The Historical Beauties of Belgrade - Kalemegdan and the Church of Saint Sava

Hello friends. ❄️ We visited Belgrade, the hidden paradise of the Balkans on a snowy day. After the cold mountain hike in Bulgaria, the chilly weather didn’t bother us much. While exploring the city, which was covered in every shade of white we spent part of the day at Kalemegdan Fortress. In fact Kalemegdan is not the original name of the fortress but comes from the Turkish term meaning fortress square. Defensive structures were first built by Celtic-Roman tribes in this area. Later Belgrade became the capital of Serbia. At that time the city was quite small and gradually came under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and again the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, in 1867 Belgrade became the heart of Serbia once again.

The fortress was continuously built and destroyed due to its strategic importance. Today from the fortress walls, we can see the point where the Danube and Sava rivers meet. This makes the fortress a location surrounded by two rivers and it is the spot where the Austro-Hungarian Navy launched its first attack. This attack led to one of the great tragedies of the 10th century. Especially during World War II, Serbia saw the loss of 1.5 million lives during the Serbian Campaign, which was a third of the population at that time.

Kalemegdan has a defense system consisting of four defense lines and many earth and stone structures. These buildings were constructed during different periods and under different emperors. The fortress is very well fortified in terms of defense and it is an interesting place for those who love military structures. On a beautiful summer day you can wander around here for hours and take a walk in the park. The first gate inside the fortress turns 90 degrees inward and then a ditch leads to the second gate. By 1914 the fortress no longer served a military defensive function and the attack on it seemed more like a show of force.

This place has been used repeatedly and rebuilt each time. It formed the boundaries of medieval Belgrade, but as the city was defended, the fortress was used for military purposes once again and artillery positions were built. Belgrade was retaken from the Austro-Hungarian Empire two months later and permanently rejoined Serbia within a few days. In the 15th and 16th centuries the fortress was surrounded by very strong defenses, making it an excellent stronghold for the city at the time.

During World War II Kalemegdan also saw battles, with a garrison stationed here and it continued to be used for military purposes until the mid-20th century. However, it then completely lost its military function and was turned into a museum. Today this museum is one of Belgrade's most important tourist attractions and we also visited this museum. In addition to indoor exhibits there are also interesting military artifacts on display outdoors. This open-air exhibit is completely free and you can see interesting and sometimes amusing military vehicles, such as a tank that looks like a new Elon Musk SUV or a tracked vehicle with an unclear purpose. It offers a fascinating and fun area for visitors.

While spending time at the museum a question comes to mind: How much engineering power and energy has humanity spent to destroy itself? For example, this 100-millimeter mortar, from the early 20th century is a terrifying design. The museum displays all these weapons and machines created for the purpose of killing. Each one with engineering solutions from different periods and wars, deeply makes you think about the human capacity for destruction.

An interesting part inside the fortress is located in the inner citadel section, where multiple wall levels are exposed behind the collapsed part of the wall. These walls have been built on top of each other for centuries. If you have time, you can observe how the fortress was built by walking around the walls surrounding it in several defense lines. In some areas due to the destruction of the walls, it's possible to see the different stages of the construction process. These stages follow one another like layers stacked on top of each other, almost like a layered cake.

In summer it’s very pleasant to walk in Kalemegdan park after exploring the fortress, but right now the weather is quite cold and windy. So it’s not ideal to spend time outdoors. Therefore we decided to visit another tourist spot right next to the fortress walls: Belgrade Zoo.

Although the zoo is not very large, it houses many different animal species. The animals are quite clean and really impressive. For example, there’s a white tiger here and in the neighboring cage, there's an ordinary tiger. It seems they are friends, although maybe not, but hearing a large cat growling as it approaches you from behind the bars of its cage is a bit unsettling. 😂 The zoo’s enclosures are arranged like terraces, which allows visitors to see the animals from different angles. Many animals from warmer climates are in their enclosures, so they are quite hard to see. However, most of the animals wandering around outside seem to have trouble adjusting to Serbia's cold winter, as they are mostly from Africa and southern climates. Luckily we happened to visit at feeding time and were able to watch how the wild cats are fed.

Another place I wanted to visit in Belgrade was the Aviation Museum, a spot I had been planning to go for a long time and wanted to show you. This museum is located very close to Nikola Tesla Airport. Reaching Belgrade’s main international airport Nikola Tesla Airport, was a bit of a challenge because it’s nearly impossible to walk there. The airport is completely designed for vehicle traffic and there are very few pedestrian paths. So we managed to get to the museum by crossing the road several times, accompanied by the chirping of sparrows along the way.

There are so many crows here and they all seem to want to end their lives with a Boeing turbine. However, a deep disappointment awaited us: The museum was closed for renovation. 😔 Looking at the exterior of the building I predict the renovation will take quite a while. It's December 2024 now and the museum’s collection was vast. It opened in 1954 and this new three-story building was built in 1995. Various aircraft are displayed across three floors of the building and there is also a large collection of rare artifacts around the museum. What particularly interested me was not being able to see a damaged NATO Phantom displayed in the museum. But unfortunately, this opportunity was missed. I’m so disappointed.

After the failure at the aviation museum, we returned to the city. Of course, traffic was heavy because the days are quite short at this time of year. Finally we arrived at the Church of Saint Sava. This is the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans and one of the largest in Europe. The church was built in 1935 and according to legend, the Ottomans burned the bones of Saint Sava here in 1594. At least we found comfort in the fact that we could visit this church. From the outside, the church looks massive.

