Belgrade, the capital of Serbia

Monday, 3 October 2011 - 02:31 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  6 minutes

Railway Museum © Uncle buddha

Railway Museum © Uncle buddha

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia. As the largest city of Serbia, it is the country’s principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. It has an urban population of 1.2 million, while the metropolitan area has more than 1.7 million people, making it one of the largest cities of Southeast Europe. The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name in English translates to White City.

One of the largest prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, prospered here in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, the area was held by Thraco-Dacians, and after 279 BC the Celts conquer the city, naming it Singidūn. It is conquered during Augustus, and is awarded city rights in the mid 2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changes hands several times before it becomes the capital of King Stephen Dragutin (1282-1316). In 1521 Belgrade was conquered by the Ottomans and becomes the seat of a Sanjak, it also becomes among the largest European cities. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Austrian rule which saw destruction of most of the city during Austro-Turkish wars. The status as capital city of Serbia would be regained only in 1841, after the Serbian revolution. Northern Belgrade, though, remained a Habsburg outpost until the breakup of Austria-Hungary in 1918. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times since the ancient period by countless armies of the East and West. The united city was proclaimed the capital of Yugoslavia in 1918.

Belgrade has its own autonomous government, and has a special administrative status in Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each having its own local council. It covers 3.6% of Serbia’s territory, and 15% of the country’s population lives in the city.

Belgrade hosts many annual cultural events, including FEST (Belgrade Film Festival), BITEF (Belgrade Theatre Festival), BELEF (Belgrade Summer Festival), BEMUS (Belgrade Music Festival), Belgrade Book Fair, and the Belgrade Beer Festival. The Nobel prize winning author Ivo Andrić wrote his most famous work, The Bridge on the Drina, in Belgrade. Most of Serbia’s film industry is based in Belgrade; the 1995 Palme d’Or winning Underground, directed by Emir Kusturica, was produced in the city.

Skadarlija, the citys old bohemian neighbourhood © Zoran Životić Serbian Government building © Matija sa VMO Serbian Academy © Срђан Весић Saint Sava Temple at night © Markov Igor Parliamt of the Republic of Serbia © Raphaëlle MARTIN Old City Palace - Town Hall - Assembly of the City of Belgrade New City Palace - Presidential Office © BoskoM New Belgrade - 25th Block - Office building © Michael Angelkovich Hotel Moscva © Raphaëlle MARTIN Former Yugoslavian Parliament © Michael Angelkovich Aviation Museum © Dungodung Aerial view © Vlada Marinković Belgrade Theatre © Alxadj Belgrade Fortress © Igor Jeremić Railway Museum © Uncle buddha
<
>
Skadarlija, the citys old bohemian neighbourhood © Zoran Životić
Belgrade has wildly varying architecture, from the centre of Zemun, typical of a Central European town, to the more modern architecture and spacious layout of New Belgrade. The oldest architecture is found in Kalemegdan park. Outside of Kalemegdan, the oldest buildings date only from the 18th century, due to its geographic position and frequent wars and destructions. The oldest public structure in Belgrade is a nondescript Turkish turbe, while the oldest house is a modest clay house on Dorćol, from late 18th century. Western influence began in the 19th century, when the city completely transformed from an oriental town to the contemporary architecture of the time, with influences from neoclassicism, romanticism and academic art. Serbian architects took over the development from the foreign builders in the late 19th century, producing the National Theatre, Old Palace, Cathedral Church and later, in the early 20th century, the National Assembly and National Museum, influenced by art nouveau. Elements of Neo-Byzantine architecture are present in buildings such as Vuk’s Foundation, old Post Office in Kosovska street, and sacral architecture, such as St. Mark’s Church (based on the Gračanica monastery), and the Temple of Saint Sava.

The historic areas and buildings of Belgrade are among the city’s premier attractions. They include Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun, Nikola Pašić Square, Terazije, Students’ Square, the Kalemegdan Fortress, Knez Mihailova Street, the Parliament, the Temple of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace. On top of this, there are many parks, monuments, museums, cafés, restaurants and shops on both sides of the river. The hilltop Avala Monument offers views over the city. Josip Broz Tito’s mausoleum, called Kuća Cveća (The House of Flowers), and the nearby Topčider and Košutnjak parks are also popular, especially among visitors from the former Yugoslavia.

Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife, and many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife features of Belgrade are the barges (splavovi) spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.

Read more on City of Belgrade, Belgrade Tourism, Wikitravel Belgrade and Wikipedia Belgrade. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organisations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Johns Hopkins University & Medicine - Coronavirus Resource Center - Global Passport Power Rank - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

We wish you a peaceful Advent season, Merry Christmas and a great start into a happy, amazing, healthy, awesome and successful New Year! 🕯 🎅 ✨ 🎄 🎁 🍾 🎆

We wish you a peaceful Advent season, Merry Christmas and a great start into a happy, amazing, healthy, awesome and successful New Year! 🕯 🎅 ✨ 🎄 🎁 🍾 🎆

[caption id="attachment_224634" align="aligncenter" width="590"]Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah on Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin © Leonhard Lenz[/caption] Read more on Wikipedia Twelve Days of Christmas, Wikipedia Saturnalia, Wikipedia Advent and Wikipedia Christmas. For those who don't like Christmas, but still want to get through the time well and relaxed: makemeacocktail.com: Dirty Vicar!....

