Serbia immediately captivates the heart – like love at first sight. With the greenery of its expanse, the sunbeams dancing on its hills, the tranquil languor of its rivers.

Its cities are pearls of architecture, its villages are treasures of traditions, and its people are warm, proud, and hospitable. They preserve their history, customs, heritage, and values. Serbia is hard to describe; it simply has to be experienced.

Here we are in Belgrade... 

The Serbian capital welcomed us with rain, but it did not spoil the cheerful mood of our upcoming acquaintance with it. We checked into the Botanika Hotel, right next to the Botanical Garden, and with our guide from the Tourist Organization of Serbia - Milan, we immediately set off to explore the city.

We walk along its central boulevards and streets – Despot Stefan Boulevard, Republic Square, Knez Mihailova Street, Terazije, Balkanska Street, King Milan Street, King Alexander Boulevard… and enjoy the dignified buildings we pass by. Architectural masterpieces line up one after another before our eyes: the National Museum, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the National Assembly, the City Assembly, the National Bank of Serbia, and more, and more. But it seems that the pearls of the city are the churches: Church of St. Mark, the Cathedral Church of the Holy Archangel Michael and the building of the Serbian Patriarchate opposite, the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky (well, no one here thinks of changing its name, as is happening in our country).

Underneath all this beauty lie the remains of the ancient city of Singidunum

- says our tour guide. And this makes the work of archaeologists almost impossible. Because here, at the place where the Sava and Danube rivers merge gently in a loving embrace, there has been life since Antiquity. Traces of the first settlements date back to 4,800 BC.

And during the Roman Empire, there was a city of key importance here – Singidunum. The object of many barbarian invasions, in the 6th century it was completely destroyed. Then the raids of the Slavs became more frequent, who in the 7th century finally settled in these lands. A new city was formed, which they began to call the White City /most likely because of the white rocks around/.

On Republic Square, in front of the monument to Knez Mihailo, we see a stage set up, obviously anticipating events. On it, there is a poster with the inscription: "Belgrade Days of the Family". Further on, entering the pedestrian street Knez Mihailova, famous for its historical buildings, on a high banner, we again see information about the Belgrade Days. Noticing our curious looks, our tour guide tells us that by chance we’ve come to the city on April 16th – the beginning of the Belgrade Days of the Family – and that there will be many concerts and other entertainment in the evening.

And we found symbolism in the coincidence of coming here on this very day. Because the date is connected with a moment in our history spanning centuries. On this day, as stated on the website of the City of Belgrade, in the distant year 878, the name Belgrade was first mentioned in writing—in a letter from Pope John VIII to the Bulgarian Prince Boris I Mihail, informing him of the dismissal of Bishop Sergije of Belgrade. At that time, the city was within the borders of the First Bulgarian Empire.

In fact, due to its strategic location, Belgrade has been the site of hundreds of battles over the centuries, it has been repeatedly besieged, captured, destroyed, bombed. It has been within the borders of the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the First Bulgarian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire...

In 1284, the Serbian King Dragutin received Belgrade from the Hungarian crown, and with this the city first fell under Serbian rule, and in 1403, under Despot Stefan Lazarević, it became the capital of medieval Serbia for the first time.

Since 2006, Belgrade has been the capital of the Republic of Serbia, with a population of over 1,600,000 inhabitants.

We sat down to lunch at a restaurant on one of its main streets, where Tamara Rašković, a lovely young lady from the Tourist Organization of Serbia, was waiting for us. The restaurant was quite full – both with tourists and people from the surrounding offices. While we were getting to know each other and talking about our program in Belgrade and the possibilities of cooperation, we found that Belgrade specialties are more than excellent. And then we continued the tour, climbing

the Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park

Built on a hill on the right bank of the Sava River, right where it flows into the Danube, the fortress once controlled the Pannonian Plain and the road from the West to Constantinople. Like everything in the Balkans, this fortress is steeped in history, with many historical moments connected to Bulgaria.

One is particularly significant for us Bulgarians. After the liberation of Serbia from Ottoman rule in 1815, the Belgrade Fortress remained the headquarters of an Ottoman garrison. In the Serbian-Turkish conflict of 1862, fighting broke out at the fortress. As volunteers on the Serbian side, participants in the First Bulgarian Legion, created by Georgi Sava Rakovski, also fought here. Among them was the Apostle of Freedom – Vasil Levski. Today, this fact is recognized in a monument located in the Tašmajdan Park.

