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231-571: Belgrade Fortress is located on top of the 125.5 metres (412 ft) high ending ridge of the Šumadija geological bar. The sandbank stretches at least from the city's Tašmajdan section, originating from the Miocene period, and the oldest stages of the ancient Pannonian Sea . The cliff-like ridge overlooks the Great War Island ( Serbian : Veliko ratno ostrvo ) and the confluence of the Sava river into

462-478: A nation and a clear sense of national identity. In the early 1830s, Serbia gained autonomy and its borders were recognized, with Miloš Obrenović being recognized as its ruler. Serbia is the fourth modern-day European country, after France, Austria and the Netherlands, to have a codified legal system, as of 1844. The last Ottoman troops withdrew from Serbia in 1867, although Serbia's and Montenegro's independence

693-656: A "white town" or a "white fortress", was first mentioned in AD 878 by Bulgarians. The fortress kept changing its masters: Bulgaria during three centuries, and then the Byzantines and then again Bulgarians. The fortress remained a Byzantine stronghold until the 12th century when it fell in the hands of the newly emerging Serbian state. It became a border city of the Serbian Kingdom, later Empire with Hungary. The Hungarian king Béla I gave

924-677: A 78-day-long NATO bombing campaign which effectively drove Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo. Subsequently, more than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians fled the province. On 5 October 2000, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosević was overthrown in a bloodless revolt after he refused to admit defeat in the 2000 Yugoslav general election . Modern demographic distribution of ethnic Serbs throughout homeland and native regions, as well as in Serbian ethnic diaspora , represents an outcome of several historical and demographic processes, shaped both by economic migrations and forced displacements during

1155-621: A Croatian military offensive known as Operation Storm put a stop to the Croatian Serb rebellion and causing as many as 200,000 Serbs to flee the country. The Bosnian War ended that same year, with the Dayton Agreement dividing the country along ethnic lines. In 1998–99, a conflict in Kosovo between the Yugoslav Army and Albanians seeking independence erupted into full-out war, resulting in

1386-443: A Serbian American biomedical engineer focusing on engineering human tissues for regenerative medicine , stem cell research and modeling of disease. She is one of the most highly cited scientists of all times. Notable Serb mathematicians include Mihailo Petrović , Jovan Karamata and Đuro Kurepa . Mihailo Petrović is known for having contributed significantly to differential equations and phenomenology, as well as inventing one of

1617-625: A catholic church in the Ilije Garašanina Street, next to the First Female Realschule . He intended to build it above the former quarry, where the modern stadium is, as an edifice "monumental like Vatican cathedral of Saint Peter and beautiful like basilica Sagrada Família in Barcelona ". The project was never realized. The Belgrade's first general urban plan , adopted in 1923 and approved in 1924, envisioned construction of

1848-539: A chair, throne or anything that he is sitting on, garnered negative public reaction. The Serbian Orthodox Church said that this is a public monument and that they will not judge it, but that it plans to erect a proper, monumental sculpture of Patriarch Pavle in the churchyard of the Rakovica Monastery , where he was buried. Right across the park, at the corner of the Resavska Street and Bulevar kralja Aleksandra,

2079-565: A common Serbian ancestry , culture , history , and language . They primarily live in Serbia , Kosovo , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Montenegro as well as in North Macedonia , Slovenia , Germany and Austria . They also constitute a significant diaspora with several communities across Europe , the Americas and Oceania . The Serbs share many cultural traits with the rest of

2310-513: A complete rearrangement of the plateau, which functioned as an extension of the Tašmajdan Park in front of the St.Mark's Church began. Old asphalt pavement which served as a parking lot was removed. Architect Jovan Mitrović designed a new, leveled combination of granite slabs and green areas. The plateau was divided in two sections, left and right, separated by the green island. The right, "ceremonial" side

2541-776: A few years before. Loanwords in the Serbian language besides common internationalisms are mostly from Greek , German and Italian, while words of Hungarian origin are present mostly in the north. The Ottoman conquest began a linguistical contact between Ottoman Turkish and South Slavic; Ottoman Turkish influence grew stronger after the 15th century. Besides Turkish loanwords, also many Arabic (such as alat , "tool", sat , "hour, clock") and Persian ( čarape , "socks", šećer , "sugar") words entered via Turkish, called "Orientalisms" ( orijentalizmi ). Also, many Greek words entered via Turkish. Words for hitherto unknown sciences, businesses, industries, technologies and professions were brought by

