Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital city and also the largest city in Serbia since 1405 AD. It is located at the mouth of the Sava and Danube rivers in the central part of Serbia, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkan Peninsula. Belgrade has a population of nearly 1.7 million within its administrative limits. It is also the largest city in the region of former Yugoslavia. It has been estimated that at least several thousand Chinese live in Belgrade, who began to immigrate to the city around the mid-nineties. Amongst Belgradians, the New Belgrade block 70 is otherwise referred to as Chinatown.

Belgrade is the economic center of Serbia as well as the center of Serbian culture, education and science.

The Church of Saint Sava located on the Vracar plateau of Belgrade is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city. The central dome has a height of 70 meters on which stands a 12 meter tall gold plated cross, thus giving this magnificent cathedral an impressive total height of 87 meters and as such represents the largest church in Serbia, the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans, and one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world.

In Belgrade there exist around a thousand sport facilities, most of which have a capacity that meet the needs of nearly all types of sporting events. Belgrade has been the host of many major sporting events such as the 2005 European Basketball Championship, the 2005 Volleyball and Water polo championships, and the 2007 European Youth Olympic Championship. Belgrade was also the host city of the 2009 Summer Universiade. The Final Four of the EuroLeague Basketball competition will be held in Belgrade this year.

Ada Ciganlija is the biggest recreational sports complex in Belgrade, and a favorite destination for the local citizens. Ada has a 7 kilometer long beach and facilities for various sports including golf, rugby, soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball and tennis. There are also numerous tracks for bicycling, walking and jogging.

Avala is a mountain in Serbia and stands 511 meters above sea level. It is considered one of the most popular destinations for spending time in nature and clean air, located 17 kilometers from the center of Belgrade. The natural complex of Avala has been under protection since 1859.

In the medieval times, at the top of Avala there used to exist a fortress called Zrnov, which controlled the access to Belgrade. The fortress was conquered by the Turks in the 15^th century and rearranged according to their needs. Zrnov was eventually abandoned and has been in ruins since the 18^th century. At the top of the mountain in 1939 a mausoleum was raised, the Monument to the Unknown Hero, built to honor the Serbian heroes of the First World War.

Kalemegdan Park or simply Kalemegdan is Belgrade’s largest park and the most important historical monument of the city, dominated by the Belgrade Fortress overlooking the mouth of the Sava and Danube rivers. During the time when the fortress served as the main military base the plateau was used to observe in-coming enemies and await them for battle, the name Kalemegdan itself contains the word “battle”.

Skadarlija is the bohemian part of town located in the center of Belgrade (Skadarlija Street). Every day around 20,000 people visit Skadarlija.

Skadarlija street which is around 500 meters long, is situated in the most central part of the city. Skadarlija has always been poorly lit, the street itself made of cobblestone, as was during the time of the Turkish occupation. This archaic look and feel is maintained to this day.

HISTORY OF BELGRADE:

Belgrade is a city where entire worlds collide and connect, a city where traces of ancient times intertwine with medieval and contemporary. Being built on the mouth of the Sava and Danube rivers, the city was simply destined to be a center of cultural and historical events in the Balkans.

Around the city numerous battles have been fought, it was destroyed and rebuilt countless times, and as a consequence of all this the city is now adorned by a certain spirit which can be found in the city’s architecture, cultural sights and landmarks as well as the people and lifestyle within it.

Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe considering it sits on a territory that has supported the existence of human settlements at least 7000 years old. Not far from Belgrade you can find the remains of a culture older than that of Mesopotamia. The Vinca culture which dates back to the first centuries of the 5^th millennium BC to the beginning of the 4^th millennium BC.

In the very center of Belgrade in 1938 a skeleton was discovered belonging to a Neanderthal who had died fighting a mammoth whose skeleton was found nearby, giving an insight on population of the region even during prehistoric times.

There is no part of Old Belgrade which does not contain remnants of the Roman period. In fact the first town was built by the Celts in the 3^rd century BC, but by the first century BC is taken over by the Romans who give it the name Singidunum.

During the time of its existence the name of the city changed countless times but in the end remained as Belgrade or Belograd (White City), first mentioned in 878 AD, in a letter from Pope John VIII to Czar Boris of Bulgaria.

Numerous battles have been fought around Belgrade in 115 different wars, and the city was leveled to the ground an astounding 44 times. Because of its strategic location at the mouth of two rivers, located between the West and the East, Belgrade had always been a battlefield during historical events. The city’s fate left it no choice than to be conquered and destroyed by Celts, Romans, Goths, Slavs, Huns, Turks, as well as the center of conflict between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. Despite everything, the city of Belgrade always managed to stand its ground.