectilinear base, with streets intersecting at right angle. Some of the bases of these urban elements are preserved until today, which can be seen in the orientation of the Uzun Mirkova, Duanova and Kralja Petra I streets. The Student's square (former Roman forum with thermae, discovered some 30 years ago) has also preserved this rectangular shape.

Between Singidunum and Taurunum, there was a bridge over the Sava, which connected the two towns and which was a part of one of the most important Roman roads. Thus, Singidunum became an important crossroad for the Roman provinces of Moesia, Dacia, Pannonia and Dalmatia. The military road - Via Militaris, which went from the west to the east, through Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), Singidunum and Viminacium (Kostolac), to Byzantium, was protected by forts. These forts also existed in the area of today's Belgrade. Some of them were: Mutatio ad Sextum (Mali Mokri Lug), Castra Tricornia (Ritopek), Mutatio ad Sextum Militare (Grocka), and others. The road connecting the miner's settlements on Avala, Kosmaj and Rudnik. Some more important remains of material culture (tombs, monuments, sculptures, ceramics, coins) have been found in many villages in the vicinity of Belgrade.

After the division of the Roman Empire into the Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire in 395, Singidunum became a border town of the Byzantine Empire. This new position of the town determined its later fate, for it became not only a linking point of various cultural influences, but, before all, a communication and strategic key of the Byzantine Empire.

The disintegration of the Roman Empire was followed by invasion of barbarian peoples: Eastern Goths, Gepidaes, Sarmatians, Avars, Slavs and others. Because of its advanced position at the border - limes, Belgrade suffered frequent attacks and destructions. The attacks coming from the north, across Pannonia, the Danube and Sava, were so hard that even Singidunum, an important military stronghold, could not resist them. The Huns captured it and completely destroyed it in 441. Singidunum lost its Roman inhabitants then. After the fall of the Huns, the town became a part of the Byzantine Empire once again in 454, but it was soon conquered by the Sarmatians, and later the Eastern Goths. However, already in 488, it became a Byzantine town again.

In the beginning of the VI century (in 512), the Byzantine emperor Anastasius settled the German tribes of Heruli in the immediate vicinity of the town, to defend it from the militant Gepidaes. The traces of material culture of the Germans have been found in the ruins of the former Roman town, on the west side of Lower Town. During the rule of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, in 535, the town was rebuilt again and surrounded with strong walls. Thus Singidunum became a splendid and praiseworthy town. Most probably, Singidunum was then connected with Taurunum for the first time.

At the end of the VI century, while the Byzantines were occupied with wars in Africa and Asia, the Mongol tribes of Avars appeared in front of the walls of Singidunum, and after them came the first groups of the Slavs. After two sieges the Avars and Slavs conquer the town. There are numerous Byzantine historical sources about that siege and final fall of Singidunum. The name Singidunum disappeared after this barbarian invasion and the destruction of the town and it has never appeared again in the whole history afterwards. The traces of the Slavic material culture of that period have been found in Lower Town, Upper Town, Zemun, Ritopek and Vinjica. It was a more permanent beginning of the Slavicization of this town.

Around 630 the Serbian settlers come to this area. After this, there are no records about this town for more than two and the half centuries. The Avars and Slavs did not care about this town, because it had lost its status of a border stronghold. It was then within a wider region of the Balkan Peninsula which has been already conquered by the Slavs. In spite of that, archaeological discoveries indicate continuous life in the town and its surroundings. The town was mentioned again not until the IX century, under the Slavic name BEOGRAD (White Town - probably because of the walls made of white limestone). It was in a letter of April 16, 878 which Pope John VIII wrote to the Bulgarian prince Boris-Mihailo, about the dismissal of a Christian bishop Sergije. Later, this name appeared in several variants: ALBA GRAECA, GRIECHISCH WEISSENBURG, NANDOR ALBA, NANDOR FEJERVAR, CASTELBIANCO, ALBA BULGARICA.

Several centuries after the first mentioning of Belgrade as a Slavic town, various armies and conquerors control it by turns. The Franks were the first to reach Belgrade and destroy the Avars under the command of Charles the Great. On the ruins of Taurunum they founded a Frank settlement Malevila, which was after Slavicization changed to Zemln (Zemun). The rule of the Franks was replaced by Bulgarians, and they gave place to Hungarians. By the end of the X century, in the time of the great Samuel's state, Belgrade has already changed masters for a countless number of times. Already in 1018, it once again became a border stronghold of the Byzantine Empire. During the XI and XII centuries, the rival forces of Hungary, Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria fought for it.

During that period, the town was a transit point of numerous Crusades to the East, which left their destructive mark on it. After the Crusades of 1096 and 1147, 190, 000 people pass through Belgrade in 1189, led by Frederick Barbarossa. This leader of crusaders saw Belgrade in ruins. Just how much the town suffered, we can judge by comparison with the record of the Arabian geographer and cartographer Idrisi, who in his "Itinerary of the Byzantine Road" of 1154 mentioned Belgraduk as a well-inhabited and lively town with many churches.

The Serbian rule over Belgrade began in 1284, when the Serbian king Dragutin, son-in-law and vassal of the Hungarian king Ladislav IV was given rule over Mava and Belgrade. It was a period of intensive settling of Serbian population and increasing influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Dragutin's court was in Belgrade. Newly built Cathedral was a symbol of power and wealth of the young Serbian state. After Dragutin's death, his brother Milutin came to the throne, but he has ruled over Belgrade for a short time, for in 1319 it was captured and totally destroyed by the Hungarians. Demolished and abandoned town became a border foothold of Hungarian resistance to expansion of the Serbian state from the south, in the time of Czar Duan. In that condition Belgrade enters the XV century, when the Turks, a new conquering force, appeared on the historical stage of Europe.

In strong desire to get as prepared as possible to resist Turkish invasion and to have a powerful stronghold on the Sava and Danube, the Hungarians allowed construction of Belgrade during the rule of Despot Stefan Lazarevi. He ruled over Belgrade from 1403 until 1427 and that was the time of a real prosperity of this town. Belgrade was not only the capital of the Serbian state, but also the most important economic, cultural and religious center. The following buildings were erected: the Metropolitan Church, a new fortress (citadel), the Despot's Palace, a hospital and a library. Merchants were granted privileges, and wealthy and capable men came to the town and contributed to its prosperity. Belgrade is supposed to have had about 40-50, 000 inhabitants in that period.

The Despot's successor ura' Brankovi was forced to surrender the town to the Hungarians. Following the example of the Belgrade fortress, he built the Smederevo fortress. During the hundred years of Hungarian rule the whole population structure was changed as well as shape of the very town. The town abruptly became stagnant, while the expelled Serbian population lived in the suburbs and was not allowed access to Upper Town. The Hungarian king Sigismund increased the Hungarian population and the influence of the Catholic Church.

The Turks knew that Belgrade was the greatest obstacle in their campaigns towards Central Europe. After the fall of Smederevo in 1440 the Belgrade fortress was under siege by the Turkish army with over 100, 000 soldiers, led by Sultan Murad II. Having a strong desire to conquer the town, the Turks have built .5rnov, a stronghold on the Avala hill. From there they were able to observe and control the surrounding area. For almost a century Belgrade has resisted Turkish attacks. Finally, under the command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, on August 28, 1521, the Turks managed to conquer Belgrade - the rampart of Christianity and the key of defence of whole Hungary. The town was demolished and burnt down, and the way to Western Europe open.

