Traveling the Danube Through Eastern EuropePart Three: Serbia—Beautiful Belgrade

by Teri E. Popp, Tastemaker in Residence

Attila the Hun slept here—as well as many Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Ottoman, German and Soviet conquerors! An ancient city, Belgrade sits at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers and, with its surrounding suburbs, is home to almost 2 million people today.

Currently known for its nightlife, clubbing and as an inexpensive tourist destination, this clean, well laid out city offers an assortment of entertainments. We started our tour at the Church of St. Sava (Храм светог Саве), a massive Serbian Orthodox Church capable of eventually holding 3,000 congregants (keep in mind, Orthodox Church parishioners attend church while standing). While the main body of the church is still under construction, the basement crypt is spectacular—adorned with copious amounts of gold and gilt.

From St. Sava, we ventured on to tour the most visited attraction in Belgrade—the Belgrade Fortress (Београдска тврђава) and Kalemegdan Park which overlooks the vast expanse of both rivers and the city suburbs below. Founded in the 3rd Century, the Scordisci tribe of Celts started construction of this large fortress area. It housed the entire City of Belgrade for many centuries. Interestingly, the complex hosts a children’s park, as well as clay tennis courts in what was originally the moat.

We then did some quick shopping in the area around Knez Mihailova Street (also referred to as Kneza Mihaila or Улица кнез Михаилова). This modern district offers a great array of coffee shops, dining, museums and haute couture.

For our final stop before our afternoon tour, we visited the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Саборна Црква Св. Архангела Михаила). Commonly called The Cathedral by locals, the Serbian Orthodox Church completed its construction in 1840.

Our final destination in Belgrade included a fantastic, behind-the-scenes tour of the Serbian Opera at the National Theater (Народно позориште). Our guide introduced us to the director of the Opera, and, after touring the costuming room, we enjoyed a splendid concert of arias performed by two of the opera’s lovely soloists.

Note: Beware of pickpockets in the major metropolitan areas.

Other sights to see in Belgrade:

St. Mark’s Church-https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294472-d536418-Reviews-Crkva_Svetog_Marka-Belgrade.html

Patriarchate Palace-https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294472-d600442-Reviews-Patriarchate_of_the_Serbian_Orthodox_Church-Belgrade.html

Nikola Tesla Museum-https://nikolateslamuseum.org/en/

National Museum of Serbia-http://www.narodnimuzej.rs/?lang=en

Railway Museum-http://www.serbia.com/visit-serbia/cultural-attractions/museums/the-railway-museum/

Museum of Contemporary Art-https://eng.msub.org.rs/