Serbia. City of a Hundred Wars
Located at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers, Belgrade (aka Beograd or the “White City”) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. With a population of just over 1.6 million, it is among the oldest continuously inhabited places in Europe and one of the continent’s most contested cities. Over its history, Belgrade has been razed forty-four times and fought over in more than a hundred wars.
First inhabited by the Vinča culture during the sixth millennium BC, the area was occupied by the Celts in 279 BC. After being conquered by the Romans in the first century AD, the site became part of the Byzantine, Frankish, and Bulgarian empires before joining the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1284, the city served as capital of Serbia under King Stephan Dragutin before it was conquered by the Ottoman and later, the Hapsburg empires. After WWI, it was capital of Yugoslavia until the country’s dissolution in 2006. Although Yugoslavia was an Axis nation during WWII, Belgrade was bombed by the German Luftwaffe and then occupied by the German Army. Before the end of the war the city was also bombed by Allies forces. In 1999, the city was bombed again, this time by NATO forces seeking to end the Yugoslav Army’s occupation of Kosovo. The next year Serbian President Slobodan Milošević ordered tanks into the streets to disperse protests against his rule. Although Belgrade is today a vibrant city, it still lives in the shadow of conflict with the breakaway territory of Kosovo to its south.
We arrived on a flight from Rome. After locating our rental car, we drove to our hotel in search of an overnight parking place. The solution was a smallish, multi-story garage with isles and ramps barely wide enough to negotiate in our small car. Subsequently, we found a restaurant that served ćevapi, a meat platter featuring chicken, pork, and sausage wrapped with onion. On our first full day we visited Belgrade Fortress, located on a 125-meter-high plateau near the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. Celtic tribes lived on the city-fortress site before the Romans conquered it. Forming the core of the oldest part of the city, the squared-shaped fortress was constructed in the second century AD with wooden palisades and earthworks later reinforced with stone. In subsequent years, the fortress was the site of battles between the Romans and Goths. A legend says that Atilla the Hun (406-453) is buried under the fortress. Byzantine Emperor Justain I rebuilt the fort during the second century and for the next several centuries it was the scene of campaigns and sieges, changing hands several times. Additional work on the fortress was completed in the fifteenth century by Prince Stepan Lazarević (aka Steph the Tall). In 1521, the Turks conquered the fortress and city. The last modification took place during Austrian rule (1718-1738) when the fort was modernized.
Circling the fortress on foot, we stopped at Zinda Gate, built at a time when “cold weapons” were being replaced by cannons that shot exploding shells. The gate was completed in 1456 and rebuilt using a Romanesque style in the 1930s. Serving as the main entrance, it is located between two round towers and near a moat and drawbridge. Today, the fortress serves as the city’s military museum with displays featuring body armor used by Roman soldiers and swords carried by medieval knights. Outside are larger weapons including tanks and missile launchers. We departed the fortress and museum towards Kneza Mihaila, a busy street of stores, bars, and restaurants.
Named after Serbian Prince Mihailo Obrenović III, Kneza Mihaila functions as the city’s main pedestrian and shopping zone. One kilometer long, the street was laid out by the Romans. Indeed, Roman graves, coins, ceramics, and cobblestone streets were discovered during the construction of shops and other buildings. Another brief stop was Saint Sava, the main cathedral of the Serbian Orthodox Church, located at the axes of the city’s main boulevards. Workers began construction of the cathedral in 1935 over the site of Saint Sava’s grave. The building was incomplete during WWII when it was occupied by the Germany Army and later, General Tito’s partisan forces. Covering an area of 4,500 square meters, it is among the largest churches in the world. Topped by a gold plated cross, the cathedral’s seventy-meter-high dome gives it an appearance reminiscent of Istanbul’s Haghia Sophia.
Our final stop was the Tesla Museum. Located in a stately two-story mansion, the museum interprets the life and contributions of engineer and futurist Nikola Tesla (1856-1943). Inside are examples of his inventions including a two-phase induction electric motor that was licensed by Westinghouse Electric in 1888, an early remote controlled boat, and a transformer that used alternating current called the Tesla Coil. Tesla’s experiments made use of electrical discharge tubes, x-ray imaging, and mechanical oscillators. A spherically shaped ball inside the museum, said to be Tesla’s favorite shape, contains the inventor’s ashes.