With the moving of border to the north, the strategic position of Belgrade also changes, and in the next 150 years, it was relatively peaceful town with a more significant commercial and communication function. The seat of sandak (district) was moved from Smederevo to Belgrade and more intensive development of the town began. Crafts and trade prosper more and more in newly reconstructed town of oriental look. It is the meeting point of merchants from Dubrovnik, Venice, Greece and Austria, as well as craftsmen: the Turks, Armenians, Gypsies and Serbs. Near the market-place numerous caravansaries, bezistans and mosques were built. The town has overgrown its former boundaries and ditches and began to spread more and more along the well-known trade routes connecting the East with Europe. Its highest progress under the Turks Belgrade makes in the XVII century, when it counts population of 100, 000 and becomes the second-largest town, right after Istanbul.

At the end of the XVII century the plague struck Belgrade and together with fires and revolts of the janissaries it brought the town to stagnancy. After 167 years of relatively peaceful development, the town became a place of war conflicts. After the Turkish defeat under the walls of Vienna in September 1688, the Austrians conquered Belgrade. Two years later, the Turks regained control over it, but these conflicts left Belgrade destroyed and its population killed, persecuted and robbed because of its cooperation with Austrians. After these events Belgrade once again became a border town, and it was so until 1717, when it was conquered again by the Austrians led by Prince Eugene of Savoy. A new fortress was built then in the place of the already completely demolished Belgrade fortress, according to the modern military and strategic requirements.

The Austrian rule over Belgrade in the period from 1717 until 1739 was marked by a real transformation of the town, for then it lost its Turkish and Oriental outlines and it gained characteristics of a mediaeval town. Beside the fortress, many other buildings were constructed, too. Trade was revived, and the Hungarians, Germans, French, Czech and others move to Belgrade more and more. When in 1739 it was captured again by the Turks, it was exposed to heavy destruction. The Turks demolish Austrian barracks and buildings, as well as houses, while many churches were converted into mosques. Once again, Belgrade became a town of Oriental characteristics and with a border position, because the Belgrade peace treaty defined the Sava river as a border line.

On the other side of the river, Zemun gained border position on the Austrian territory. It gained a special status within the region of the Military Border and these conditions allowed it to develop its economy: trade, crafts, shipping and fishing. Citizens' class grew stronger. Forts, churches and state buildings were built. The houses of Karamata, Iko and Dimitrije Davidovi date from this period. The Serbian elementary school was established in 1745 and this town was the place of work of painters and other cultural workers.

At the end of the XVIII century, there were several unsuccessful tries of the Austrians to conquer Belgrade with the Serbian help. After signing the peace treaty of Svishtov in 1791, the Austrians retreated to Zemun, and the janissaries were forbidden entrance to the Belgrade Pashalik (district). After Moustapha-pasha was killed in 1801, the janissaries established their own rule over the town and surrounding villages. That was a period of total anarchy, violence and robberies made by the janissaries. It was finished by the notorious slaughter of the Serbian knezes and other famous Serbs, which was the cause for organizing the insurrection.

Awakening of national consciousness and events related to the slaughter of the knezes led to organization of the First Serbian Insurrection in 1804. The insurrection led by Kara'or'e from the very beginning was also aimed at liberation of Belgrade. After two years of fight, the town was conquered on January 8, 1806. Around 25, 000 Serbian insurrectionists led by Kara'or'e Petrovi found the town in ruins. It became the capital of recently liberated part of Serbia and a symbol of freedom-loving tradition of its population. After renewal it also became an important economic, trade and cultural center. Already in 1807, the Praviteljstvujui Sovjet (Serbian government) had its meeting in Belgrade, and in 1811 the first ministries were established there. The persons of high reputation and intellectuals move to Belgrade from Vojvodina and other regions. Among them were Sima Milutinovi and Dositej Obradovi, who in 1808 founded the first Great School.

The dynamic development of Belgrade was interrupted by Turkish conquest in 1813, and the repressions which followed led to the insurrection in 1815. The leader of the insurrection, Knez Milo Obrenovi, managed to introduce more of diplomacy into relations with the Turks. Granting certain privileges, he moves Serbian population from the south to Belgrade, causing the Turks to sell their land and houses at prices far below real value. The Turks kept the fortress, while the town came to the hands of the Serbs. The first important buildings were built in the town: the residence of Kneginja Ljubica, the Cathedral, the Palace complex in Topider... Beside its economic function Belgrade also became an important cultural center. In 1835, a printing-house was moved from Kragujevac to Belgrade, and the "Novine Srpske" newspaper started to be published. The Theological School and the first gymnasium (secondary school) were founded and the town became a shelter for numerous cultural workers of the time like: Vuk Karadi, Sterija Popovi, Joakim Vuji, Dimitrije Davidovi and others.

The presence of the Turkish army in the fortress was an obstacle to the development of Belgrade. However, the events related to the killing of a Serbian boy at the famous ukur fountain, when the Turks from the fortress bombarded Belgrade, led to negotiations about the final retreat of the Turkish army from the Serbian towns. After 346 years of rule, the Turks left Belgrade for good on April 18, 1867, and Knez Mihailo Obrenovi moved the capital from Kragujevac to Belgrade.

That was a new stimulus to faster economic and cultural development of the town. In the second half of the XIX century it was brought closer to Europe in the aspect of city planning etc. The Kneza Mihaila Street had the central position and it was the shortest connection between the fortress and the town. It soon became the most important trade and business center of Belgrade and it has kept that role until today. The old crafts were replaced by industry, and the trade and traffic were enhanced by the construction of the Belgrade-Ni railway in 1884. The town got electricity, trams, a steamboat society and important scientific and cultural institutions (the Great School in 1863, the National Theatre in 1869.).

The intensive development of Belgrade which started after its final liberation from the Turks continued in the first years of the XX century. The construction of the railway station and river port on the Sava moved the gravitational center of the city and former Turkish-Oriental area known as Dorol began to lose its former importance. However, the further development of the city was hindered by a fact that Belgrade was a border city and an obstacle to Austrian expansionistic policy against Balkan.

In planning of Austrian and German expansion to Balkan, an excuse was sought to attack Serbian by military force. It was found in the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian crown-prince Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo. World War I started with the ultimatum, and later the attack on Serbia. During four months of bombardment, the vanguards of the Austrian army entered Belgrade on December 2, 1914, but they stayed there only until December 15. The invader had to retreat due to a strengthened position of Serbia after the Battle of Kolubara. A new attack followed between October 6 and 7, 1915, led by the field marshal Mackensen. It has lasted for full 7 days and 7 nights. In spite of 9, 731 wounded and dead soldiers, the Austrian army managed to enter the city. Belgrade's agony was three years long. After the breach of the Thessaloniki (former Salonika) Front the Serbian army and parts of the Allies' army liberated Belgrade on November 1, 1918. During World War I, Serbia lost 28% of its whole population, while Belgrade was the most destroyed town in Serbia.