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2772-641: A form of slavery in the Ottoman Empire , in which boys from Balkan Christian families were forcibly converted to Islam and trained for infantry units of the Ottoman army known as the Janissaries . A number of Serbs who converted to Islam occupied high-ranking positions within the Ottoman Empire , such as Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and Minister of War field marshal Omar Pasha Latas . In 1688,

3003-565: A humanitarian of Austrian descent, carried out rescue operations from Ustaše camps and saved more than 15,000 children, mostly Serbs. More than half a million Serbs were killed in the territory of Yugoslavia during World War II. Serbs in occupied Yugoslavia subsequently formed a resistance movement known as the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland , or the Chetniks. The Chetniks had the official support of

3234-549: A lot of people. During the course of only two weeks, just the Jesuits buried 220 people and themselves lost 3 missionaries. The extremely massive plague outbreak hit the city in October 1738. As the Austrian army retreated in front of the advancing Turks, numerous civilians fled to the fortress, many of them being contagious. Having so many people in a cramped space, triage was not possible so

3465-415: A memorial plaque in memory of assassination of Galip Balkar (1937-83) , Turkish ambassador to Yugoslavia, was unveiled on 8 October 2019. Assassination occurred on 9 March 1983 and the plaque commemorates both the ambassador, and student Željko Milivojević, who was also killed by the assassins while trying to apprehend them. In July 2020 city announced erection of the monument to novelist Miloš Crnjanski in

3696-641: A merchant area along the Sava river, he also relocated the inhabitants of Savamala neighborhood. In the churchyard a school for 35 pupils was built in 1837, which was only the second elementary school in Belgrade at the time. During the Čukur Fountain incident in June 1862, and the subsequent bombardment of the city by the Ottomans from the fortress, thousands of women and children found refuge in Tašmajdan's caves. Because of

3927-495: A monument to Patriarch Pavle , head of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1990 to 2009, will be erected on the green area between the newly finished plateau and the tram stop in Tašmajdan Park. The 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) tall bronze monument was authored by Zoran Maleš. It was placed in the park on 13 November 2018 and dedicated on 15 November, an anniversary of Pavle's death. Maleš said that he wanted to show

4158-568: A note to all Serb bishops to come to him and collaborate only with Habsburg forces. A Great Migration of the Serbs (1690) to Habsburg lands was undertaken by Patriarch Arsenije III. The large community of Serbs concentrated in Banat, southern Hungary and the Military Frontier included merchants and craftsmen in the cities, but mainly refugees that were peasants. Smaller groups of Serbs also migrated to

4389-603: A park instead. The construction of the park began in 1950 and the opening ceremony was held in May 1954. The seedlings were transported by the horse wagons from the nursery gardens in Krnjača and from Zagreb's Forestry Faculty. In 1961, the first olympic-size swimming pool in Belgrade was built in Tašmajdan, within the complex of the sports center. At the time, the complex also included Belgrade Tennis Club, amusement park , "Avala" cinema, Fire Brigade and its fire lookout tower . Since

4620-726: A phonetic ending, -ich or -itch in foreign languages. Other common surname suffixes found among Serbian surnames are - ov , - ev , - in and - ski (without -ić ) which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Other, less common suffices are -alj/olj/elj , -ija , -ica , -ar/ac/an . The ten most common surnames in Serbia, in order, are Jovanović , Petrović , Nikolić , Marković , Đorđević , Stojanović , Ilić , Stanković , Pavlović and Milošević . Serbs are predominantly Orthodox Christians . The autocephaly of

4851-579: A trench from the Roman period and relics from the Austrian rule after the conquest of Eugene of Savoy. Some sources claim that after the bombing started, documentation and part of the artifacts were transported to Lebus , in Germany and are considered to be lost. Others claim that the entire material was stored in the Belgrade City Museum. What is known for sure is that during the "terrain cleaning" in 1941–1942,

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5082-584: A ventilation system, power generator, phone lines and elevator and one of the caves was even adapted into the brig for disobedient soldiers. It was also used by the Germans as the collection center for the Jews. Vast labyrinth of corridors, expanded by the Wehrmacht , branches into all directions beneath the city and today nobody knows how many of them there are or where they all lead. Future examinations are slowed because of

5313-415: Is a world-renowned performance artist , writer, and art filmmaker . Traditional Serbian music includes various kinds of bagpipes , flutes , horns , trumpets , lutes , psalteries , drums and cymbals . The kolo is the traditional collective folk dance, which has a number of varieties throughout the regions. The first Serbian composers started working in the 14th and 15th century, like Kir Stefan

