Confession Time: I have trouble slowing down when I travel. New Yorkers are known the world over for being fast walkers. We’re always on the go, trying to cram an extra hour into each day just to keep up with our busy schedules. If you’re not multi-tasking five things at once, the fear is that you will quickly fall behind.
But this isn’t how the rest of the world functions. In other countries people actually try to enjoy life. A latte is not something to be gulped down while running to the subway and power-walking does not need to be one’s default setting when making one’s way from point A to point B. It may not come naturally to me, but this return to the Balkans was about personal growth and evolution. With plucky determination I was going to stop and smell the roses in Belgrade. Of course, there was still plenty of history to absorb while lounging in a park or taking my morning espresso on a storied street. This chill pill sent me on a magical mystery tour of my own across Belgrade, uncovering the influences of past eras that have come together to make the city what it is today.
Калемегдан/Kalemegdan
Kalemegdan Park is visited by tourists and locals in equal measure and will definitely be one of your stops while in Belgrade. It contains the Београдска тврђава/Beogradska tvrđava (Belgrade Fortress), several museums, monuments and the Belgrade Zoo. The museums and zoo charge admission, but entry to the fortress ruins and the park are completely free.
The Fortress sits on a hill at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers; a climb to the top provides the best views of the city and beyond. Belgrade Fortress was originally built by the Romans in 279 BC and for many centuries, the entirety of the city was found within its walls. At different points in history the fortress was controlled by the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire- all of which modified, rebuilt, and played a role in destroying the fortress before the next host moved in.
The fortress is divided into Горњи град/Gornji Grad (Upper Town) and Доњи град/Donji Grad (Lower Town); all of the prominent towers and gateways are marked with informative plaques that makes a self-guided tour interesting and easy. Some structures from the 1200-1400s are still relatively intact, but most of the fortress is in ruins.
Sadly, some of the fortress’s worst damage was self-inflicted. During Serbia’s occupation by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19th Century, the Austrians declared that because the city limits had expanded and military technology had advanced, the fortress had outlived its usefulness. In 1867, an Austrian newspaper boasted that the fortress was so weak that the whole of it could be destroyed in a single day. The current Prince of Serbia, whom the Austrians had allowed to remain in place as a figurehead, was so outraged that he ordered the Serbian Army to shoot cannons and ammunition at the fortress for 24 hours straight just to prove that the fortress could NOT be demolished in a single day. It’s unclear why he went to such lengths to prove this point, but the prince ended up doing irreparable harm to his own fortress.
One of the few towers to survive was the Despot Stefan Tower, originally built in 1405. Since the 1960s onward, the tower has been home to the Astronomical Society’s Observatory, complete with high-powered telescopes to follow the stars. Not only did the Despot Stefan Tower withstand the shelling from the Serbian Prince in 1867, but it was narrowly missed by bombings during both World Wars that nearly finished off the fortress for good.
The Church of Saint Petka is one of the later additions to the Fortress’s Lower Town, having only been constructed in 1937. A so-called “miraculous well” sprang forth from the hillside and Saint Petka’s was built to accommodate the worshippers who traveled from all over Yugoslavia to drink from its waters which were said to protect women and restore sight. Beautiful frescos have been painted inside the church that are worth checking out.
The park surrounding the fortress is quite large and offers much to do and see in its own right. There are plenty of food vendors and souvenir booths along the pathways; concerts and social gatherings fill the evening schedule and the city zoo takes up the eastern portion of the park. Depending on how much time you have, you could easily spend the greater part of a day exploring the Upper and Lower Towns of the fortress, walking through the park and perhaps taking in one of the museums and/or the zoo.
The most famous sight in Kalemegdan is easily The Victor statue, which looks out away from the city towards the Danube and Sava Rivers. The history of the statue provides a nice illustration of how oral histories morph over the years and myths hardens into fact.
There is a common perception that The Victor is the guardian of Belgrade and watches over the city. That might be what the statue means to locals now, but it definitely wasn’t the case when it was erected. The First Balkans War saw Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria team up to finally push the Ottoman Empire out of the Balkans in 1912. One year later, the Ottomans were soundly defeated, The Victor was cast to commemorate Serbia’s win and the city was prepared to have it installed in central Belgrade. Then WWI hit and all plans were put on hold.
By the time funds for the statue became available again in 1928, the First Balkans War was a distant memory and The Victor evolved into honoring Serbia/Yugoslavia’s participation in WWI. A scandal also broke out over the issue of having an image of a naked male be placed in such a central location. Conservative groups worried about what effect the exposed genitals would have on young women (LOL!) and the city agreed to move The Victor to Kalemegdan and have its naked body face away from the city. He doesn’t “watch over” the city; he can’t see it! Still, what is more important? The historical record or the reality of how the monument interacts with the people today?
Кнеза Михаила/Kneza Mihaila (Prince Michael Street)
Kneza Mihaila is the main pedestrian drag in Belgrade and connects Republic Square with Kalemegdan. There are restaurants, clothing stores, museums (Zepter Museum being my favorite) and numerous street musicians, with varying degrees of talent, performing along the way. There seemed to be an evening promenade where everyone walks up and down the street hoping to see and be seen.
