Belgrade

Prehistory

A Vinča culture figure

Chipped stone tools found at Zemun show that the area around Belgrade was inhabited by nomadic foragers in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras. Some of these tools belong to the Mousterian industry, which are associated with Neanderthals rather than modern humans. Aurignacian and Gravettian tools have also been discovered there, indicating occupation between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago.^[15]

Belgrade 1789

The first farming people to settle in the region are associated with the Neolithic Starčevo culture, which flourished between 6200 and 5200 BC.^[16] There are several Starčevo sites in and around Belgrade, including the eponymous site of Starčevo. The Starčevo culture was succeeded by the Vinča culture (5500–4500 BC), a more sophisticated farming culture that grew out of the earlier Starčevo settlements which is also named for a site in the Belgrade region (Vinča-Belo Brdo). The Vinča culture is known for its very large settlements, one of the earliest settlements by continuous habitation and some of the largest in prehistoric Europe;^[17] anthropomorphic figurines such as the Lady of Vinča; the earliest known copper metallurgy in Europe;^[18] a proto-writing form developed prior to the Sumerians and Minoans, known as the Old European script, dating back to around 5300 BC.^[19] When it comes to the modern urban zone of the city, in the modern Cetinjska Street in downtown, a skull of a Paleolithic human was discovered in 1890. The skull is dated to before 5000 BC.^[20]

Antiquity

Barutana lapidarium, ancient monuments from Singidunum

The medieval walls of the Belgrade Fortress, where the walls of the Roman castrum Singidunum had been discovered

Evidence of early knowledge about Belgrade's geographical location comes from ancient myths and legends. The rock overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers has been identified as one of the places in the story of Jason and the Argonauts.^[21][22] The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Thracians and Dacians ruled this area prior to the Roman conquest.^[23] Belgrade was inhabited by a Thraco-Dacian tribe Singi;^[8] after the Celtic invasion in 279 BC, the Scordisci took the city, naming it "Singidūn" (dūn, fortress).^[8] In 34–33 BC the Roman army led by Silanus reached Belgrade. It became the romanized Singidunum in the 1st century AD, and by the mid-2nd century, the city was proclaimed a municipium by the Roman authorities, evolving into a full-fledged colonia (highest city class) by the end of the century.^[9] Apart from the first Christian Emperor of Rome who was born in the territory of modern Serbia in Naissus—Constantine I known as Constantine the Great^[24]—another early Roman Emperor was born in Singidunum: Flavius Iovianus (Jovian), the restorer of Christianity.^[25] Jovian reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending the brief revival of traditional Roman religions under his predecessor Julian the Apostate. In 395 AD, the site passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire.^[26] Across the Sava from Singidunum was the Celtic city of Taurunum (Zemun); the two were connected with a bridge throughout Roman and Byzantine times.^[27]

Middle Ages

Historical affiliations

Kingdom of Serbia (Syrmia) 1282–1325

Kingdom of Hungary 1325–1404
Serbian Despotate 1404–1427
Kingdom of Hungary 1427–1521
 Ottoman Empire 1521–1688
Habsburg Monarchy 1688–1690
 Ottoman Empire 1690–1717
Habsburg Monarchy 1717–1739
 Ottoman Empire 1739–1789
Habsburg Monarchy 1789–1791
 Ottoman Empire 1791–1806
Revolutionary Serbia 1806–1813
 Ottoman Empire 1813–1867
 Principality of Serbia 1867–1882
 Kingdom of Serbia 1882–1915
 Austria-Hungary 1915–1918
 Kingdom of Serbia 1918
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1918–1941
 Nazi Germany Nazi Germany 1941–1944
 SFR Yugoslavia^[28] 1944–1992
 Serbia and Montenegro^[29] 1992–2006

 Republic of Serbia 2006–

In 442, the area was ravaged by Attila the Hun.^[30] In 471, it was taken by Theodoric the Great, who continued into Greece.^[31] As the Ostrogoths left for Italy, the Gepids took over the city. In 539 it was retaken by the Byzantines.^[32] In 577, some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace and Illyricum, pillaging cities and settling down.^[33] The Avars under Bayan I conquered the whole region by 582.^[34] According to Byzantine chronicle De Administrando Imperio, the White Serbs had stopped in Belgrade on their way back home, asking the strategos for lands; they received provinces in the west, towards the Adriatic, which they would rule as subjects to Heraclius (610–641).^[35] In 829 Khan Omurtag was able to add Singidunum and its environs to the First Bulgarian Empire.^[36][37]

Siege of 1456, Ottoman miniature.