5544-609: Is buried inside, along with the Serbian Patriarch German . Next to it is a small Russian Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity , built in 1924, inside of which the Russian general Pyotr Wrangel is buried. Within the Tašmajdan park a sports complex of Tašmajdan Sports Centre is located. Centre administers several facilities located outside Tašmajdan, like " Pionir Hall " and "Ice Hall". However, swimming pools are located in

5775-409: Is considered one of the most intriguing writers from the beginning of the 21st century. Charles Simic is a notable contemporary Serbian-American poet, former United States Poet Laureate and a Pulitzer Prize winner . Contemporary writer Zoran Živković authored more than 20 prose books and is best-known for his SF works which have been published in 23 countries. Many Serbs have contributed to

6006-519: Is equipped with underwater light. At −16 °C, water and air can be heated up to 28 °C. Some of the best known happenings in the venue include: EuroBasket Women 1954 , first Miss Yugoslavia contest in 1957 (won by Tonka Katunarić), 1957 World Women's Handball Championship , concerts of Alexandrov Ensemble in 1958 and later in the 1960s and 1970s of Mazowsze , Ray Charles and Tina Turner and ice hockey matches with over 10,000 spectators. After an earthquake hit Svilajnac in 1893, one of

6237-459: Is estimated that over two thirds of all Serbian surnames have the suffix -ić (-ић) ( [itɕ] ), a Slavic diminutive , originally functioning to create patronymics . Thus the surname Petrović means the "son of Petar" (from a male progenitor, the root is extended with possessive -ov or -ev ). Due to limited use of international typewriters and unicode computer encoding, the suffix may be simplified to -ic , historically transcribed with

6468-532: Is generally divided into four sections. The four sections, two of which make the fortress itself (Donji and Gornji Grad) and two make Kalemegdan park today, were divided by the Tsarigrad Road , on the location of modern pedestrian path next to the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion. Donji Grad (Доњи Град); occupies the slope towards the riversides, from the top spot (ridge where "The Victor" is). Between

6699-468: Is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula. In 2010–2011 the entire park saw its largest reconstruction since its creation in 1954. In November 2021, the park was declared a cultural monument and placed under protection. With the adjoining faculty buildings, it forms "Tašmajdan and University Center" protected spatial cultural-historical unit . Tašmajdan begins 600 m (2,000 ft) southeast of Belgrade's designated center, Terazije , covering

6930-671: Is no set time frame for the project. Already in April 1941, professor and major Johann von Reiswitz  [ sr ] was appointed to the Referat for the Protection of the Cultural Values in Serbia. He saved numerous cultural objects in Serbia, which won him praise even from some Serbian historians after the war. On 20 October 1941 the Lower Town was fenced on his orders of keeping and protecting

7161-498: Is rich in fossils, which include seashells, sea snails, and sea urchins. Small Palilulska church (church of Palilula) was built in 1835. It was destroyed in the German bombing of Belgrade on 6 April 1941. Today existing Serbian Orthodox St. Mark's Church was built in 1931–1940, in the medieval Serbo-Byzantine style , patterned after the Gračanica monastery . The Serbian Emperor Dušan

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7392-431: Is right beneath the famed "Poslednja Šansa" restaurant. It was described by Felix Kanitz , who travelled through Serbia from 1860 to 1864. He noted that in this cave he has found 150 oxcarts with food and that the entire cave could accommodate some 600 carts all together. After World War II, caves were used as “ice factory”, which supplied with ice city kafanas until the 1950s. A big boulder broke off in 1966, fell into

7623-547: Is the Belgrade Planetarium . The modern church of Sveta Petka was projected by architect Momir Korunović . Construction began in the first half of the 1930s, on the location of an old chapel. It was consecrated on 27 October 1937, the feast day of Parascheva of the Balkans , called Petka in Serbian. During the tenure of mayor Dragan Đilas (2008–13), the idea of expanding the zoo to Donji Grad, which it occupied prior to

7854-512: Is the Great Austrian gunpowder magazine , built during the Austrian occupation of Belgrade 1718–39, after they destroyed the old one during the 1717 Siege of Belgrade . They directly hit the magazine with a cannonball and the explosion which followed allowed the Austrians to capture the city. The object is located below the 7 m (23 ft) tall rampart. The magazine is today embellished with

8085-493: Is world-famous. Prominent architectural styles in the Middle Ages were Raška architectural school , Morava architectural school and Serbo-Byzantin architectural style . During the same period UNESCO protected Stećak monumental medieval tombstones were built. The Independence of Serbia in the 19th century was soon followed with Serbo-Byzantine Revival in architecture. Baroque and rococo trends in Serbian art emerged in