Immediately after the liberation, Belgrade became the capital of the newly-created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which gave it even stronger impulse for faster development. It included Zemun, which have always been in some other country before that. Thus Belgrade ceased to be a border town and began to grow fast. Along with a fast expansion towards Avala, Koutnjak, ukarica and the Danube, numerous buildings were constructed in the old city center, which gave Belgrade the shape of a European city. However, after the assassination of King Aleksandar I Kara'or'evi, the political groups which showed more and more sympathies for the leaders of the new world order - Hitler and Mussolini, grew stronger. This resulted in joining the country to the Axis on March 25, 1941, but it only caused a coup d'etat, bringing the Government down and mass protests of the people.

Only a few days later, Belgrade became the target of a terrible bombing and destruction. In the attack of German air force on April 6 and 7, 1941 on this free city, 2, 274 people were killed, while the number of the wounded was several times larger. Thousands of buildings were lightly or heavily damaged, and the National Library was completely burned down. It was the introduction to four years of life under occupation. The German troops entered Belgrade on April 12, 1941, facing no resistance. After all the persecutions and sufferings caused by German occupying forces, the citizens of Belgrade also had to undergo considerable losses in the Allies' bombing, especially in spring and autumn 1944. Many buildings were demolished, residential areas, as well as all the bridges on the Sava and Danube, while about 1, 160 citizens lost their lives. During World War II Belgrade lost about 50, 000 citizens and suffered inestimable damage and destruction. Belgrade was liberated by the units of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Red Army on October 20, 1944.

The new communist government arrests and liquidates political opponents, mobilizes Belgrade youth and sends it to the Thessaloniki Front. In spite of enormous destruction and general poverty, Belgrade slowly began to recover from the serious consequences of the war and occupation. The destroyed economic facilities were reconstructed and new were built, especially industrial capacities (primarily in the field of metallurgy, chemical and electrical manufacturing industry), traffic and transport started to develop, cultural and educational institutions were renewed and expanded. In the political sphere, the monarchy was abolished in November 29, 1945, by the Declaration which proclaimed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia a federal state with republican system of government, which was the official start of the communist rule of Josip Broz Tito. By adoption of the FNRJ Constitution on January 31, 1946, a socialist federal community of the Yugoslav peoples was established and the nationalization of the property of prewar industrialists began.

Thanks to a specific policy of Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz, Belgrade became and important international, political, cultural European, sports, and economic center. It was the place where important international meetings took place: the First Conference of the Heads and Governments of the Non-aligned Countries in 1961, then the Conference of Security and Cooperation of Europe (CSCE), the UNESCO Conference, annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the 6th UNCTAD, as well as a number of cultural, sport, and other events.

The student protests in 1968 (against intolerable social differences and arrogance of the bureaucratic apparatus) showed that there were problems at internal level. The second indicator was the national commotion in 1974. By adopting the 1974 Constitution, the state moved towards confederal system. Many unsolved national, ethnical, political, economic and other problems in the country led to disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, which marked the end of the longest period of peace in Balkan in the XX century. Since 1992 Belgrade has been the capital of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro. As of February 2003, Belgrade has been the capital of the newly formed State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. May 2006, Montenegro declares independence and Belgrade becomes the capital of the independent state of the Republic of Serbia.

Culture and Art

Belgrade is the centre of culture and art of Serbia. It is Belgrade where our most notable artists create, where over 9.000 theatrical performances, exhibitions, concerts, performance events, and other artistic programs are presented and where prominent authors in the world of art are hosted. Belgrade is the centre of the highest state and national institutions of culture and art: Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Library of Serbia, the National Museum, the National Theatre and the University of Arts.

It is Belgrade where the most significant works of architecture are located, with Kalemegdan accommodating Belgrade Fortress, cultural monuments and other immovable cultural treasures, numerous archeological sites with remnants of developed civilization and culture on Belgrade territory from prehistory until this day.

The City of Belgrade is the founder of 36 cultural institutions (11 theatres, 8 institutions for protection of cultural values, 4 libraries, 13 cultural centers and galleries) and the supporter of 2 public companies, at the same time the contributor in the implementation of schedules and scheduled attractions of 101 institutions and artistic associations.

The City of Belgrade is the founder of 12 cultural events (FEST, BITEF, BEMUS, BELEF, International Competition of Music Youth, Festival of Documentary and Short film, October Salon, Joy of Europe, Belgrade Book Fair, Sopot Film Festival, Belgrade Jazz Festival), and also the supporter of 38 events in the field of culture performed in Belgrade.

The Secretariat of Culture within the City Administration is in charge of culture and art.

Religion

Belgrade has precious monuments of spiritual culture, churches, monasteries and places of worship of different confessions.

According to 2002 census, there are 90, 68% Belgrade citizens of Orthodox persuasion, about 1, 29% of Islamic and 1, 03% of Roman Catholic belief, 0.24% of them are Protestants, 0.03% Jews, 2, 02% of unknown belief, while 3% declared as nonbelievers.

The most important Orthodox church of Belgrade - the Cathedral Church was built in 1840. Some of the oldest are also the Nikolajevska Church (1745) and the Church of the Holy Mother of God (1783) in Zemun. The monumental St. Sava's Temple, the greatest Orthodox temple, can receive 12, 000 believers. By their importance and look, one can also set apart the churches Ruica and Sveta Petka, crkva Svetog Marka, Vaznesenska, (Ascension) church, Topider church and the church of Alexander Nevsky. In the wider city area there are also two old log-cabin churches in the villages of Vrani and Oraac.

In the Belgrade area and its wider surroundings, there are several monasteries built at the end of the XV century or later, demolished and rebuilt several times, and mostly wholly or partially, renewed in the last two decades. The monasteries of Rakovica, Presentation of the Most Holy Mother of God, Fenek, Rajinovac and Tresije are beautiful monuments of Serbian past. The monasteries in Slanci, Mislo'in and Pavlovac on the slopes of the Kosmaj have been partly renewed. The ruins of the Kastaljan monastery are hardly accessible because the road that leads to them is bad.

There are also several Roman Catholic churches, one synagogue, one mosque and several places of worship of other confessions in Belgrade.

The written records on the existence of Jews in Belgrade date back to the XVI century. Researcher believe that Jews were present in Belgrade in earlier centuries, too. The Jews which have lived in the countries of Central Europe carrying with them the influence of German culture and language, called the Ashkenazim, have settled on the bank of the Sava. There is a still active synagogue at No. 19, Marala Birjuzova Street, built in 1926 by the community of Ashkenazi Jews in Belgrade. In the middle XIX century there has been an old Ashkenazi synagogue which was pulled down during many reconstructions of that part of the city.

The Sephardim were exiled from Spain in 1492 and after that began to settle in the countries of the Mediterranean and in the Ottoman Empire. First of them have come to the territory of Belgrade in the XVI century. Their settlement has been on the bank of the Danube, on Jalija. On the old plans of Belgrade dating from the XVIII century, the Jevrejska (Jewish) Street was entered at the same place where it is today.

Judging by the historical resources, the Belgrade Jewish community has reached its cultural climax during the XVII century, when the yeshiva - Jewish religious school - existed in Belgrade. The rabbis, schoolteachers, have printed their books in Venice, Krakow, Istanbul. There has been an old synagogue near the Jevrejska Street, which was built in the XVII century and reconstructed several times, as well as a ritual bathroom. The Jews have lived in that part of the city until World War I.