An interesting feature of the street is Делијска чесма/Delijska Česma (Delija Fountain). This replica of the original 1843 fountain was installed in 1987 after the first was destroyed. This fountain isn’t merely here for aesthetic purposes, as it also acts as a giant water fountain with six ever-spouting streams of water. Feel free to take a sip or even fill up your water bottle before strolling by.
Дом Народне скупштине Републике Србије/Dom Nardone skupštine Republike Srbije (House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia)
Some of Belgrade’s prettiest parks can be found downtown near the trio of the National Assembly and the Old and New Palaces. The parks and buildings are worth visiting both during the day and at night; as you can, the evening illumination is quite dramatic!
The National Assembly was one of the focal points during the October 5 Riots & Revolution, also known as the Bulldozer Revolution after a man on a bulldozer charged a set of barricades in the Serbian people’s fight to overthrow Slobodan Milošević. Following the breakdown of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Milošević rose to power as the President of the New Yugoslavia (which consisted of only Serbia and Montenegro; Montenegro would not achieve their full independence until 2006, but Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia all left Yugoslavia in 1991; Kosovo would not declare their independence until 2008). Milošević was essentially a dictator and also a knowing participant in the genocides that occurred during the Yugoslav Wars. On the heels of a corruption scandal and the rigging of a national election, ten years of Milošević’s reign was more than enough.
In October 2000, the citizens of Belgrade took to the streets to protest and riot. The National Assembly was ransacked and 91 pieces of art were stolen; 56 still remain at large today. The riots peaked on October 5 and two days later Milošević had resigned. He was arrested by the Serbian police and brought to The Hague were he was charged with genocide and war crimes. He died in custody before the court could render their verdict.
Стари Двор/Stari dvor (Old Palace)
Across the street from the National Assembly sit the Old and New Palaces. There’s free wifi in the gardens, which makes it a perfect place to stop for a minutes and catch up with family and friends in a beautiful setting. The Old Palace was built in the 1880s for the King of Serbia. The palace had to be rebuilt after each world war after the capital was heavily bombed. The Belgrade City Assembly has occupied the Old Palace since 1961.
Нови двор/Novi dvor (New Palace)
Across the manicured flower beds of the Old Palace lies the New Palace. Construction was completed in 1914 on the day before WWI started. This made for some serious bad timing and the New Palace was damaged during the war, just like its neighbor across the way. After a short stint as a museum before WWII, the New Palace became the seat of the President of Serbia, which it still houses to this day.
All this Baroque architecture could easily leave you confused as to whether you are still in the Balkans or had somehow teleported to Vienna, but that’s what makes the region so special and unpredictable. The storied history of Belgrade’s past pops up in various pockets around the city.
Хотел Москва/Hotel Moskva (Hotel Moscow)
At the time it was built in 1908, Hotel Moscow was the largest hotel in all of Serbia. We’ve seen influences from the Roman, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires in Belgrade, and now we’ve finally run into the Russian Empire. At the turn of the 20th Century, relations between Serbia and Austria-Hungary had grown tense. Attempting to capitalize on the growing fissure between the two, Russia stepped in and developed this hotel, pumping much money into the local economy and currying favor with the monarchy.
The Russian Revolution brought an end to Russian ownership of the hotel and it was turned over to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It remained in their hands, barring a brief stint when it was used as Gestapo headquarters during the Nazi occupation in WWII, until it was sold by the government in the 2000s. Manga Hostel is my preferred place to lay my head in Belgrade, but it’s hard to ignore the grandeur of Hotel Moscow when walking around town.
Скадарлија/Skadarlija
Skadarlija, Belgrade’s Bohemian Quarter, is both undeniably charming and undeniably touristy. From the 1800s on, Skadarlija has been Belgrade’s answer to Paris’ Montmartre. Home to poor poets and starving artists, the quarter was full of fortune tellers, seedy inns and kafanas (Balkan bistros that serve coffee, beer and light food).
Throughout the decades, the area has seen rents increase and the hotels shift from seedy to swanky. Galleries and boutiques cater to well-to-do foreign visitors and nightclub hotspots materialize at night. For my money, the best time to go is in the early morning. The streets are empty and restaurants serve good coffee and relatively cheap Serbian breakfasts before prices rise for the lunch and dinner crowds.
From Kalemegdan to the parks around the political buildings and from an evening jaunt down Kneza Mihaila to an early morning stroll through Skadarlija, there are plenty of places in Belgrade to slow down and take everything in. Trust me, I very much understand the urge to see as much as possible with limited time to spend in a city, but I’ve also learned that part of travel is taking a minute to process the things you have experienced and learned along the way. That downtime is essential, whether you’re journaling or simply texting a friend about what you just did. Let it all wash over you while noshing on some pastries in the park. In the future, when you reminisce on your time here, you’ll remember the downtime fondly and not deem it a waste at all.