8316-450: The 1955 Istanbul pogrom . Close to the church, the Ottomans dug into the ground a large gunpowder magazine. During the Austrian attack under the Eugene of Savoy, the Austrian army directly hit the magazine on 17 August 1717 causing an explosion which demolished almost all structures in the Lower Town, including the church. During their massive reconstruction of the fortress, and construction of

8547-687: The Allies until 1943, when Allied support shifted to the Communist Yugoslav Partisans , a multi-ethnic force, formed in 1941, which also had a large majority of Serbs in its ranks in the first two years of war. Over the entirety of the war, the ethnic composition of the Partisans was 53 percent Serb. During the entire course of the WWII in Yugoslavia, 64.1% of all Bosnian Partisans were Serbs. Later, after

8778-595: The Apollo spaceship . Physicist and physical chemist Mihajlo Pupin is best known for his landmark theory of modern electrical filters as well as for his numerous patents, while Milutin Milanković is best known for his theory of long-term climate change caused by changes in the position of the Earth in comparison to the Sun, now known as Milankovitch cycles . Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic is

9009-607: The Balšić family , Raška, Kosovo and northern Macedonia held by the Branković family and Lazar Hrebeljanović holding today's Central Serbia and a portion of Kosovo. Hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo on the plain of Kosovo Polje , near

9240-447: The Danube , and makes one of the most beautiful natural lookouts in Belgrade. It borders the neighborhoods of Dorćol (north and north-east), Stari Grad (east) and Kosančićev Venac ( Savamala ; south). It is bounded by 3 streets: Boulevard of Vojvoda Bojović , Tadeuša Košćuška , Pariska , plus the railway along the riverside. Belgrade Fortress is the core and the oldest section of

9471-755: The First Serbian Uprising and the subsequent Siege of Belgrade in autumn of 1806, leader of the Uprising Karađorđe set his camp in Tašmajdan and conducted the liberation of Belgrade from there. He has done so, as from this location, up to the Stambol Gate of the Belgrade Fortress , there was an open field. One of the heroes of the uprising, Vasa Čarapić , was wounded at Stambol Gate and died in Karađorđe's tent in Tašmajdan. The Čupina Humka mound

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9702-796: The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. Danilo Kiš , another popular Serbian writer, was known for writing A Tomb for Boris Davidovich , as well as several acclaimed novels. Amongst contemporary Serbian writers, Milorad Pavić stands out as being the most critically acclaimed, with his novels Dictionary of the Khazars , Landscape Painted with Tea and The Inner Side of the Wind bringing him international recognition. Highly revered in Europe and in South America , Pavić

9933-707: The Palme d'Or twice at the Cannes Film Festival , numerous other prizes, and is a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia. Several Americans of Serb origin have been featured prominently in Hollywood . The most notable of these are Academy Award winners Karl Malden , Steve Tesich , Peter Bogdanovich , Tony -winning theatre director Darko Tresnjak , Emmy -winning director Marina Zenovich and actors Iván Petrovich , Brad Dexter , Lolita Davidovich , Milla Jovovich and Stana Katic . Most literature written by early Serbs

10164-561: The Republika Srpska ), where they are one of the three constituent ethnic groups . Serbs in Croatia , Montenegro and North Macedonia also have recognized collective rights, and number some 186,000, 178,000 and 39,000 people, respectively, while another estimated 96,000 live in the disputed area of Kosovo . Smaller minorities exist in Slovenia , some 36,000 people, respectively. Outside of

10395-433: The Russian Empire , where they occupied high positions in the military circles. The Serbian Revolution for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815. The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire that eventually evolved towards full independence (1835–1867). During the First Serbian Uprising , led by Duke Karađorđe Petrović , Serbia

10626-436: The Serbian Orthodox Church in the year 1219, and became known as Saint Sava after his death. Parts of modern-day Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina , and central Serbia would come under the control of Nemanjić. Over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders, from numerous smaller principalities, reaching to a unified Serbian Empire . Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against

10857-596: The Serbian Orthodox Church , was established in 1219, as an Archbishopric, and raised to the Patriarchate in 1346. It is led by the Serbian Patriarch , and consists of three archbishoprics, six metropolitanates and thirty-one eparchies , having around 10 million adherents. Followers of the church form the largest religious group in Serbia and Montenegro, and the second-largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia . The church has an archbishopric in North Macedonia and dioceses in Western Europe, North America, South America and Australia. The identity of ethnic Serbs