The first record of the name Belograd appeared on April, 16th, 878, in a Papal letter^[38] to Bulgarian ruler Boris I. Later, this name appeared in several variants: Alba Graeca (Greek city), Griechisch Wiessenburg (Greek white castle), Nandor Alba (City of the Bulgarians), Nandor Fejervar (The white castle of the Bulgarians), Castelbianco (White Castle), Alba Bulgarica (Bulgarian City). For about four centuries, the city remained a battleground between the Byzantine Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Bulgarian Empire.^[39] Basil II (976–1025) installed a garrison in Belgrade.^[40] The city hosted the armies of the First and the Second Crusade;^[41] while passing through during the Third Crusade, Frederick Barbarossa and his 190,000 crusaders saw Belgrade in ruins.^[42]

King Stefan Dragutin (r. 1276–1282) received Belgrade from his father-in-law, Stephen V of Hungary in 1284; it served as the capital of the Kingdom of Syrmia, and Dragutin is regarded as the first Serbian king to rule over Belgrade as a vassal to the Kingdom of Hungary.^[43]

Following the battles at Maritsa (1371) and Kosovo field (1389), Serbia began to crumble as the Ottoman Empire conquered its southern territory.^[44][45] The north resisted through the Serbian Despotate, which had Belgrade as its capital. The city flourished under Stefan Lazarević, son of Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanović. Lazarević built a castle with a citadel and towers, of which only the Despot's tower and west wall remain. He also refortified the city's ancient walls, allowing the Despotate to resist the Ottomans for almost 70 years. During this time, Belgrade was a haven for many Balkan peoples fleeing Ottoman rule, and is thought to have had a population of 40,000 to 50,000 people.^[43]

In 1427, Stefan's successor Đurađ Branković had to return Belgrade to the Hungarian king, and Smederevo became the new capital. Although the Ottomans captured most of the Serbian Despotate, Belgrade, known as Nándorfehérvár in Hungarian, was unsuccessfully besieged in 1440^[41] and 1456.^[46] As the city presented an obstacle to the Ottoman advance into Hungary and further, over 100,000 Ottoman soldiers^[47] besieged it in 1456, in which the Christian army led by the Hungarian General John Hunyadi successfully defended it.^[48] The noon bell ordered by Pope Callixtus III commemorates the victory throughout the Christian world to this day.^[41][49]

Ottoman rule and Austrian invasions

Belgrade in 1684

Seven decades after the initial siege, on 28 August 1521, the fort was finally captured by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his 250,000 soldiers and over 100 ships subsequently, most of the city was razed to the ground and its entire Orthodox Christian population was deported to Istanbul,^[41] to an area that has since become known as the Belgrade forest.^[50] Belgrade was made the seat of the district (Sanjak), becoming the second largest Ottoman town in Europe at over 100,000 people, surpassed only by Constantinople.^[47] Ottoman rule also introduced Ottoman architecture, including numerous mosques, increasing the city's Oriental influences.^[51] In 1594, a major Serb rebellion was crushed by the Ottomans. Later, Grand vizier Sinan Pasha ordered the relics of Saint Sava to be publicly torched on the Vračar plateau; in the 20th century, the Temple of Saint Sava was built to commemorate this event.^[52]

Occupied by the Habsburgs three times (1688–1690, 1717–1739, 1789–1791), headed by the Holy Roman Princes Maximilian of Bavaria and Eugene of Savoy,^[53] and field marshal Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon respectively, Belgrade was quickly recaptured by the Ottomans and substantially razed each time.^[51] During this period, the city was affected by the two Great Serbian Migrations, in which hundreds of thousands of Serbs, led by two Serbian Patriarchs, retreated together with the Austrians into the Habsburg Empire, settling in today's Vojvodina and Slavonia.^[54]

Principality of Serbia

At the beginning of the 19th century, Belgrade was predominantly inhabited by Muslim population. Traces of Ottoman rule and architecture – such as mosques and bazaars – were to remain a part of Belgrade’s townscape throughout a great time of the 19th century, even several decades after Serbia was granted autonomy from the Ottoman Empire.^[55]

During the First Serbian Uprising, the Serbian revolutionaries held the city from 8 January 1807 until 1813, when it was retaken by the Ottomans.^[56] After the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815, Serbia reached semi-independence, which was formally recognized by the Porte in 1830.^[57]

Knez Mihailova street at the end of the 19th century

Slavija Square.