We pass through the gate of the fortress and notice that it has several observation towers, an amazing medieval clock tower and a massive stone fortification. Our gaze immediately covers the vast plateau around it, turned into a park in the 1880s - "Kalemegdan". Its name comes from the Turkish words "kale" - city, fortress, and "megdan" - field. Today, many consider this to be the most beautiful and largest park in Belgrade and at the same time the most significant cultural and historical complex, dominated, of course, by the whiteness of the fortress. It has monuments to famous Serbian cultural and public figures. It also houses the Military Museum, the Art Pavilion "Cveta Zuzoric" /exhibition space/, the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, the zoo, a children's amusement park, a large number of sports grounds, cafes, restaurants. We didn't manage to see everything, but, as they say, something should be left for the next visit... However, we managed to enjoy from above one of the symbols of Belgrade - the "Victory" monument, the wonderful view of the city, the confluence of the Sava into the Danube, the Great Military Island. And the rain made us hurry to descend back to the city center, where we found shelter

in the legendary Hotel "Moscow"

How true is the expression that "there is nothing better than bad weather"! We had passed by the Hotel Moskva on previous visits to Belgrade, but this time we were lucky enough to visit it. Located on the corner of Terazije and Balkanska streets, this hotel, and especially the café-patisserie attached to it, have witnessed many stories, having hosted many world-famous personalities. And naturally, the Serbs have created a legend out of it, which they preserve and enrich.

From the door of the coffee shop, we were enveloped by the unique romantic-aristocratic atmosphere of the Russian Secession. We were caressed by wonderful music – that of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. We look around and see – a talented performer is playing a concert grand piano at one end. At the tables, beautiful Serbian women are sipping coffee or tea, perhaps expecting someone, while foreigners of different nationalities and religions are enthusiastically trying its famous sweet temptations.

We sit down at a table and, unfolding the menu, we first read the history. The Hotel "Moskva" was opened in 1908 by King Peter I Karađorđević. The building was declared a cultural monument in 1968, and in 1979 - a cultural heritage of great importance. For more than a century of existence, the Hotel "Moskva" and the famous "Moskva Tavern" have welcomed over 45 million people, including some of the most famous personalities in Serbia and the world: Albert Einstein, Luciano Pavarotti, Ivo Andrić, Anna Pavlova, Leonid Brezhnev, Indira Gandhi, Ray Charles, Maxim Gorky, Robert de Niro, Brad Pitt, Milla Jovovich and many, many others...

We order hot drinks and, of course, a slice of the famous Moscow Schnitt cake, the pastry shop's trademark. When the café opened in 1974, it was one of many on offer, but in just a few months it became world-famous. Since then, Moscow Schnitt has been served to about 300 people daily, and about 1,000 whole cakes are delivered to different addresses. In other words, the Moscow café-pastry shop produces 20 tons of cakes per year, all of which are handmade, with love and a passion for hospitality.

As we were leaving, we shared with Milan how wonderful this cafe is! For romantic dates, for curious tourists, for culinary delights, but most of all - for touching the image of Belgraders of historicity and dignity. And just then, another pearl of architecture proudly shone in front of us - the Balkan Hotel. It is assumed that its building dates back to the time when the Terazije fountain was also built, around 1860. A monument of cultural heritage, it is the work of the famous Belgrade architect Vuković. The hotel has undergone many restorations and owners, but nevertheless retains the unique spirit of the era in which it was created. And it lures us, but it cannot do everything... We were faced with

another romantic excitement - the Zemun district

It was once a separate city, sometimes part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, sometimes of the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom, and this has left its mark everywhere. We begin our walk from its highest part - Gardos Hill, on the top of which rises the Hungarian Gardos Tower-Monument. We look up and are enchanted by the proud lightness with which its pointed roof rises into the sky. Gardos Tower was built in 1896 in honor of the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of Hungary, as part of a large project for four towers, one in each of the four corners of the Hungarian Kingdom.

From the platform around the historical landmark, wonderful views of the Danube rivers and the Zemun district open up, in the heart of which the golden cross of the Church of St. Father Nicholas shines cheerfully. We slowly descend along the medieval cobblestone streets, and they seem to whisper stories of battles and glory to us. The rain has stopped and the sun's rays have begun to modestly make their way through the clouds. One seems to be in another dimension, far from the hectic rhythm of the Serbian capital.

Down below, the buildings become newer, more dignified. We are impressed by the Zemun Post Office, with its Baroque influence in its architecture, and the Zemun High School, with its Renaissance style.

We reach the coastal street and enjoy the slow revival that is emerging along it after the rain has stopped. It is full of restaurants and taverns - all in a different style, but all romantic. Milan shows us one of its emblematic places - the "Sharan" restaurant, stating that here you can eat wonderful fish and fish soup.

We left Zemun, this charming cultural and historical oasis, this small city within the city, with the hope that we would see it again someday. To once again enjoy its unique aroma, specific style, incredible sights and... fish restaurants, which we did not have time to visit this time. Because dinner was waiting for us at "Tri šešira", in the bohemian quarter "Skadarlija". And we will remember it for a long time - with the live music, the wonderful grill, the wonderful wines, the cheerful mood.