11088-482: The Shtokavian dialect . Serbian is an official language in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and is a recognized minority language in Montenegro (although spoken by a plurality of population), Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Older forms of literary Serbian are Church Slavonic of the Serbian recension, which is still used for ecclesiastical purposes, and Slavonic-Serbian —a mixture of Serbian, Church Slavonic and Russian used from

11319-641: The United States , Canada , Australia , South America and Southern Africa . The existence of a large diaspora is mainly a consequence of either economic or political ( coercion or expulsions) reasons. There were several waves of Serb emigration: Serbs speak Serbian , a member of the South Slavic group of languages, specifically the Southwestern group. Standard Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian , and therefore mutually intelligible with Standard Croatian , Standard Montenegrin , and Standard Bosnian (see Comparison of standard Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian ), which are all based on

11550-415: The minors ) and 21:00–24:00, for adult visitors, with strict rules on not allowing the minors to stay during the later program. DJs , including Saša Radosavljević and Raša Petrović, were located in the glass booth above the dance podium. It was renovated and expanded in the mid-1970s and included live performances from the most popular Yugoslav rock bands. Most frequent performers was Korni Grupa . "Cepelin"

11781-902: The sociology of law and sociological jurisprudence. There are several different layers of Serbian names. Serbian given names largely originate from Slavic roots : e.g., Vuk , Bojan , Goran , Zoran , Dragan , Milan , Miroslav , Vladimir , Slobodan , Dušan , Milica , Nevena , Vesna , Radmila . Other names are of Christian origin, originating from the Bible ( Hebrew , through Greek ), such as Lazar , Mihailo , Ivan , Jovan , Ilija , Marija , Ana , Ivana . Along similar lines of non-Slavic Christian names are Greek ones such as: Stefan , Nikola , Aleksandar , Filip , Đorđe , Andrej , Jelena , Katarina , Vasilije , Todor , while those of Latin origin include: Marko , Antonije , Srđan , Marina , Petar , Pavle , Natalija , Igor (through Russian). Most Serbian surnames are paternal, maternal, occupational or derived from personal traits. It

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12012-409: The "Exhibition of the new German architecture" in the German pavilion at the Belgrade Fair . In the early 1940, March began the preparatory works, as he also planned the partial remodeling of the fortress outside of the sports complex, too. He incited archaeological survey and invited German architectural historian Daniel Krencker to study the excavations. Within the scopes of the Nazi expansion of

12243-515: The "permit on monopoly" to Ahnenerbe's Secretary General Wolfram Sievers in February 1942. Austrian prehistorian Friedrich Holste  [ de ] was selected to conduct the survey, but he was killed in May 1942 near Kharkiv , Ukraine , before reaching Belgrade. He was replaced with Wilhelm Unverzagt , director of the Berlin's Museum for Prehistory and Early History . Joined by Sievers and Herbert Jankuhn , Heinrich Himmler 's close associate, Unverzagt began targeted digging, searching for

12474-412: The "political decision was made to handle this", and, if everything goes by the plan, the relocation might be finished in three years. Public and experts' backlash against the project was massive, mostly regarding hastiness, arbitration, irrelevance, legality and selected location. Public speculated that the residents of the newly built affluent K-Distrikt residential complex across the zoo are bothered by

12705-400: The 1350s, a major conflict ensued between them and the Serbs, the first major battle was the Battle of Maritsa (1371), in which the Serbs were defeated. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, the Serbian Empire broke up into several small Serbian domains. These states were ruled by feudal lords, with Zeta controlled by

12936-422: The 1739 Treaty of Belgrade stated that Austria had to demolish all the fortifications and military and civilian building it had constructed during the occupation. Many Baroque buildings were demolished within the fortress. However, Austria didn't demolish the buildings outside of the fortress walls. That way, the House at 10 Cara Dušana Street , built 1724–1727, in the neighborhood of Dorćol survived, being today

13167-420: The 18th century and are mostly represented in icon painting and portraits. Most of the Baroque authors were from the territory of Austrian Empire , such as Nikola Nešković , Teodor Kračun , Teodor Ilić Češljar , Zaharije Orfelin and Jakov Orfelin . Serbian painting showed the influence of Biedermeier and Neoclassicism as seen in works by Konstantin Danil and Pavel Đurković . Many painters followed

13398-401: The 18th century). They were usually honorary representations of important women. Estimated to be work of some local sculptor to represent one of the more important female residents of Singidunum, it was made in c.300 and was found close to the Military Museum. The represented woman is rich, in heavily draped chiton , with the himation mantle wrapped over the arm and head. In May 2020, there