[ read more ]

Dyck Castle in Aldenhoven

Dyck Castle in Aldenhoven

[caption id="attachment_169175" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Wandernder Weltreisender/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The castle Dyck is one of the most important moated castles of the Rhineland. The complex consists of a stronghold and two baileys, which are surrounded by a moat. The castle has a triple ditch system. The manor house, which dates from 1636 to 1663, is accessed via this and an outer and an inner bailey. The four-winged castle, which is delimited by corner towers, surrounds an almost square courtyard...

[ read more ]

Moscow Cathedral Mosque

Moscow Cathedral Mosque

[caption id="attachment_205432" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Sergey Korovkin 84/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Moscow Cathedral Mosque is the main mosque of Moscow. It is located on Olimpiysky Avenue, close to the Olympic Stadium in the centre of the city. The original structure was built in 1904 according to the design of the architect Nikolay Zhukov and has undergone some reconstructions since then. It was also sometimes called "Tatar Mosque" because its congregation consisted mainly of ethnic Tatars. So...

[ read more ]

Dyker Heights in Brooklyn

Dyker Heights in Brooklyn

[caption id="attachment_216291" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Rhododendrites/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Dyker Heights is a predominantly residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is on a hill between Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Gravesend Bay. The neighborhood is bounded by 7th and 14th Avenues, 65th Street, and the Belt Parkway on the west, east, north, and south, respectively. Dyker Heights originated as a speculative luxury housing d...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Andalusia - Huelva

Theme Week Andalusia - Huelva

[caption id="attachment_153229" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Plaza de las Monjas © Anónimo[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva. It is located along the Gulf of Cádiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. The city has been inhabited since 3000 BC; it has a population of 150,000. Huelva is home to Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest football club in Spain. The Port of Huelva is divided in two sectors: the inner port (in the city) and ...

[ read more ]

Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, where the legend of Hamlet's tragedy lives on

Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, where the legend of Hamlet's tragedy lives on

[caption id="attachment_154192" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Kronborg Castle © Fiskfisk[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Kronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalized as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet) on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a sea fortress at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea. The ...

[ read more ]

Derry in Londonderry

Derry in Londonderry

[caption id="attachment_152553" align="aligncenter" width="590"] River Foyle © Sean McClean[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Derry or Londonderry is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Daire or Doire meaning "oak grove". In 1613, the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I and the "London" prefix was added, changing the name of the city to Londonderry. While the city is more usually known as Derry, Londonderry is...

[ read more ]

Theme Week County Galway - Athenry

Theme Week County Galway - Athenry

[caption id="attachment_226438" align="aligncenter" width="590"] 15th-century market cross © Andreas F. Borchert/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Athenry (Irish: Baile Átha an Rí, meaning 'Town of the Ford of the King') is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century Anglo-Norman street-plan. The town is also well known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry". ...

[ read more ]

Portrait: Christopher Columbus, Italian navigator and explorer

Portrait: Christopher Columbus, Italian navigator and explorer

[caption id="attachment_214542" align="aligncenter" width="491"] Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, opening the way for European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions, sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, were the first European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. After a remarkable odyssey, his bones are now in the Sevill...

[ read more ]

Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas

Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas

[caption id="attachment_238260" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Great Strirrup Cay © Armsoo/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Great Stirrup Cay is a 268-acre (108 ha) island that is part of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas. Norwegian Cruise Line purchased the island from the Belcher Oil Company in 1977 and developed it into a private island for their cruise ship passengers. The northern part of the island has a sandy beach surrounded by rocks with snorkeling areas. The southern part features a helicopter airfield (with a sig...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Belgium - Antwerp, the diamond city

Theme Week Belgium - Antwerp, the diamond city

[caption id="attachment_153020" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Grote Markt © Maros M r a z[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 (as of 1 January 2008) and its total area is 204.51 km2 (78.96 sq mi), giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km². The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,449 km2 (559 sq mi) with a total of 1...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
© Luis de Garrido
Naomi Campbell’s eco house in Turkey has the shape of the Eye of Horus

Architect Luis de Garrido has designed a glass domed house is completely energy and water self-sufficient and features an amazing...

Palace of the Parliament of Dauphiné © Milky
Grenoble, capital of the Alpes

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, situated at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins...

Plaza del Castillo © Eaeaea
The bull runs in Pamplona

Pamplona is the capital city of Navarre, Spain and of the former kingdom of Navarre. The city is famous worldwide...

Schließen