The development of Belgrade architecture after 1815 can be divided into four periods. In the first phase that lasted from 1815 to 1835 the dominant architectural style was still the Balkan or rather Balkan-Ottoman one. At the same time the interest for Central and Western European architecture started to grow. Between 1835 and 1850 a rise in the construction of neoclassicist and baroque buildings could be observed. One of the buildings from that time is the one in which the pedagogical museum is located today. The third phase (1850–1875) was characterized by serious attempts of turning towards romanticism, which implied the combination of romanticist and gothic architecture with that from the early period of the renaissance. Typical of the last quarter of the 19th century was the eclecticist style on the basis of the renaissance and baroque.^[58]

In 1841, Prince Mihailo Obrenović moved the capital from Kragujevac to Belgrade.^[59][60] During his first reign (1815–1839) Prince Miloš Obrenović consequently pursued the creation of new settlements, the colonization of new population and the aim to make Belgrade a center of administrative, military and cultural institutions. His project of creating a new market space (čaršija) was less successful. The new Abadžijska čaršija couldn't compete against the already well-established market places of the city of Belgrade. Trade was still conducted in the centuries-old Donja čaršija and Gornja čaršija. New construction projects were typical for the Christian quarters and not so much for the Muslim ones. Until 1863 the number of Belgrade quarters decreases continuously, mainly as a consequence of the reduction of Muslim population. An Ottoman city map from that year counts only 9 quarters (mahale). The names of only five are known today: Ali-pašina mahala, Reis-efendijina, Jahja-pašina, Bajram-begova and Laz Hadži-Mahmudova mahala.^[61]

On 18 April 1867 the Ottoman government ordered the Ottoman garrison, which had been since 1826 the last representation of Ottoman suzerainty in Serbia, withdrawn from the Belgrade fortress. The only stipulation was that the Ottoman flag continue to fly over the fortress alongside the Serbian one. Serbia's de facto independence dates from this event.^[62] The urban planner Emilijan Josimović had a significant impact on the urbanism of Belgrade in the last third of the 19th century. He conceptualized a regulation plan for Belgrade in 1867, where he proposed an alternation of the town’s crooked streets with rectangular ones. Of great importance was also the construction of political and cultural institutions as well as parks. When it comes to Josimović’s work, Serbian scholars have often pointed out that it represented an important break with Ottoman traditions. However, Istanbul – the capital city of the state to which Belgrade and Serbia officially still belonged – at the same time underwent quite similar processes of urbanisation.^[63]

In May 1868, Prince Mihailo was assassinated with his cousin Anka Konstantinović while riding in a carriage through the park of his country residence^[64]

Kingdom of Serbia

With the Principality's full independence in 1878, and its transformation into the Kingdom of Serbia in 1882, Belgrade once again became a key city in the Balkans, and developed rapidly.^[56][65] Nevertheless, conditions in Serbia as a whole remained those of an overwhelmingly agrarian country, even with the opening of a railway to Niš, Serbia's second city, and in 1900 the capital had only 70,000 inhabitants^[66] (at the time Serbia numbered 2.5 million). Yet by 1905 the population had grown to more than 80,000, and by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, it had surpassed the 100,000 citizens, not counting Zemun which then belonged to Austria-Hungary.^[67]

The first-ever projection of motion pictures in the Balkans and Central Europe was held in Belgrade, in June 1896 by Andre Carr, a representative of the Lumière brothers. He shot the first motion pictures of Belgrade in the next year; however, they have not been preserved.^[68]