13629-402: The 1970s, venues in Tašmajdan became some of the most popular hotspots of Belgrade's night life . In 1971, "Cepelin" ("Zeppelin"), the best and the most famous disco in Yugoslavia was opened. It was located at 28 Ilije Garašanina Street. Its opening was described as the "rushing off" of the Belgrade night life. At the opening night, almost all of the state and military top officials and members of

13860-614: The 19th century) Serbs also have a noteworthy classical music and works of philosophy. Notable philosophers include Svetozar Marković , Branislav Petronijević , Ksenija Atanasijević , Radomir Konstantinović , Nikola Milošević , Mihailo Marković , Justin Popović and Mihailo Đurić . During the 12th and 13th centuries, many icons, wall paintings and manuscript miniatures came into existence, as many Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches such as Hilandar , Žiča , Studenica , Sopoćani , Mileševa , Gračanica and Visoki Dečani were built. The architecture of some of these monasteries

14091-624: The 19th century, and the writings of Njegoš and Branko Radičević . The first prominent representative of Serbian literature in the 20th century was Jovan Skerlić , who wrote in pre–World War I Belgrade and helped introduce Serbian writers to literary modernism. The most important Serbian writer in the inter-war period was Miloš Crnjanski . The first Serb authors who appeared after World War II were Mihailo Lalić and Dobrica Ćosić . Other notable post-war Yugoslav authors such as Ivo Andrić and Meša Selimović were assimilated to Serbian culture, and both identified as Serbs. Andrić went on to win

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14322-425: The 21st century. Funiculars were also planned, to connect the Upper and the Lower Town. The entire Lower town was planned for demolition, with the plans including large amusement park , museums, artificial lake, zoo, and stadiums instead of the existing military barracks. Instead of everything, the railway was conducted around the foothills of the fortress, encircling it completely, and effectively cutting it off from

14553-480: The 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population (Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians, Romans, Celts). White Serbs from White Serbia came to an area near Thessaloniki and then they settled area between Dinaric Alps and Adriatic coast. The region of "Rascia" ( Raška ) was the center of Serb settlement and Serb tribes also occupied parts of modern-day Herzegovina and Montenegro . Prior to their arrival to

14784-423: The Austrians that the fortress has its values and importance, and that it can't be destroyed in a day (despite all the shelling, only 15 m (49 ft) of rampart was destroyed); or he simply did it to spite the Austrians. The shelling also disturbed the citizens of Zemun , across the Sava, which was part of Austro-Hungary at the time, and some of the grenades which missed the target hit Austro-Hungarian soil, so

15015-431: The Balkan history in general (the old, reused materials are called spolije ) as there are numerous Greek, Roman and Byzantine remains in the region. Still, citizens protested when former tombstones were used for the works on the fortress. One of the stone benches was made in such a manner, that the name of the deceased, Aksentije Jovanović, was clearly visible, together with the carved cross and skull and crossbones . On

15246-456: The Balkans, early Slavs were predominantly involved in agriculture, which is why they settled in areas which were cultivated even during Roman times. The first Serb states, Serbia (780–960) and Duklja (825–1120), were formed chiefly under the Vlastimirović and Vojislavljević dynasties respectively. The other Serb-inhabited lands, or principalities, that were mentioned included the "countries" of Paganija , Zahumlje , Travunija . With

15477-564: The Baroque Belgrade which ensued in 1720–1739, the Austrians never reconstructed the church. Furthermore, in order to level the terrain in the Lower Town, they completely demolished the church ruins. Today, it is not known for neither where the church was exactly located, nor what its exterior looked like. The only surviving part of the church are remains of the marble lintel with the incomplete ktetor 's inscription by despot Stefan Lazarević: В Христа Бога благоверни деспот Стеф...Београдске обнових место сие и призидах певнице и...придржеш... It

15708-400: The Battle of Kosovo, the fortress, like most parts of the Serbian state, was conquered by the Turks and remained (with short periods of the Austrian and Serbian occupation), under the rule of the Ottoman Empire until the year 1867, when the Turks withdrew from Belgrade and Serbia. During the short period of Austrian rule (1718–1738), the fortress was largely rebuilt and modernized. It witnessed

15939-487: The Belgrade Fortress. In April 2019 it was announced that the park will stretch for 4.7 km (2.9 mi), covering an area of 47 ha (120 acres). In August 2021, city expanded the project to 66 ha (160 acres), but only 22.8 ha (56 acres) will actually make the green corridor, while the rest will be privately owned residential buildings, commercial venues and sports fields. This caused negative comments from experts. New design would actually push people away from