Shortly before World War II, about 10, 000 Jews lived in Belgrade. Of that number, 80% were the Sephardim, which have used Spanish as spoken language until the XIX century, and 20% were the Ashkenazim, which used Yiddish, a mixture of German and Hebrew. Each of these groups of Jews was organized and had its own community with administration, school, cemetery and various religious, humanitarian, cultural and national societies. Today, in Belgrade, still exists the Baruh Brothers Choir, which was founded as early as 1879 as the Serbian Jewish Singers' Society.

The community of Belgrade Jews has been almost totally destroyed in the Holocaust. Dorol and almost all synagogues were demolished in the bombing of Belgrade in April 1941. Jewish men were shot in mass executions during September and October 1941. They have been taken from the "Topovske upe" concentration camp at Autokomanda. Women and children have been destroyed in the "Sajmite" concentration camp in the period from December 8, 1941 until May 1942. Some of the Belgrade Jews have been killed in the "Banjica" concentration camp. On the Danube bank, where the Jewish settlement used to be, there is now a monument commemorating the Belgrade Jews, made by the sculptor Nandor Glid.

Sights

It is a pedestrian zone and shopping center - protected by law as one of the oldest and most valuable monumental complexes of the city, with a large number of representative buildings and urban houses built at the end of 1870s. It is thought that in as early as the Roman times there was the center of the Singidunum settlement. In this area, at the time of Turks, there were winding streets with gardens, drinking-fountains and mosques. In the middle XIX century, in the upper part of the street was the garden of Knez Aleksandar Kara'or'evi. After the making of the regulation plan of Belgrade in 1867, by Emilijan Josimovi, the street has soon been built and gained its physionomy and content. The houses have been built there and the most influential and wealthiest families of the commercial and political society of Belgrade have come to live there. In 1870, the city authorities officially gave a name to this street - Ulica Kneza Mihaila.

It covers the space between the "Gradska Kafana" (City Restaurant), "Jadran" cinema, National Theatre and Army Hall of Serbia.

The present square was formed after the demolition of the Stambol Gate in 1866 and the construction of the National Theatre in 1869. The Gate had been built by the Austrians at the beginning of the XVIII century, and stood in the area between the present monument to Prince Mihailo and the National Theatre building. It was the largest and most beautiful town gate at the time when Belgrade was encircled by the moat. It was named after the road which led through it - to Constantinople (Istanbul). The people remembered the Stambol Gate as the place in front of which the Turks executed the "raya", their non-Muslim subjects, by impaling them on stakes. It was also the place where during the attack on Belgrade in 1806 in the First Serbian Insurrection, one of the leading Serb military commanders, Vasa arapi, was fatally wounded. In memory of this sad event, a street near the square and a monument in the vicinity were named after him.

After the establishment of Serbian rule and the demolition of the Stambol Gate, the site of the present square was not laid out for a long time. The National Theatre was the only large building standing here for more than thirty years. The square gradually started to acquire more buildings after the monument to Prince Mihailo was erected in 1882. The place where now the National Museum is, was the location of long single-storied building which housed, among other things, the famous "Dardaneli restaurant". This was the meeting-place of members of the artistic circles of the time. The building was pulled down to make way in 1903 for the Treasury (now the building of the National Museum). In a small park next to the National Theatre, there were the well-known "Kolarac" restaurant and cinema (owned by Ilija Milosavljevi - Kolarac, a merchant and benefactor). The "Riunione" Palace, in which the "Jadran" cinema is located today, was built in 1930.

In the place of today's Press House, there have been old and single-storied buildings with shops, until the World War II. Most of the buildings were destroyed during the German bombing on April 6, 1941. After World War II the tram tracks have been removed (until then, a tram terminus was here), and the square, on which for a short time were the crypt and the monument to the Red Army soldiers died during the liberation of Belgrade in 1944, was removed (their remains have been transferred to the Cemetery of the Liberators of Belgrade). Later, the biggest building on this square, the "Press House" has been constructed. The "City Restaurant" and the International Press Center.

KONAK KNEZA MILO A
In Topider

After having built the residence for his wife and children in the town of Belgrade, Knez Milo Obrenovi raised this lodging for himself in Topider, in 1831-1834. The building was constructed by the builders Janja Mihailovi and Nikola or'evi, and works were conducted by Hadi-Nikola .5ivkovi, the supervisor and builder of almost all construction enterprises of Knez Milo. The rich interior decoration of ceilings, walls and niches, is partially preserved until today. During the time of his first rule, Milo has stayed here from time to time only, while during his second rule he spent all of his time here (two years) and eventually died here on September 14, 1860. For some time there were the Museums of Knez Milo and Mihailo Obrenovi, and later the Museum of Forestry and Hunting, established in 1929.

At the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the First Serbian Insurrection (1954), the Museum of the First Serbian Insurrection was opened in the Konak, and it was thematically dedicated to the whole period of Serbian liberation wars against the Turks (from 1804 until the second hatierif (charter) of 1839). The Museum's exhibits represented the starting point for making of the Historical Museum of Serbia in 1963. In front of this building grows one of the oldest and most beautiful plane-trees in Europe, protected by law as a natural rarity (it is more than 160 years old).

Kralja Petra I 12

It is the most important work of the Viennese architect of Serbian origin Konstantin A. Jovanovi. The building was constructed in two phases: the first corner part against Cara Lazara Street was built in 1888-1889 and the annex in 1922-1925. This annexation is perceived primarily in the interior, because the main entrance originally was at the corner, and now it is in the middle of the building. A complete unity of the style based on neorenaissance was accomplished in the exterior. Richly decorated counter-hall is one of the most representative Belgrade interiors, and then young Belgrade painter Moa Pijade, later a politician and statesman, participated in illustrating the ceiling.

NATIONAL MUSEUM
Trg Republike 1a

The original corpus against the Trg republike, was built in 1902 according to the design of Andra Stevanovi and Nikola Nestorovi. The part facing Laza Pau Street was built in 1930, when the counter-hall (today the atrium of the National Museum) was arranged. In World War II the building was heavily damaged, and after the war it was rebuilt without the dome it has today. In the sixties, thanks to the efforts of then the manager of the National Museum, Dr. Lazar Trifunovi, the central dome was back in place, and the interior arranged, so that today it fully serves its purpose.

NATIONAL THEATRE
Trg Republike 2

Built in 1869 according to the design of Aleksandar Bugarski, the most productive architect of Belgrade in the XIX century. The decision to construct a special building for the theatre was made by Knez Mihailo Obrenovi. The building was a typical theatre building of the time and was particularly reminiscent of La Scala, Milan, with regard to its Renaissance conception and the decorative finish. Later reconstructions, completely changed the original appearance. The heavy reconstruction was made in 1986 when the theatre regained the 1922 look and an annex was built towards Brae Jugovia Street. Beside theatrical purposes, the hall has been used for charity balls and concerts during the XIX century. The Great Constitutional Assembly adopted the famous 1888 Constitution in this building.

PALATA "ALBANIJA"
Knez Mihailova 4-6

Based on the open competition design of 1938, by Branko Bon and Milan Grakali, this building was finished in 1940 according to the designs by Miladin Prljevi and engineer or'e Lazarevi. For a long time it has been the highest building, and the dominating structure of modern architecture on the Belgrade ridge, as well as a reference point of the spatial composition along the whole Terazije - Slavija line.