World War I

The First World War began on 28 July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Most of the subsequent Balkan offensives occurred near Belgrade. Austro-Hungarian monitors shelled Belgrade on 29 July 1914, and it was taken by the Austro-Hungarian Army under General Oskar Potiorek on 30 November. On 15 December, it was re-taken by Serbian troops under Marshal Radomir Putnik. After a prolonged battle which destroyed much of the city, between 6 and 9 October 1915, Belgrade fell to German and Austro-Hungarian troops commanded by Field Marshal August von Mackensen on 9 October 1915. The city was liberated by Serbian and French troops on 1 November 1918, under the command of Marshal Louis Franchet d'Espèrey of France and Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia. Since Belgrade was decimated as the front-line city, Subotica overtook the title of the largest city in the Kingdom for a short while.^[69]

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

King Alexander Bridge was destroyed in 1941 and rebuilt after the end of World War II, 1956, as the single-span Branko's Bridge.

Theater square (today Republic Square) 1934

After the war, Belgrade became the capital of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. The Kingdom was split into banovinas, and Belgrade, together with Zemun and Pančevo, formed a separate administrative unit.^[70]

During this period, the city experienced fast growth and significant modernisation. Belgrade's population grew to 239,000 by 1931 (incorporating the town of Zemun, formerly in Austria-Hungary), and 320,000 by 1940. The population growth rate between 1921 and 1948 averaged 4.08% a year.^[71] In 1927, Belgrade's first airport opened, and in 1929, its first radio station began broadcasting. The Pančevo Bridge, which crosses the Danube, was opened in 1935,^[72] while King Alexander Bridge over the Sava was opened in 1934. On 3 September 1939 the first Belgrade Grand Prix, the last Grand Prix motor racing race before the outbreak of World War II, was held around the Belgrade Fortress and was followed by 80,000 spectators.^[73] The winner was Tazio Nuvolari.^[74]

World War II

On 25 March 1941, the government of regent Crown Prince Paul signed the Tripartite Pact, joining the Axis powers in an effort to stay out of the Second World War and keep Yugoslavia neutral during the conflict. This was immediately followed by mass protests in Belgrade and a military coup d'état led by Air Force commander General Dušan Simović, who proclaimed King Peter II to be of age to rule the realm. Consequently, the city was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe on 6 April 1941, killing up to 2,274 people.^{[75][76][77][78]} Yugoslavia was then invaded by German, Italian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces. Belgrade was captured by subterfuge, with six German soldiers led by their officer Fritz Klingenberg pretending to be a larger force, accepted the surrender of the city. Belgrade was then occupied by the German Army later the same month and Belgrade became the seat of the puppet Nedić regime, headed by General Milan Nedić.^[79]

German bombing of Belgrade in 1941

During the summer and fall of 1941, in reprisal for guerrilla attacks, the Germans carried out several massacres of Belgrade citizens; in particular, members of the Jewish community were subject to mass shootings at the order of General Franz Böhme, the German Military Governor of Serbia. Böhme rigorously enforced the rule that for every German killed, 100 Serbs or Jews would be shot.^[80] The resistance movement in Belgrade was led by Major Žarko Todorović from 1941 until his arrest in 1943.^[81]

Just like Rotterdam, which was devastated twice, by both German and Allied bombing, Belgrade was bombed once more during World War II, this time by the Allies on 16 April 1944, killing at least 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.^[82] Most of the city remained under German occupation until 20 October 1944, when it was liberated by the Red Army and the Communist Yugoslav Partisans. On 29 November 1945, Marshal Josip Broz Tito proclaimed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in Belgrade (later to be renamed to Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 7 April 1963).^[83] Higher estimates from the former secret police place the victim count of political persecutions in Belgrade at 10,000.^[84]

Socialist Yugoslavia

When the war ended, the city was left with 11,500 demolished housing units.^[85] During the post-war period, Belgrade grew rapidly as the capital of the renewed Yugoslavia, developing as a major industrial center.^[65] In 1948, construction of New Belgrade started. In 1958, Belgrade's first television station began broadcasting. In 1961, the conference of Non-Aligned Countries was held in Belgrade under Tito's chairmanship. In 1962, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport was built. In 1968, major student protests led to several street clashes between students and the police.^[86]