16170-430: The Berlin stadium, to visit Belgrade and design objects for the games. March came to Belgrade in May 1938 and suggested the Fortress' Lower Town as the location for the Olympic complex. Without architectural design competition or bidding, Stojadinović's government accepted his idea and gave him carte blanche regarding the design. The project was finished in 1939 and the architectural model was exhibited in October 1940 at

16401-408: The Edvard Rusjan Park. The fortress and the park were damaged during World War I . Serbian army had no proper weaponry to fight the Austro-Hungarian gunboats , so they freely fired at the city from the Sava. The city was especially damaged during the heavy bombardment in 1914–1915. Diplomat and author Radoje Janković  [ sr ] described it in 1914: "Kalemegdan is "trimmed", the trees in

16632-410: The Germans completely destroyed the foundations of the Austrian artillery barrack built in the 1723-1736 period. On 29 February 1952 the city adopted the "Decision on protection, adaptation and maintenance of the people's park of Kalemegdan" which set the borders of the protected areas as the rivers of Danube and Sava and the streets of Tadeuša Košćuškog and Pariska. In 1962, Belgrade's Institute for

16863-811: The Great Serbian Migration in the 17th century and two Serbian Uprisings in the 19th century, during the Turkish Period. During the Austrian occupation of northern Serbia 1717–39 , several hospitals were established in Belgrade. The City hospital of Saint John was built within the fortress walls, but its exact location is not known. Emperor Charles VI signed the Belgrade City Statute in 1724 ("Proclamation on organizing German Belgrade"), which mentions city hospital, city pharmacy, medics and midwives. The German municipality had low incomes so it had to ask

17094-714: The Habsburg army took Belgrade and entered the territory of present-day Central Serbia . Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden called Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III Čarnojević to raise arms against the Turks; the Patriarch accepted and returned to the liberated Peć. As Serbia fell under Habsburg control, Leopold I granted Arsenije nobility and the title of duke. In early November, Arsenije III met with Habsburg commander-in-chief, General Enea Silvio Piccolomini in Prizren ; after this talk he sent

17325-638: The Hungarians, the building of the Metropolitan's Seat was built next to it. On the very day the Ottomans conquered Belgrade, 29 August 1521, they turned the church into the mosque. The cross was removed from the top of the roof, the icons were painted over and the church bells were remelted. Already tomorrow, Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent observed the main Islamic Friday prayer, the jumu'ah namaz , in

17556-691: The Kalemegdan Park. After the Third Hatt-i sharif of 1833, issued by the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II , number of Turks remaining to live in Belgrade was limited to 6,000, including women and children, and a strong Turkish garrison. Only Turks were allowed to live in the Upper Town, while both Turks and Serbs were allowed to live in the Lower Town. The gates were guarded by the Turkish sentries, except when prince Miloš

17787-580: The Most Holy Mother of God, which also served as the cathedral church , was built sometimes in the 12th century, during the restored Byzantine rule. The church contained a miraculous icon of the Mother of God. It is recorded that the Byzantine princess and Serbian queen Simonida worshiped the icon in 1315 when she visited Belgrade. The structure itself was a large, three-nave church with a large dome. As Belgrade

18018-572: The Museum of Natural History. The caves under Tašmajdan are 6 to 8 million years old. Remains of the Roman aqueduct are found in the caves. Military arsenals and warehouses have been housed for a long time in the catacombs left after the excavations of stone blocks, and these catacombs have been also used as shelters and first-aid places for wounded soldiers. During the Interbellum , the Šonda family, who owned

18249-475: The Ottoman Empire in 1686 during the Great Turkish War , Serbs from Pannonian Plain (present-day Hungary , Slavonia region in present-day Croatia , Bačka and Banat regions in present-day Serbia ) joined the troops of the Habsburg monarchy as separate units known as Serbian Militia . Serbs, as volunteers, massively joined the Austrian side. Many Serbs were recruited during the devshirme system,

18480-522: The Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity , instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs ( Croats and Bosniaks ). The tradition of slava , the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, and is usually regarded their most significant and most solemn feast day . The origin of the ethnonym is unclear. The most prominent theory considers it of Proto-Slavic origin. Hanna Popowska-Taborska argued native Slavic provenance of

18711-436: The Ottoman Empire. Christian villagers brought urban vocabulary from their travels to Islamic culture cities. Many Turkish loanwords are no longer considered loanwords. There is considerable usage of French words as well, especially in military related terms. One Serbian word that is used in many of the world's languages is " vampire " ( vampir ). Literature , icon painting, music, dance and medieval architecture are