PALACE OF THE ASSEMBLY OF SERBIA
Trg Nikole Paia 13

The first design for the House of the National Representation was made by Konstantin A. Jovanovi in 1891. At the open competition of 1901 for the building on the area near the Batal mosque, the winning work was that of Jovan Ilki, which is, in fact, a variant of Jovanovi's solution. The construction of the palace began in 1907, and the cornerstone was laid by King Petar I. During World War I, Ilki has died in the concentration camp in Neider, while the plans have been lost. In accordance with the completed parts of the building, the new plans have been made by Ilki's son Pavle, while Nikolaj Krasnov has helped in completion of the building, especially the interior. The construction was not finished until 1936. It was designed in the manner of academic traditionalism, with rich interior (architectural and artistic) decoration, made by, at that time, most famous artists and craftsmen. In 1939, a monumental sculptural group made by the famous sculptor Toma Rosandi was placed in front of the main entrance. It was named "Igrali se konji vrani" (Black horses are playing).

"BEOGRAD" PALACE
("BEOGRAANKA")
The corner of Kralja Milana and Masarikova streets

The construction has lasted from 1969 until 1974. The project designer was Branko Pei. The building was raised in the heart of old city center, stretching from Terazije to Slavija, with an emphasized aspiration to dominate with its high 24-storied part as the city's reference point. The first several stories are occupied by the "Beograd" department store, while on the other floors, there are business premises, as well as the head offices of several Belgrade media.

Beogradska tvr'ava podignuta je na grebenu iznad ua Save u Dunav u razdoblju od I do XVIII veka kao kompleks odbrambenog karaktera. Tvr'ava je danas svojevrstan muzej istorije Beograda. High above the Sava and Danube confluence, on the rocky ridge which opens the view of Novi Beograd, Zemun and wide plains of Pannonia, there is the Belgrade Fortress with Kalemegdan, the former historical and urban center of Belgrade. This spatial complex consists of: The Fortress, divided into Upper Town and Lower Town, and the Kalemegdan park, the most popular promenade for Belgrade citizens.

Because of its exceptional strategic significance, at the end of the I century A.D. the Romans built a fortress here - Roman castrum, as a permanent military camp of the IV Flavius' legion. After its destruction by the Goths and Huns, it was reconstructed in the first decades of the VI century. Less than a hundred years later, it was destroyed by the Avars and Slavs.

Along the fortress on the hill above the Sava and Danube confluence, the ancient Singidunum has been raised up, and, at the same place the Slavs made their Beograd. The mediaeval town has developed for centuries in the Fortress area, searching for safety within its thick walls. The Belgrade Fortress has been destroyed and renewed for many times. Above the Roman walls there are the Serbian, and above these the Turkish and Austrian fortifications. In the XII century, the Byzantine Czar Manuel Comnenus erected a new castle upon the Roman ruins. In the first decades of the XIV century, this small stronghold on the hill was expanded to the river banks.

As a new center of Serbia, under the rule of Despot Stefan Lazarevi, Belgrade has been fortified with wide forts of Upper and Lower Towns. At the old castle, despot's palace has been built, and a war port has been built on the Sava. Within the walls, a prosperous mediaeval town has been developed. From 1521, when it was conquered by the Turks, until the XVII century, the Belgrade Fortress has not been significantly expanded.

A new period began with the Austrian-Turkish war. Having been the key fortress in the center of war actions during the XVIII century, it has been reconstructed three times. The old castle has been demolished, and a large part of mediaeval walls was covered by new fortifications. Under the Austrian rule, from 1717 to 1739, after the construction of new, modern forts, the Belgrade Fortress became one of the strongest military fortifications in Europe. It was built by the design of the general Nikola Doksat Demorez, the Swiss in Austrian service. His destiny was to be shot right in front of the walls of the Fortress he designed, in a March morning in 1738, because he had lost the Ni battle. All of the new-built fortifications have been destroyed before the Turks returned to Belgrade in 1740. By the end of the XVIII century the Belgrade Fortress got its final shape. In the war destructions during the past decades almost all structures in Upper and Lower Towns have been demolished, while the wall have been considerably damaged.

The Knez Mihailova and Uzun Mirkova streets lead to the Belgrade Fortress. At that direction are the main Fortress gates - Stambol Gate (inner and outer) and Sahat Gate. The entrance to the mediaeval fortress was on the eastern side (near today's Zoo), through Zindan Gate and Despot's Gate of Upper Town. The access to Lower Town is from Bulevar Vojvode Bojovia (Vidin Gate) and from Kara'or'eva Street (Dark Gate).

The most beautiful and biggest park in Belgrade, which is also the most important cultural and historical complex, in which the Belgrade Fortress stands high above the Sava and Danube confluence. The name Kalemegdan applies only to the spacious plateau surrounding the Fortress, which was turned into a park in the eighties of the XIX century. When the Fortress served as Belgrade's chief military stronghold, the plateau was a place from which the enemy was kept under observation and where preparations were made for combats. Its name derives from the Turkish words kale (fort) and megdan (field). The Turks also called it Fichir-bair, which means "the contemplation hill".

Its conversion into a park began by Prince Mihailo Obrenovi's order, once the Fortress was surrendered to the Serbs (1867). The conceptual designs were made by Emilijan Josimovi, the first Serbian urbanist. The greenery was planted between 1873 and 1875, when the commanding officer of the Fortress was Colonel Dragutin .5abarac, who was an aide-de-camp to Prince Milo Obrenovi during his second rule.

The planned development of Kalemegdan began in 1890, when the military authorities handed the park over to the Belgrade civilian authorities. The mayor of Belgrade at that time, Nikola Pai, approved the first credit amounting to 10, 000 dinars for the regulation of Kalemegdan. In 1905, the park was expanded with the development of Mali (small) Kalemegdan, which spreads from the Cvijeta Zuzori Art Pavilion to the Zoo.

Before the First World War, Kalemegdan spread to the now still existing stone stairway (leading to the lower terrace). The ground beyond this stairway remained completely untouched and overgrown with weeds until 1929. In 1931, the park expanded also to Upper Town. Monuments to many famous cultural and public persons were erected in the park. Kalemegdan now includes the Military Museum, Cvijeta Zuzori Art Pavilion, City Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, Zoo, a children's amusement park, a large number of sports fields, restaurants and so on.

The Old Palace, the Royal Palace of the Obrenovi dynasty of Serbia, presently housing the City Assembly of Belgrade, is situated at the corner of Kralja Milana and Dragoslava Jovanovia streets. It was built between 1882 and 1884, according to the design of Aleksandar Bugarski, in the style of academism of the XIX century, with intention to surpass all existing residences of the Serbian rulers.

An English author Herbert Vivien, who visited the Old Palace by the end of the XIX century, described in detail its interior: "At the left side, there is a fine ball room, with walls of lemon-yellow colour, with huge white lusters of Venetian glass, glistening nicely during the state festivities, lit by electric light. After passing the large reception hall, you enter the banquet hall. Everything is glistening in that hall: starting from the floor up to the carved mahogany table. Some sixty guests may be seated around that table. Leather-upholstered chairs are of the colour of autumn leaves. What is most impressive, is the good taste characterizing all objects, both those for use and the adornments. The admiration is even more caused by the beautiful carved ceilings, inherited from the Turkish era and fashion..."