Breakup of Yugoslavia

Ministry of Defense building damaged in the 1999 NATO bombing

On 9 March 1991, massive demonstrations led by Vuk Drašković were held in the city against Slobodan Milošević.^[87] According to various media outlets, there were between 100,000 and 150,000 people on the streets.^[88] Two people were killed, 203 injured and 108 arrested during the protests, and later that day tanks were deployed onto the streets to restore order.^[89] Further protests were held in Belgrade from November 1996 to February 1997 against the same government after alleged electoral fraud at local elections.^[90] These protests brought Zoran Đinđić to power, the first mayor of Belgrade since World War II who did not belong to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia or its later offshoot, the Socialist Party of Serbia.^[91]

In 1999, during the Kosovo War, NATO bombings caused substantial damage to the city. Among the sites bombed were the buildings of several ministries, the RTS building, several hospitals, the Hotel Jugoslavija, the Central Committee building, the Avala Tower, and the Chinese embassy.^[92] Several of these buildings have been left in their bombed states to serve as a memorial for the bombings.^[93]

After the 2000 presidential elections, Belgrade was the site of major public protests, with over half a million people on the streets. These demonstrations resulted in the ousting of president Milošević.^[94][95]

Contemporary period

In 2014, Belgrade Waterfront, a catalytic development, has been initiated headed by the Government of Serbia aimed at improving Belgrade's cityscape and economy by revitalizing the Sava amphitheater, a neglected stretch of land on the right bank of the Sava river, between the Belgrade Fair and Belgrade Main railway station. Around €3.5 billion will be invested by the Serbian government and their Emirati partners.^[96] The project includes office and luxury apartment buildings, five-star hotels, a shopping mall and Belgrade Tower. The project is, however, considered by many as 'controversial', since there are a number of uncertainties regarding its funding, necessity, as well as chosen architectural solutions.^[97]

City is currently under rapid development and reconstruction, especially in the area of Novi Beograd, where many apartment and office buildings are under construction.

Climate

Belgrade has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), with four seasons and uniformly spread precipitation. Monthly averages range from 1.4 °C (34.5 °F) in January to 23.0 °C (73.4 °F) in July, with an annual mean of 12.5 °C (54.5 °F). There are, on average, 31 days a year when the temperature is above 30 °C (86 °F), and 95 days when the temperature is above 25 °C (77 °F). Belgrade receives about 691 millimetres (27 in) of precipitation a year, with late spring being wettest. The average annual number of sunny hours is 2,112.

The highest officially recorded temperature in Belgrade was 43.6 °C (110.5 °F) on 24 July 2007,^[101] while on the other end, the lowest temperature was −26.2 °C (−15 °F) on 10 January 1893.^[102]

Capital city

• 
  Palace of Serbia
• 
  House of the National Assembly of Serbia at night
• 
  The French embassy

As the capital city, Belgrade is seat of all Serbian state authorities – executive, legislative, judiciary, and the headquarters of almost all national political parties as well as 75 diplomatic missions.^[109] This includes the National Assembly, the Presidency, the Government of Serbia and all the ministries, Supreme Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court.

Municipalities

Čukarica, Banovo Brdo and Savski Venac.

Municipalities of Belgrade map

The city is divided into 17 municipalities.^[13] Previously, they were classified into 10 "urban" (lying completely or partially within borders of the city proper) and 7 "suburban" municipalities, whose centres are smaller towns.^[110] With the new 2010 City statute, they were all given equal status, with the proviso that suburban ones (except Surčin) have certain autonomous powers, chiefly related with construction, infrastructure and public utilities.^[13]

Most of the municipalities are situated on the southern side of the Danube and Sava rivers, in the Šumadija region. Three municipalities (Zemun, Novi Beograd ("New Belgrade"), and Surčin), are on the northern bank of the Sava, in the Syrmia region, and the municipality of Palilula, spanning the Danube, is in both the Šumadija and Banat regions.

Museums

Republic square, Left: National Museum of Serbia – Centre: Hotel Marriott Belgrade – Right: National Theatre.