"Anyone who was lucky enough to wake up in Belgrade one morning might consider that they had achieved enough in their life for the day."

This thought by the writer Dušan Radović was running through our heads as we drank our morning coffee in the hotel lobby bar, watching through the windows how the rain slowly bathed the Botanical Garden opposite, making it shine in all its lush greenery, and how the cars, more clumsily than usual, moved along the small street that separated us from its entrance. The good thing was that our program included a visit to some cultural and spiritual institutions.

Nikola Tesla Museum – in the Memory of the World Register

We entered it with the feeling that we would touch the unique intimate and creative world of the man who created the basis for the Second Industrial Revolution – Nikola Tesla. Today we cannot imagine the world without his inventions: alternating current, the asynchronous motor, the Tesla coil, the speedometer, the remote control, the wireless transfer of energy and information, radio waves, radar...

At the door of the museum, we were greeted by a young girl who showed us, along with the already large group of tourists, through its halls. During the tour, she told us with infectious enthusiasm about the great Serb - showing us his objects, sharing stories from his life, demonstrating some of his pioneering inventions...

The exhibits in the museum remind us that the electrical engineering genius born in the village of Smiljan /Croatia/, who never completed his higher education, had such strong insights that the world was no longer the same after them. He found the opportunity to realize them in America. Nikola Tesla left us 125 inventions, officially protected with 311 patents from 27 countries on five continents! To these can be added many others, prepared for the US patent office, but unprotected, as well as those that he never even tried to protect. Some of his discoveries are at the heart of major world events that marked the 20th century, as they, being far ahead of their time, amazed the public.

Today, the Nikola Tesla Museum in the Serbian capital is the proud heir and custodian of the vast personal archive of this genius. It is also a research laboratory for his life, work and contributions to science. It is no coincidence that in 2003 UNESCO included the "Archives of Nikola Tesla, 1856-1943, at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade" in the "Memory of the World" register.

You can read more about the interesting personality of Nikola Tesla, his ingenious inventions, and the museum HERE. 

We left this unique institution for Serbia and the world satisfied and enriched. And we headed

to the Museum of Yugoslavia - another reflection on the culture of memory

Our first impression of it was of freshness and beauty, coming from its large, well-maintained park. Dressed in raincoats, Asian tourists, most likely Chinese, were strolling along its alleys, cheerfully commenting on something and taking pictures. From the rain, which kept on falling, the greenery of the park had become even more lush and impressive, pleasantly harmonizing with the 20 or so sculptures by great Yugoslav artists scattered throughout its well-designed spaces. And one of the first works that stood before us, and which was the subject of particular attention from visitors, was the statue of Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. In fact, the park has free entrance and anyone who wishes can enter and walk around it.

The Museum of Yugoslavia was created on the foundations of the former: the Museum of the Revolution of the Peoples and Nationalities of Yugoslavia, the Museum "25 May", a gift from the City of Belgrade for the 70th birthday of Josip Broz Tito, and the Memorial Center "Josip Broz Tito". On December 1, 2024, this impressive cultural institution will celebrate its 28th anniversary.

We walk through its halls at random and realize – here, in Serbia, the most recent past is not erased, it is honored and preserved. Because it is part of the nation's memory. Because the history of Yugoslavia /1918-2006/ is a time experienced by several of its generations.

Here we are in a hall where the gifts given to Josip Broz Tito in Yugoslavia and abroad are exhibited. They are not only collected and displayed as objects, they are also messages, layered meanings that speak of the era and the relationships in it - personal and state. The gifts that shine in all their beauty before our eyes are from dozens of countries from all continents and are so diverse! And behind each of them lies some curious story, told fascinatingly by the museum workers. And each is given with respect to the man under whose leadership Yugoslavia not only prospered, but also became a founding member of the respected organization Non-Aligned Movement. Founded in 1961 in Belgrade, it is largely a creation of the Yugoslav president.

Here we are in another room, where the entire era of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is documented through photographs and documents. Our gaze is drawn to: a program for the Youth Day in Kraljevo from May 1984, the cover of an anniversary issue of a student magazine, published results from sports relays, cups from student competitions, etc.

Here we are finally at the House of Flowers. Built as a winter garden in Tito's residence, today his grave is here, and next to it that of his third wife, Jovanka. We examine the exhibition arranged there, entitled "Comrade Tito Has Died". We understand that through it the Museum of Yugoslavia continues its reflections on the topic of the personality of Josip Broz Tito and its significance - the official, the state; the immediate, the popular; the contested. The photo collages show how the news of the death of the Yugoslav leader turns into a national tragedy, and his funeral - into one of the most grandiose that the world has ever seen, bringing together in Belgrade the leaders of about 130 countries.

We leave the museum, with a total collection of 75,000 items, convinced that what is written on its website is true - its programs and activities promote "social memory and the culture of memory related to the development of the Yugoslav idea, from the creation of the state of Yugoslavia as a kingdom to its disappearance in the early nineties."