The evening view of Belgrade is wonderful. But the day we went was Saturday and there was crazy traffic in the city. We heard that this was partly due to a strike. The previous day, Friday, when we took public transport during rush hour, it was like hell. I hadn’t seen such a crowded place in a long time. Also we’ve been traveling in Serbia for a week and so far, we hadn’t seen anyone poor or homeless. However, in Belgrade we saw this situation. There were a few people living on the streets, which is unusual for the country. When we entered the church, we couldn’t help but be mesmerized. The church is so large that its size is as impressive as that of Hagia Sophia. The interior is beautiful. The church functions both as an active place of worship and as a museum for tourists. Honestly the Church of Saint Sava is really impressive. Beautiful church music plays inside and the architecture and interior decorations are wonderful. If you ever visit Belgrade, you should definitely visit this place.

As befits any large church, there are crypts beneath the main hall. But the entrance is closed. All the frescoes inside the church are made of large mosaic panels. This confirms my initial impression: this church is quite similar to Hagia Sophia. My feelings are amazing. We left the church after about 20 minutes inside, deeply impressed.

Then we set off to visit Knez Mihailova Street, Belgrade’s main pedestrian avenue.

Belgrade has a lot of public transportation, but it seems to be insufficient. The ticket price is 50 dinars, which is really cheap almost half a dollar. Also it's a nice bonus that Google Maps works here. Without this feature, we could have easily gotten lost between bus and tram lines. There is also a metro in Belgrade, but we couldn’t reach it as it was not logistically convenient. We had been to Serbia before and the country has undergone a transformation before our eyes. There are a lot of constructions, almost no abandoned buildings and we haven’t seen many homeless people, at least not outside the capital. However, Knez Mihailova street hasn’t changed much since then. I was expecting more. Everything seems a bit ordinary: boutique hotels, chain stores and very crowded people. There was a bit of a soulless atmosphere on the street, perhaps because I wasn't used to it. But as time passed the street became a little livelier. There were street performers, people selling paintings and things like that. The houses also started to look better, especially as we got closer to Kalemegdan Fortress. There was a Christmas market with a tree and various holiday products for sale. Also there were many restaurants. For dinner we planned to go to a grill bar called Wolter, which can be found in many places in Belgrade. There’s a Wolter in the area where we were staying, so we decided to have dinner there. But just as we were about to leave, we saw hot wine and of course, we couldn’t miss out on this treat.

Google took us to the Wolter located in a shopping mall's food court. Normally these types of places are cozy grill restaurants and we had our dinner there.

At the end of my post I want to share a bit of information about Serbia, my impressions and of course, talk about my plans. Belgrade is a great tourist city and I highly recommend Serbia as a fantastic tourist destination. We spent time in the mountains, visited the massive and wonderful ski resort of Kopaonik and I’ll post separately about that. We’ve explored every corner of the country, visited small towns and went to its most remote places, creating our impressions of this amazing country. When I say Serbia is a great country I am not exaggerating.

We crossed the border into Serbia in about 10 minutes since there were only three cars ahead of us. When leaving Serbia, we crossed the border in about 1.5 minutes as there were no cars. We arrived at the customs gate, handed our passports through the window without getting out of the car. No questions were asked, they stamped our passports and we crossed into Bulgaria. In both Serbia and Bulgaria you are required to register where you stay. If you’re staying in a hotel, the hotel will automatically register you. However, if you are staying in a private apartment, you need to ask the police to register you. This registration is called the "white card" and I highly recommend you don’t overlook it. We witnessed several tourists being stopped by the police on the street in Serbia and their documents were checked. So, I definitely don’t recommend neglecting the white card registration.

Now let’s talk a bit about prices. Serbia is a bit more expensive than Bulgaria and price increases started in the last 2 years, especially with the influx of immigrants from Russia and Ukraine. Serbia is a pleasant and hospitable country. Most of the Serbs we met were very friendly and tried to be helpful. For example, I’d like to share something that happened to me at a gas station. I arrived at a station and asked how I could inflate my tires. The gas station attendant showed me where I could do it. After paying for the fuel and getting ready to leave, the attendant ran up to me and actually escorted me to the tire inflation area. This really impressed me.

Finally a few words about the Serbian language. Serbian belongs to the Slavic language group and some people say that someone who knows other Slavic languages can easily understand Serbian. This is completely wrong. Similarly it’s not easy for someone who speaks Bulgarian to understand Serbian. But again, I emphasize that Serbs are really friendly, pleasant and positive people. The country left an impression of a rapidly developing economy. We didn’t see the economy itself, but we didn’t encounter any abandoned factories or places throughout the country. Outside the capital, Belgrade, we didn’t see any homeless people. The roads are in excellent condition, the edges are well-maintained and the villages look almost like puppets. Yes, they are not wealthy, but everything is very clean and well-maintained. And most importantly, the roads are excellent.

Serbia is in the Schengen area, but it is not a member of the European Union. However, settlement can be done in two ways. The first way is to open an individual business. By paying a single tax, you can run a business in Serbia and based on that, work for a certain period to obtain a residence permit. Usually a one-year residence permit is given, but sometimes it can be for three years. After three years, you can either continue living with the residence permit or apply for permanent residency or Serbian citizenship. The second method is to buy real estate. Real estate prices in Serbia are quite affordable today and there is no minimum entry threshold. You can buy the cheapest house in a village, with prices starting from 10000 Euros and with this, you can obtain a residence permit in Serbia.

The main purpose of our trip was to explore and get to know Belgrade, a city that has changed a lot in recent years. If you visit Serbia, I highly recommend exploring Belgrade and the places we visited. I think these are worth seeing.