The most prominent museum in Belgrade is the National Museum, founded in 1844 and reconstructed from 2003 till June 2018. The museum houses a collection of more than 400,000 exhibits (over 5600 paintings and 8400 drawings and prints, including many foreign masters like Bosch, Juan de Flandes, Titian, Tintoretto, Rubens, Van Dyck, Cézanne, G.B. Tiepolo, Renoir, Monet, Lautrec, Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Chagall, Van Gogh, Mondrian etc.) and also the famous Miroslav's Gospel.^[166] The Ethnographic Museum, established in 1901, contains more than 150,000 items showcasing the rural and urban culture of the Balkans, particularly the countries of former Yugoslavia.^[167]

The Museum of Contemporary Art was the first Contemporary art museum in Europe^[168] {{Disputed inline}} founded in 1958 and has a collection of around 35,000 works including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Joan Miró, David Hockney, Ivan Meštrović and others since 1900.^[169] The museum is open renovated in 2017.

The Railway Museum is located within the railway company headquarters building

The Military Museum houses a wide range of more than 25,000 military exhibits dating as far back as to the Roman period, as well as parts of a F-117 stealth aircraft shot down by the Serbian army.^[170][171]

The Museum of Aviation in Belgrade has more than 200 aircraft, of which about 50 are on display, and a few of which are the only surviving examples of their type, such as the Fiat G.50. This museum also displays parts of shot down US and NATO aircraft, such as the F-117 and F-16.^[172]

The Nikola Tesla Museum, founded in 1952, preserves the personal items of Nikola Tesla, the inventor after whom the Tesla unit was named. It holds around 160,000 original documents and around 5,700 personal other items including his urne.^[173] The last of the major Belgrade museums is the Museum of Vuk and Dositej, which showcases the lives, work and legacy of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and Dositej Obradović, the 19th century reformer of the Serbian literary language and the first Serbian Minister of Education, respectively.^[174] Belgrade also houses the Museum of African Art, founded in 1977, which has the large collection of art from West Africa.^[175]

With around 95,000 copies of national and international films, the Yugoslav Film Archive is the largest in the region and among the 10 largest archives in the world.^[176] The institution also operates the Museum of Yugoslav Film Archive, with movie theatre and exhibition hall. The archive's long-standing storage problems were finally solved in 2007, when a new modern depository was opened.^[177] The Yugoslav Film Archive also exhibits original Charlie Chaplin's stick and one of the first movies by Auguste and Louis Lumière.^[178]

The Belgrade City Museum moved into a new building in downtown in 2006.^[179] The museum hosts a range of collections covering the history of urban life since prehistory.^[180]

The Museum of Yugoslav History has collection from Yugoslav era. Beside paintings, the most valuable are Moon rocks donated by Apollo 11 crew Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins while visiting Belgrade in 1969 and from mission Apollo 17 donated by Richard Nixon in 1971.^[181] Museum also houses Joseph Stalin's sabre with 260 brilliants and diamonds, donated by Stalin himself.^[182]

Ada Bridge night view

Museum of Science and Technology moved to the building of the first city's power plant in Dorćol in 2005.^[183]

Architecture

Belgrade has wildly varying architecture, from the center of Zemun, typical of a Central European town,^[184] 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.^[185] The oldest public structure in Belgrade is a nondescript Turkish türbe, while the oldest house is a modest clay house on Dorćol, from late 18th century.^[186] 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.^[185] 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.^[185]

• Architectural styles in Belgrade
• 
  St. Michael's Cathedral, Belgrade
• 
  Knez Mihailova
• 
  Monument of Gratitude to France
• 
  St. Mark's Church
• 
  The Victor
• 
  Belgrade University Library
• 
  Belgrade Cooperative
• 
  National Bank of Serbia building interior
• 
  Monument to the Unknown Hero
• 
  Royal Palace

During the period of Communist rule, much housing was built quickly and cheaply for the huge influx of people fleeing the countryside following World War II, sometimes resulting in the brutalist architecture of the Blokovi ("Blocks") of New Belgrade; a socrealism trend briefly ruled, resulting in buildings like the Trade Union Hall.^[185] However, in the mid-1950s, the modernist trends took over, and still dominate the Belgrade architecture.^[185]

Belgrade has the second oldest sewer system in Europe.^[187]

Tourism

Knez Mihailova Street.