Yes, the culture of memory is being cultivated – every day, in everyone.

The Church of Saint Sava - the precious pearl of the Serbian capital

Here we are in front of the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans. White and pure as faith, with shining golden crosses on the domes like hope, with the cheerful ringing of the bells like love. It bears the name of the Serbian clergyman, enlightened activist and diplomat Sava, who fought for the independence of the Serbian Orthodox Church and became its first archbishop (1219 – 1233). He was later canonized.

They tell us about the construction of the temple, which began in 1935, but was interrupted several times. The first - due to the start of World War II, the bombing of Belgrade in 1941 and the occupation of Yugoslavia.

After its liberation, a new social order was established and the Serbian Orthodox Church found itself in a very difficult situation until... the ascension of Patriarch German to its headship in 1958. Then the idea of continuing the construction of the temple was renewed. But this became a reality only in 1984, when, after 88 requests and the same number of refusals over time, an agreement was finally reached at the national and local level to complete the church. Professor Branko Pešić, appointed as its architect, fundamentally revised the initial project in order to be able to use the new materials and construction techniques that had already appeared.

Construction resumed in 1985. The walls were raised to their full height of 40 meters. But the greatest achievement was the erection of the central dome, weighing 4,000 tons. It was made on the ground, and then, together with the copper sheet covering and the large gilded cross, 12 meters high and weighing 4 tons, was lifted and placed on the walls. This action, which lasted 40 days, ended on June 26, 1989.

But a new interruption followed, due to the events of the 1990s - the collapse of Yugoslavia and the military conflicts in the territories of its former republics, and the NATO bombing of Serbia.

We enter the temple. We feel how white-golden light streams from everywhere, which envelops the human soul and elevates it. Its interior decoration is impressive. Its entire central part is painted with the so-called mosaic technique. The project for it is the work of the Russian Academy of Arts, and Academician Nikolai Mukhin personally supervised its implementation. Over three hundred master artists work in workshops in Russia and on site, so that this grandiose project of over 15,000 m2 of mosaic can be completed in record time, from 2016 to 2020. At that time, the iconostasis, chandelier, stone floors and plastic elements were also completed.

Looking at this new Orthodox shrine and feeling its powerful energy, we thought about how close we are to our neighbors - the Serbs. Perhaps because for centuries we have been sustained by our common faith, hope and love.

Tired, we sat down to lunch in a neat little restaurant near the Church of Saint Sava. And we were convinced once again - the Serbian capital offers unique culinary delights in an unforgettable atmosphere, no matter whether it is bohemian, ethnic, classic or modern. But this is another topic - long and exciting for the senses.

We couldn't leave Belgrade without a walk along the banks of the Danube. The rain had stopped, but the clouds still covered the sky. Boats were moving lazily somewhere, and a small boat with tourists was gently plowing the water. White swans were swimming gracefully near the fortified bank, almost next to us. And at the end of the pier, a couple in love was dreamily contemplating the river.

Yes, indeed, Belgrade is beautiful even in the rain.

The "Diplomatic Spectrum" team expresses its gratitude to the Tourist Organization of Serbia, as well as to the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in the Republic of Bulgaria for their support in the realization of this trip.

Photos: "Diplomatic Spectrum" and the Tourist Organization of Serbia

Above: Belgrade, panorama /photo – Andrey Nikhil/

First row: The place where the Sava River flows into the Danube River /photo – Andrey Nikhil/; the statue of Knez Mihailo with the stage built for the Belgrade Days, behind it is the National Museum of Serbia; urban bustle; the Cultural Center of Belgrade.

Second row: Knez Mihailova Street; a musician on it; the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; Belgrade City Hall.

Third row: the Parliament; the Orthodox Church of St. Mark; the First Serbian Primary School "King Peter I", in the courtyard of which the first basketball game in Belgrade was played in 1923, and from 1857 to 2002 it also housed the first Serbian gymnastics and wrestling society; the Palace of Princess Ljubica.

Fourth row: the clock tower of the Belgrade Fortress; the Military Museum and exhibits; the "Victory" monument in Kalemegdan.

Fifth row: Hotel "Moscow"; Hotel "Balkan"; the "Gardosh" tower in the Zemun district /photo - Andrey Nikhil/; a church in the same district.

Sixth row: night Belgrade - the monument to Stefan Nemanja /photo: Mija Medaković/; the pier of Zemun, /photo – Aleksandar Matić/; the bridges over the Sava River /photo – Aleksandar Matić/; "Belgrade on Water" /photo – Zoran Spremo/

Seventh row: The Nikola Tesla Museum

Eighth row: The Museum of Yugoslavia

Ninth row: the church of Saint Sava

Tenth and eleventh row: restaurants and culinary delights in Belgrade