A number of important events from the time of the political power of the Obrenovi dynasty are linked to the Old Palace: the Palace was built when Serbia was proclaimed a Kingdom; in that same building, King Milan abdicated in favor of his son, Aleksandar, on February 22, 1889. Between 1903 and 1914, the Old Palace was the residence of the Karadjordjevi dynasty. In 1919 and 1920, meetings of the Provisional National Assembly took place there. Royal festivities and receptions of high foreign guests took place there until 1941.

The Palace was damaged twice: during World War I and during the bombing of Belgrade, on April 6, 1941. After World War I the Palace was repaired, while the first important restoration was done around 1930. The repair and re-arrangement of the Old Palace after World War II lasted until 1947. During that period, the architecture of the building was significantly changed. The two domes facing the garden were removed, while the facade facing the present Bulevar kralja Aleksandra was completely changed. Since that time, the building housed the Presidium of the National Assembly, then the Federal Government, and, since 1961, the City Assembly of Belgrade.

The Old Palace has almost square foundation of 40x40 sqm. Its design is classical, with central windowed inner hall. There used to be a greenhouse and richly ornamented oaken stairs added later, and leading onto the first floor (they were designed by a famous architect Jovan Ilki). Those stairs were destroyed in World War I. Around this central space with columns and galleries there were other rooms of the Palace, the most important of them being the great hall for receptions and balls and the dining room. As parts of the Palace there were also a nicely arranged library and the Palace chapel, which faced the garden. The whole interior equipment of the Palace has been mostly imported from Vienna.

By its external architecture the building is one of the most beautiful achievements of academism in Serbia of the XIX century. The facade which faces the garden is most richly made, having projecting balconies which provided closer contact with the garden. The most characteristic motifs of this facade are the caryatids at the first-floor level which, above the balconies at each end of the facade support richly made tympanums of the ending windows. The caryatid are repeated on the facade facing the Kralja Milana street, and the line of Doric columns in beneath them. The Doric columns also appear on the facade against the garden, between richly decorated windows. The other two facades are somewhat simpler. The basement and the corners of the building are rustically designed. The balconies and the attic are balustraded. The three corners of the building used to have proportional domes.

Today, visitor meet the Old Palace which in time has changed its original interior and exterior look. Through the Central Hall (of 130 sqm), one can enter the Red Salon. In this room, the attention of the visitors will first be drawn to the "Portrait of a Girl", painted in 1862 by ura Jaki. There is also the painting "The Crossing of the Neretva River" by Ismet Mujezinovi. In the same room, there are also gifts of foreign delegations: two porcelain vases with scenes from Saint Petersburg (gift of a Russian delegation) and a dish (gift of a Danish delegation). At the left side of the entrance into the Yellow Salon, there is the facsimile of a letter written by the Pope John VIII, of April 16. 878, - the oldest written document which mentions the Slavic name of the city - Beograd. This is, as a matter of fact, a part of the Register of the Pope John VIII, which is still being kept in the archives of the Vatican. Beside the facsimile, there is an artistic interpretation of that document, made by the well-known painter and graphic artist, Professor of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Branko Milju. To the right of the entrance, there is the Order of National Hero awarded to Belgrade on October 20, 1974.

In the next, Yellow Salon, there are several exceptional paintings. These are the paintings by Sava umanovi, Jovan Bijeli, Petar Lubarda, Miodrag-Bata Mihajlovi, Ljuba Lah, Jovan Zonji, Pe'a Milosavljevi, Petar Omikus and Vasa Pomoriac, as well as the wooden sculptures by Rista Stijovi. In this Salon, there are also some gifts of foreign statesmen, delegations, associations and federations: a number of decorative plates, vases and sculptures.

The Yellow Salon leads to the Gala Hall, with an area of 260 sqm. The upper parts of the walls are adorned with stained glass windows which illustrate the people's liberation struggle and the working enthusiasm. At the consoles in front of the mirrors, immediately beside the entrance, to the left and to the right, there are brass chandeliers, 65 cm high, made in France, two standing ashtrays with decorative figures of three serpents (to the right), and two vases and porcelain chandelier (to the left). At the other end of the hall, there is a candy box with two angels, made in the same technique as the chandeliers and the porcelain vases. This hall gives access to the balcony.

The interior of the XIX Century Salon was arranged by the Museum of the City of Belgrade, in the style of the time of the construction of the Old Palace. A small commode, a secretaire, a vitrine, two consoles with mirrors, a table and two chairs, the Louis XV style, represent the original furniture, used by Queen Natalija Obrenovi, wife of King Milan. In the vitrine, there are some parts of the porcelain set from the Queen's drawing room, imported from the West. There is also a porcelain plate with the crown and the royal initials. The black furniture set, the Napoleon III style, also belongs to that period, while the niche contains a Biedermeier drawing-room from the first half of the XIX century. The costumes show the way of clothing of the citizens of Belgrade in the first half of the XIX century. This drawing room contains also portraits of some distinguished citizens: Vule Bogdanovi, merchant, and his wife, painted by Franja Grifinger. then the portrait of Stevan Knianin, made by unknown author, the portrait of the poet Jovan Jovanovi Zmaj, painted by Uro Predi in 1938, the portraits of Jelisaveta Koci and or'e Bimba by Arsenije Petrovi. On the central wall, there is a large painting, "Merry Party in Front of the Inn", made by unknown author.

These representative rooms of the Old Palace are used for receptions of domestic and foreign delegations and distinguished guests from the country and the world, for award ceremonies of the City of Belgrade, parties, banquets, balls, concerts, book promotions and other cultural events. The other rooms are the offices of the President, vice-presidents and the Secretary of the City Assembly of Belgrade, as well as the President, vice-presidents and members of the Executive Board.

ST. SAVA'S TEMPLE
at the Vraar plateau

The temple is located in the eastern part of Svetosavski Trg. The construction preparations have lasted for a very long time, ever since 1894. At the second open competition in 1926 the architectural design of the architect Bogdan Nestorovi was selected, with later incorporation of several elements of the project of the architect Aleksandar Deroko. The consecration of the foundations was made by Patriarch Varnava on September 15, 1935, and when the works have moved ahead, Patriarch Gavrilo consecrated and placed the charter in the altar, next to the cornerstone on May 27, 1939. Further construction was interrupted by the German attack on Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941. It was not until the summer 1984 that the state permission was obtained to continue the construction works, so on April 30, 1985, the temple, desecrated by war and human negligence, was consecrated again by Patriarch German in the presence of all Serbian hierarchs, and the charter on continuing construction works in new historical circumstances was laid again. Branko Pei, an architect and university professor was appointed protomaster of the construction. Although still under construction, this monumental temple represents an organic part of modern vivid image of Belgrade, being one of its main features.