Being on the main route connecting Europe and Asia, numerous travelers always visited Belgrade. In the 19th century, before hotels in Belgrade were founded, various khans existed in the city. Oriental variant of the roadside inn, they provided travelers with food, drink and resting facilities. One of the largest in Belgrade at the time was the Turkish Khan (Turski han), located where the modern Faculty of Philosophy Plateau is. Other well known khans were the Paranos Khan (modern Hotel Bristol), Davičo Khan, Batal Mosque Khan (House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia), etc. However, the khans lacked comfort as the visitors mostly slept on the ground, on the mats they would bring themselves. They mostly provided shelter from the rain, but not always from the wind. Because of that, certain kafanas began adapting the floors above the dining areas into the rooms for the lodgers. Such kafanas soon changed names to gostionica (inn).^[188]

In 1843 in Dubrovačka Street (today Kralja Petra), reigning prince Mihajlo Obrenović built a large edifice, which became the first hotel in Belgrade, called Kod jelena ("Deer's") in the neighborhood of Kosančićev Venac. Many criticized the move at the time, especially the cost and the size of the building, but it soon became the gathering point of the wealthiest citizens. Colloquially, the building was also referred to as the Staro Zdanje, or the "Old Edifice". It remained a hotel until 1903 before being demolished in 1938.^[189][190] After the Staro Zdanje, numerous other hotels were soon built in the second half of the 19th century: Nacional and Grand, also in Kosančićev Venac, Srpski Kralj, Srpska Kruna and Grčka Kraljica near Kalemegdan, Balkan and Pariz in Terazije, London, etc.^[188]

As the Belgrade became connected via steamboats and railway (after 1884), the number of visitors grew, so new hotels were open with the ever luxurious commodities. In Savamala hotels Bosna and Bristol were open. Other hotels included Solun and Orient, which was built near the Financial Park. Tourists which arrived by the Orient Express mostly stayed at the Petrograd Hotel on the Wilson Square. Hotel Srpski Kralj, at the corner of Uzun Mirkova and Pariska Street was considered the best hotel in Belgrade during the Interbellum. It was destroyed during World War II.^[188]

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 Church 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 and Avala Tower offer views over the city.

Belgrade Fortress.

Gardoš Tower

Elite neighborhood of Dedinje is situated near the Topčider and Košutnjak parks. The Beli dvor (White Palace), house of royal family Karađorđević, is open for visitors. The palace has many valuable artworks.^[191] Nearby, Josip Broz Tito's mausoleum, called The House of Flowers, documents the life of the former Yugoslav president.

Ada Ciganlija is a former island on the Sava River, and Belgrade's biggest sports and recreational complex. Today it is connected with the right bank of the Sava via two causeways, creating an artificial lake. It is the most popular destination for Belgraders during the city's hot summers. There are 7 kilometres (4 miles) of long beaches and sports facilities for various sports including golf, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby union, baseball, and tennis.^[192] During summer there are between 200,000 and 300,000 bathers daily.^[193]

Ada Ciganlija

Extreme sports are available, such as bungee jumping, water skiing, and paintballing.^[192][194] There are numerous tracks on the island, where it is possible to ride a bike, go for a walk, or go jogging.^[192][194] Apart from Ada, Belgrade has total of 16 islands^[195] on the rivers, many still unused. Among them, the Great War Island, at the confluence of Sava, stands out as an oasis of unshattered wildlife (especially birds).^[196] These areas, along with nearby Small War Island, are protected by the city's government as a nature preserve.^[197] There are 37 protected natural resources in the Belgrade urban area, among which eight are geo-heritage sites, i.e. Straževica profile, Mašin Majdan-Topčider, Profile at the Kalemegdan Fortress, Abandoned quarry in Barajevo, Karagača valley, Artesian well in Ovča, Kapela loess profile, and Lake in Sremčica. Other 29 places are biodiversity sites.^[198]

Tourist income in 2016 amounted to nearly one billion euros;^[199] with a visit of almost a million registered tourists.^[200] Of those, more than 70,000 arrived by 550 river cruisers.^[200] Average annual growth is between 13% and 14%.^[200]

As of 2018, there are three officially designated camp grounds in Belgrade. The oldest one is located in Batajnica, along the Batajnica Road. Named "Dunav", it is one of the most visited campsites in the country. Second one is situated within the complex of the ethno-household "Zornić's House" in the village of Baćevac, while the third is located in Ripanj, on the slopes of the Avala mountain. In 2017 some 15,000 overnights were recorded in camps.^[201]

