Facts about Belgrade

"The sky above Belgrade is wide and high, unstable but always beautiful; even during winter serenities with their icy splendour; even during summer storms when the whole of it turns into a single gloomy cloud which, driven by the mad wind, carries the rain mixed with the dust of panonian plain; even in spring when it seems that it also blooms, along with the ground; even in autumn when it grows heavy with the autumn stars in swarms. Always beautiful and rich, as a compensation to this strange town for everything that isn't there, and a consolation because of everything that shouldn't be there.

But the greatest splendour of that sky above Belgrade, that are the sunsets. In autumn and in summer, they are broad and bright like desert mirages, and in winter they are smothered by murky clouds and dark red hazes. And in every time of year frequently come the days when the flame of that sun setting in the plain, between the rivers beneath Belgrade, gets reflected way up in the high celestial dome, and it breaks there and pours down over the scattered town. Then, for a moment, the reddish tint of the sun paints even the remotest corners of Belgrade and reflects into the windows, even of those houses it otherwise poorly illuminates."

Written about Belgrade by: Ivo Andric, Serbian Nobel prize laureate

 

Discover Belgrade

Belgrade is situated at the place where the Sava joins the Danube. Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe and, beside Athens, the greatest urban whole of the Balkan Peninsula. The oldest archaeological artefacts from Belgrade area date back to the fifth millenium B.C. The members of a Celtic tribe founded Singidunum in the III century B.C., while the first record of the name Belgrade dates back to 878 A.D. During its long and tumultuous history, Belgrade has been conquered by 40 armies, and 38 times it has been raised up from the ashes.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, having around 1,6 million residents. It has the greatest concentration of institutions of national importance in the field of science and art. There is the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, established in 1886 as the Serbian Royal Academy: the National Library of Serbia, established in 1832; the National Museum, established in 1841 and the National Theatre, established in 1869. The city is also the seat of the Belgrade University, founded in 1808 as the Great School, and the seat of the University of Art.

 

Sights

There are spots in Belgrade you must definitely see and feel. Streets, squares, monuments, parks, drinking fountains, archeological sites... and other sights that deserve recommendation. Many of them have been given the status of cultural assets.

Knez Mihailova Street


It is a pedestrian zone and shopping center - protected by law as one of the oldest and most valuable monumental complexes of the city, with a large number of representative buildings and urban houses built at the end of 1870s. It is thought that in as early as the Roman times there was the center of the Singidunum settlement. In this area, at the time of Turks, there were winding streets with gardens, drinking-fountains and mosques. In the middle XIX century, in the upper part of the street was the garden of Knez Aleksandar Karadordevic. After the making of the regulation plan of Belgrade in 1867, by Emilijan Josimovic, the street has soon been built and gained its physionomy and content. The houses have been built there and the most influential and wealthiest families of the commercial and political society of Belgrade have come to live there. In 1870, the city authorities officially gave a name to this street - Ulica Kneza Mihaila.

Belgrade fortress


The Knez Mihailova street leads  to the Belgrade Fortress. High above the Sava and Danube confluence, on the rocky ridge which opens the view of Novi Beograd, Zemun and wide plains of Pannonia, there is the Belgrade Fortress with Kalemegdan, the former historical and urban center of Belgrade. This spatial complex consists of: The Fortress, divided into Upper Town and Lower Town, and the Kalemegdan park, the most popular promenade for Belgrade citizens.

 

Useful facts


Currency: The monetary unit is the Dinar (CSD) - 1 Dinar = 100 Para. Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 Dinar

Banknotes: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 Dinar

Power supply: 220 V, 50 Hz

Banks & Postal service: Most banks and post offices are open from 08.00 a.m. to 07.00 p.m. on weekdays and from 08.00 a.m. to  03.00 p.m. on Saturdays. On Sundays there is usually a designated bank or post office that maintains needed services.

Shops: Food shops typically open at 06.00 a.m. and work until 09.00 p.m., both weekdays and Saturdays. Sundays they typically operate from 06.00 a.m. to 03.00 p.m. Everywhere, there are stores open 24 hours a day. Markets are opened every day from 06.00 a.m. to 05.00 p.m.

Credit cards: International credit cards Visa, Master Card, Diners and others are accepted in the majority of stores, hotels and restaurants.

Visas


For up to date information on visa requirements, visit the Consular section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Serbia website at:
www.mfa.gov.yu
 
TOURIST ORGANIZATION OF BELGRADE
Masarikova 5/IX, tel. 3061-572, fax 3061-414
www.tob.co.rs

BELGRADE NIKOLA TESLA AIRPORT
www.beg.aero

BELGRADE BUS STATION
www.bas.co.yu

SERBIAN RAILWAYS
www.zeleznicesrbije.com

PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMPANY "BELGRADE"
www.gsp.co.yu

SAVA CENTAR - INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS, CULTURAL AND BUSINESS CENTER
www.savacentar.com

 

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