SAINT SAVA
(1169 - 1236), Serbian archbishop

He was the son of Stefan Nemanja, grand upan of Serbia. As a young boy, he has longed for spiritual life, so he has run away to the Holy Mount Athos, where he entered an order and died as a monk under the name of Simeon. From the emperor and the patriarch, Sava has obtained independence of the Serbian Church, and he has become the first Serbian archbishop. Together with his father, Sava has raised up the Chilandar Monastery, and, later on, many other monasteries, churches and school all over Serbia. He has travelled twice as a pilgrim to the Holy Land. He has reconciled his brothers, fighting about power, Serbs with their neighbours, and, through creation of the Serbian Church, he has created Serbian state and culture. He has brought peace to all Balkan peoples and worked for the well-being of them all, which has brought him respect and affection of all those nations. To the Serbs he has given a Christian soul, not destructed with the destruction of the Serbian state. He died in Trnovo, during the rule of emperor Asen, on January 12, 1236, because he got sick after the Epiphany service. King Vladislav has transferred Sava's remains to the Mileeva monastery, but the Turkish Sinan-pasha took the remains and burned them in Vraar, Belgrade, on April 27, 1594.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD - RU.5ICA
Kalemegdan 6

It is located near north-east walls of Belgrade Fortress, under the Zindan gate. In the time of Despot Stefan Lazarevi there was an old church of the same name, which was destroyed when the Turks conquered Belgrade in 1521. What is now the church, was a gunpowder storage in the XVIII century, and turned into a military church in 1867-1869. It was heavily damaged after World War I and renewed in 1925. The iconostasis has been made by Kosta Todorovi, and the icons it bears were painted by monk Rafailo Momilovi. The wall paintings were made by a Russian artist Andrey Bitsenko.

ST. PETKA'S CHAPEL
Kalemegdan

It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Ruica Church. It was built next to a "miraculous spring", after 1867. The present chapel was built in 1937 according to project made by the architect Momir Korunovi. Its interior walls and vaults are covered with mosaics, made by the artist uro Radulovi in 1980-1983.

ASCENSION CHURCH
Admirala Geprata 19

The church was built in 1863. The order for its construction was issued by Knez Mihailo Obrenovi and Metropolitan Mihajlo, and the works were financed through donations of many Belgrade citizens. The project design was made by Pavle Stanii and Jovan Risti, the construction works performed by Josip tok and Fernand Stevanov, and the contractor was Koa Z. Popovi. The church was shaped in accordance with then prevailing romantism, following examples of the old Serbian monasteries, first of all the Ravanica monastery. The first icons were painted by Nikola Markovi in 1864, but later, this task was assigned to the most famous painter of that time, Steva Todorovi, who completed this enterprise in 1881. Also, the original wall paintings made by Nikola Markovi have been replaced with new compositions made by Andrey Bitsenko in 1937. The church is rich in collections of icons, old books, articles of gold and other things from the XIX century.

ST. NIKOLAJ'S (NIKOLAJEVSKA) CHURCH
Njegoeva 43, Zemun

The church is located at the old historical center of Zemun beneath the mediaeval Gardo fortress. It was built in 1725-1731 in baroque style, as a single-naved building with a two-storied bell-tower. It has all the characteristics of baroque temples built in Srem in the XVIII century. The interior is decorated with a richly carved iconostasis, bearing icons painted in 1762 by Dimitrije Baevi, one of the most famous Serbian painters of the second half of XVIII century. The church has one of the most valuable collections of old cultic objects, as well as a collection of XVIII and XIX-century icons. The relics of Saint Apostle Andrew, the First-called, are kept in this church.

CHURCH OF ST. ALEXANDER NEVSKY
Cara Duana 63

This old church in Dorol was built in 1877 and dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky. It has served its purpose until 1891 when a decision was made to build a larger church. The project was designed by the architect Jelisaveta Nai, and the foundations were consecrated in 1912. World War I postponed the construction of the church, so it was not completed until 1928-1929, while the marble iconostasis (originally designed for the church at Oplenac) was a gift of King Aleksandar Kara'or'evi in 1930. The icons were painted in the same year at the artistic workshop of the Russian painter Boris Selyanko. In the choirs of the church, there are the monuments dedicated to the soldiers killed in the liberation wars (1876-1918) as well as the ones dedicated to the Russian czar Nicholas II and King Aleksandar I Kara'or'evi. Present wall compositions were painted in the secco technique by jeromonah Naum Andri in 1970-1972.

ST. MARK'S CHURCH
Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 17

St. Mark's Church at Tamajdan was built in the 1931-1940 period at the place where the old church from 1835 used to be. It was designed by architects Petar and Branko Krsti, in Serbian-Byzantine style. By general architectural conception, forms and polychromy of facades, this temple is most like the Graanica monastery. The equipping and decoration of the temple is still unfinished. At the south part is a sarcophagus with the remains of Czar Duan, brought here from his endowment, the monastery of St. Michael the Archangel near Prizren. On the north side is the white marble crypt containing the remains of Patriarch German ori. One of the most valuable collections of Serbian XVIII and XIX-century icons is kept in this church.

CHURCH OF ST. VASILIJE OF OSTROG
Partizanske avijacije 21a, Novi Beograd

The most recently built Orthodox in Belgrade is at the same time the first church built on the territory of Novi Beograd since World War II. The construction started in 1996 and the church was consecrated in 2001. Relying on Christian tradition and on the outstanding accomplishments of the old Serbian builders, the architect Mihailo Mitrovi has chosen shape of ancient Christian rotunda, accompanied with lower annexes and high bell-tower on the west side, as well as three-leafed altar apse on the east. This temple represents, by its composition, a solid and artistically homogenous whole, achieved by a modern construction procedure. It was built using donations of admirors of the deeds of St. Vasilije of Ostrog, the Miracle Worker.

Situated at the very center of the city, the Belgrade Zoo, or the Good Hope Garden, stands on one of the most attractive city locations - the Kalemegdan park. It was founded in 1936 and it is one of the oldest homes of animal kingdom in Europe.

It covers an area of 6 ha, and has 2, 000 animals of 200 species, and beside wild animals it abounds in domestic animals too. Its present beautiful look is contributed by many built facilities, infrastructure, new drinking-fountains and fountains, Wooden Sculpture Gallery, the work of the sculptor Vuk Bojovi, nursery for young animals - Baby Zoo... For its 60th anniversary it was enriched with a monument dedicated to its once most interesting and most famous resident - Sammy the chimpanzee, the first of its kind ever in this Zoo.

Not a week passes in this zoo without the media present, to record birth of a cub, various promotions... So this zoo became present almost daily in the life of Belgrade, enriching it with spirit of its gentle atmosphere, not without reason named the Good Hope Garden.

PIONIRSKI PARK

One of the most beautiful parks in Belgrade. located between the Bulevar kralja Aleksandra, Kralja Milana, Kneza Miloa and Dragoslava Jovanovia streets. Until 1944 it has been surrounded with a high wall and served as a garden of the Old Palace (now the City Assembly of Belgrade). After removal of the wall, the park was put into public use and named Pionirski park, after the organization of the youngest (pioneers). In honour of the great writer of Yugoslav literature and Nobel laureate Ivo Andri, a promenade named Andriev Venac was built between the park and Kralja Milana Street, and a monument was raised up.