Nightlife

Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife; many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife features of Belgrade are the barges (splav), spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.^{[202][203][204]}

Skadarlija, the city's old bohemian neighbourhood

Many weekend visitors—particularly from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia—prefer Belgrade nightlife to that of their own capitals, due to a perceived friendly atmosphere, plentiful clubs and bars, cheap drinks, the lack of language difficulties, and the lack of restrictive night life regulation.^[205][206]

Famous alternative clubs include Akademija and the KST (Klub Studenata Tehnike), located in the basement of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Electrical Engineering.^{[207][208][209]} One of the most famous sites for alternative cultural happenings in the city is the SKC (Student Cultural Centre), located right across from Belgrade's highrise landmark, the Belgrade Palace tower. Concerts featuring famous local and foreign bands are often held at the center. SKC is also the site of various art exhibitions, as well as public debates and discussions.^[210]

A more traditional Serbian nightlife experience, accompanied by traditional music known as Starogradska (roughly translated as Old Town Music), typical of northern Serbia's urban environments, is most prominent in Skadarlija, the city's old bohemian neighborhood where the poets and artists of Belgrade gathered in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Skadar Street (the centre of Skadarlija) and the surrounding neighbourhood are lined with some of Belgrade's best and oldest traditional restaurants (called kafanas in Serbian), which date back to that period.^[211] At one end of the neighbourhood stands Belgrade's oldest beer brewery, founded in the first half of the 19th century.^[212] One of the city's oldest kafanas is the Znak pitanja ("?").^[213]

The Times reported that Europe's best nightlife can be found in Belgrade.^[214] In the Lonely Planet 1000 Ultimate Experiences guide of 2009, Belgrade was placed at the 1st spot among the top 10 party cities in the world.^[215]

Sport

Serbian tennis player Novak Đoković was born in Belgrade. He is a 14-time Grand Slam champion.

The Štark Arena in New Belgrade, one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe. (FIVB World League final game – Brazil vs Serbia)

There are approximately one-thousand sports facilities in Belgrade, many of which are capable of serving all levels of sporting events.^[216] Belgrade has hosted several major sporting events recently, including Eurobasket 2005, the 2005 European Volleyball Championship, the 2006 European Water Polo Championship, the European Youth Olympic Festival 2007, and the 2009 Summer Universiade.^[217]

The city is home to Serbia's two biggest and most successful football clubs, Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade. Red Star won the 1991 UEFA Champions League (European Cup). The two major stadiums in Belgrade are the Marakana (Red Star Stadium) and the Partizan Stadium.^[218] The rivalry between Red Star and Partizan is one of the fiercest in world football.^[219]

Red Star Stadium.

The Štark Arena has a capacity of 19,384.^[220] It is used for major sporting events and large concerts. In May 2008 it was the venue for the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest.^[221] The Aleksandar Nikolić Hall is the main venue of basketball clubs KK Partizan, European champion of 1992, and KK Crvena zvezda.^[222][223]

In recent years, Belgrade has also given rise to several world-class tennis players such as Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković and Novak Đoković. Ivanović and Đoković are the first female and male Belgraders, respectively, to win Grand Slam singles titles and been ATP number 1 with Jelena Janković. The Serbian national team won the 2010 Davis Cup, beating the French team in the finals played in the Belgrade Arena.^[224]

Fashion and Design

Avala Tower

Since 1996,^[225] semiannual (autumn/winter and spring/summer seasons) fashion weeks are held citywide. Numerous Serbian and foreign designers and fashion brands have their shows during Belgrade Fashion Week. The festival, which collaborates with London Fashion Week, has helped launch the international careers of local talents such as George Styler and Ana Ljubinković. British fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic, who was born in the city, also frequently presents her runway shows in Belgrade.

In addition to fashion, there are two major design shows held in Belgrade every year which attract international architects and industrial designers such as Karim Rashid, Daniel Libeskind, Patricia Urquiola, and Konstantin Grcic. Both the Mikser Festival and Belgrade Design Week feature lectures, exhibits and competitions. Furthermore, international designers like Sacha Lakic, Ana Kraš, Bojana Sentaler, and Marek Djordjevic are originally from Belgrade.