TA MAJDAN

Between Takovska, Ilije Garaanina, Beogradska streets and Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra, there used to be a large stone-pit. That is how this park has got his name Tamajdan (in Turkish: ta - stone, majdan - pit). According to an old testimony "it may be freely said that all of the old buildings in Belgrade.... have been built of stone excavated here". In the catacombs left after the excavations of stone blocks, arsenals and military warehouses have been located for a long time, and these catacombs have been also used as shelters and first-aid places for wounded soldiers. During the siege of Belgrade in 1806, Kara'or'e set a camp and pitched his tent here. After the Second Serbian Insurrection, Knez Milo Obrenovi started to build a Serbian town district in Savamala and about 1826 ordered that the old Serbian cemetery be moved from Varo-kapija to Tamajdan. At the plateau of Tamajdan, the old St. Mark's Church was built in 1835 (destroyed in the bombing of Belgrade on April 6, 1941). On November 30, 1830, at Tamajdan, the Sultan's hatierif (charter) on the internal independence of Serbia was read. In 1909, the first Seismological Station was built, and it still exists today. At Tamajdan and around it, there are today the St. Mark's Church (the new one, built in 1931-1936), the Russian Church (1924), the Main Post Office (1934), the Sport Center "Tamajdan", the "Ta" and "Metropol Palace" hotels, the "Madera" restaurant, Radio-Television of Serbia, children's amusement park...

UNIVERZITETSKI PARK

It is located at the very center, in the old core of the city. The older citizens know it as Paniev Park. In the Turkish time, there has been their graveyard, removed in the middle XIX century. Then the largest and most famous market has been made on one part of today's park (it was not removed until the thirties of the XX century). The first urbanist of Belgrade, Emilijan Josimovi, had in mind something more "aesthetic" than a market, so after 1869, when the regulatory works began, he made the Great Market half shorter, and turned the remaining part into a park. The park got first urban outlines at the end of the XIX century, when the monument dedicated to Josif Pani was placed there, and it was finally shaped in the thirties of the XX century, when the monument to Dositej Obradovi was transferred from Kalemegdan and when today's baroque fence was made.

KARAOREV PARK

It spreads between Bulevar oslobo'enja and Nebojina Street. At this place was one of the camps of the insurrectionist army, during the attack on Belgrade in 1806. After the conquest of Belgrade, all killed insurrectionists were buried here. Knez Aleksandar Kara'or'evi raised a monument here in 1848, with an inscription: "In the glory and honour of the Serb heroes who bravely died for their fatherland in 1806, we raise this monument here". It is, at the same time, the first public monument raised up in Belgrade. The park started to form after the erection of the monument, and it was considerably expanded in 1903 and 1904. Just before World War II, a shelter was built in the park, in which 192 innocent citizens were killed during the German bombing on April 6, 1941. The stone slab at this place stands in memory of that tragic event. A few other monuments have been raised up in this park.

GRADSKI PARK IN ZEMUN

This is the oldest green oasis and Zemun's promenade. It was made in 1880 as the Mali Park (Small Park), on the place of former "kontumac" of 1730 (a sort of customs and quarantine station). By further planting in 1886 and 1888 it became the Gradski (City) Park. The buildings built in style of that time are preserved, like the building of the former High School (finished in 1880, and extended in 1916). The oldest preserved monuments are part of the kontumac wall and two (restored) kontumac churches: the Orthodox Church of St. Gabriel the Archangel (of 1786) and Roman Catholic Church of St. Rocco (of 1836). Between those two churches is a column dedicated to A. Lamartine. It was raised by the Yugoslavia-France Society for the 100th anniversary of the time the great poet stayed in kontumac (quarantine). Two memorials remind of the more recent history, of the People's Liberation War. They have been made by the sculptors Vanja Radau and Boris Kalina. Near the complex of the park is the Sports Center "Pinki - Zemun", built in 1974.

The first public drinking fountains had been constructed along the route of the Roman aqueduct in ancient times and, as of the 15th century, they became genuine sculptural works, such as the Vizier's drinking fountain constructed on the order of Mehmed Pasha Sokolovi on Kalemegdan in 1576. Drinking fountains were also constructed along the route of the Bulbulderski waterworks, which stretched from the present-day Gradska (City) Hospital to Kalemegdan and ran parallel with the namesake creek. Only along this route there were 18 drinking fountains in the 19th century, out of which the most popular are: ukur, Saka, and Skadarska drinking fountains.

Among the oldest drinking fountains there was also the Delijska drinking fountain, which was mentioned way back in the 17th century. On its place, already at the beginning of Knez Mihailova Street at the time, another drinking fountain was constructed in 1843, but its name remained the same. It was knocked down in 1889. When Knez Mihailova Street was reconstructed in 1987, another drinking fountain was constructed, which resembles the previous one.

TERAZIJE FOUNTAIN

Author: FRANC LORAN, kamenorezac

At Terazije, in front of the "Moskva" Hotel, made of stone, with a metal vase on its top, total height about 800 cm. Raised in 1860.

It represents one of the most important Belgrade monuments of the XIX century. During the works on regulation of Terazije in 1911-1912 it was moved to Topider. It has remained there until 1976, when it was brought back to its original location.

UKUR FOUNTAIN
Author: SIMEON ROKSANDI

In Dobraina Street, bronze, total height 149 cm. Raised in 1931.

At this former well, on June 3, 1862, a Turkish soldier (nizam) hit a Serb boy, apprentice Sava, because he protested when the Turk put Sava's jug aside. A group of Serbs encircled the Turkish soldiers who were at the well, but the dragoman (interpreter) of the Serbian police and the terjuman (mediator between the Serbs and Turkish authorities) took the Turks away from that place. Nevertheless, in front of the police building, the Turks killed the Serbian terjuman Sima Nei and the gendarme or'e Nilija. These events led to bloody disputes between the Belgrade Serbs and the Turks, and were an excuse for the bombardment of Belgrade by the Turks made on June 5, 1862. In memory to these events, a monument with statue of a boy was raised at that place, with the resources provided by the Endowment of the merchant Toma Van'el.

The first human settlements on Belgrade soil developed as far back as 7000 years ago. This is borne out by numerous archaeological sites with material evidence, ranging from the culture of the Old Stone Age and other prehistoric cultures, to the Middle Ages. The sites are not arranged for visitors, and the material remnants are for the most part kept in the National Museum.

Vina, 14 km away from Belgrade on the way to Grocka, is a prehistoric tell on the very bank of the Danube, with the remnants of the material culture of the prehistoric man (the Neolithic plastics). In the caves in Bele vode there were found skeletons of the Neanderthal man. The most widespread culture in the territory of Europe at the time is called after the site in Vina.

In the territory of Grocka there are the sites: Agino brdo (the Neolithic), Duboaj, and Brestovik (the Roman period). In the territory of Surin, nearby Jakovo, there is Kormadin, where the artefacts from the Late Neolithic were found. On the way to Avala, in uplja stena, there were discovered the prehistoric mining pits and, in Mt. Avala, a medieval stronghold made of stone, the hill-fort .5rnov.

In the territories of Karaburma and Rospi uprija, there were dug quite well preserved Celtic tombs. The Roman thermae found in the University Park on Studentski trg (Students' Square), are the remnants of a Roman civilian settlement. The remnants of a Roman settlement were also discovered in the Lower Town on Kalemegdan - Mithra's holy shrine with the sacrificial altar and small thermae.