18942-566: The Ottomans left in April 1867, was to rebuild the Ružica Church . After the Ottoman withdrawal, newspapers in Austro-Hungary continuously published stories, backed by the military experts, that the fortress became strategically obsolete and that, having no value of any kind, Austrian army could destroy it in 24 hours. In the autumn of 1867 citizens were awaken by the heavy artillery fire. Ruling prince Mihailo Obrenović sent two batteries to

19173-451: The Pobednik monument". Serbian Environmental Agency drafted a study on the area and submitted it to the government in 2017. In February 2021, the government joined two previously protected area and expanded the protected area to 14.07 ha (34.8 acres), establishing a natural monument of Kalemegdan Sandbank. The area is a unique geological feature in Serbia, as the remains of the sea ridge of

19404-625: The Reich Ministry of the Interior Wilhelm Stuckart sent memo, asking for Belgrade to be transformed into the "Reich's Fortress". It was to be connected military with the copper and gold Bor mines and the Danube's Iron Gates gorge, to create the Banat area protection zone. This zone was intended to become Eugenia, or Prinz Eugen's District, where Danube Swabians were to settle and expand. The digging lasted through 1942 and 1943, when it

19635-597: The Sava river, which wasn't universally accepted among the architects and urbanists of the day. During his visit to the 1936 Berlin Olympics , Yugoslav prime minister Milan Stojadinović was fascinated by the objects built for the games, especially by the grandiose Olympic Stadium . He instigated the Yugoslav Olympic Committee to nominate Belgrade as the host of the 1948 Olympics and invited Werner March , architect of

19866-481: The Sava, connecting Singidunum with Taurunum. Rectangular castrum covered what is today the Upper Town and the Kalemegdan Park . The castrum had tall walls, built from the white Tašmajdan limestone and spread over the area of 16 ha (40 acres) to 20 ha (49 acres), being shaped as an irregular rectangle (approximately 570 by 330 m (1,870 by 1,080 ft)). The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I rebuilt

20097-698: The Serb . Composer and musicologist Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is considered one of the most important founders of modern Serbian music. Other noted classical composers include Kornelije Stanković , Stanislav Binički , Petar Konjović , Miloje Milojević , Stevan Hristić , Josif Marinković , Luigi von Kunits , Ljubica Marić and Vasilije Mokranjac . Well-known musicians include Zdravko Čolić , Arsen Dedić , Predrag Gojković-Cune , Toma Zdravković , Milan Mladenović , Radomir Mihailović Točak , Bora Đorđević , Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga , Đorđe Balašević , Ceca and others. Serbia has produced many talented filmmakers,

20328-587: The Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja II was crowned by Pope Honorius III of the Roman Catholic Church. However in 1219, Nemanja II was crowned once again by the newly independent Serbian Orthodox Church. This shift solidified the Christian Orthodox religion in Serbia. With the arrival of the Ottoman Empire , some Serbs converted to Islam . This was particularly, but not wholly, the case in Bosnia . Since

20559-495: The Serbs (1896). Painter Uroš Predić was also prominent in the field of Serbian art, painting the Kosovo Maiden and Happy Brothers . While Jovanović and Predić were both realist painters, artist Nadežda Petrović was an impressionist and fauvist and Sava Šumanović was an accomplished Cubist . Painters Petar Lubarda , Vladimir Veličković and Ljubomir Popović were famous for their surrealism . Marina Abramović

20790-529: The Tašmajdan stadium. Section 2 is below the stadium, while the third section includes caves (see Underworld section below). The ridge extends all the way to Kalemegdan , ending with cliffs above the mouth of the Sava into the Danube. It consists of the Badenian limestone layers on top of the Lower Cretaceous Urgonian Limestone . This type of limestone became known as lajtovac . It

21021-511: The World War II, resurfaced, but the experts were against it. The urban plan for the fortress from 1965 already projected the complete relocation of the zoo outside of the fortress, to some suburban locations, which in later plans included Veliko Blato , Stepin Lug or Jelezovac . The expansion of the zoo would cut the pedestrian communication between the Danube's and Sava's parts of the fortress, which

21252-459: The artifacts from the Roman period which were discovered in or around the fortress: tombstone stelae , monuments, altars and the Sarcophagus of Jonah , which originates from the 3rd century AD. It was arranged and opened for visitors in 2014. One of the Roman marble monuments, exhibited since 2012, was the so-called Herkulanka (after Herculaneum , where first such sculptures were discovered in

21483-416: The artistic forms for which Serbia is best known. Traditional Serbian visual art (specifically frescoes , and to some extent icons ), as well as ecclesiastical architecture, are highly reflective of Byzantine traditions, with some Mediterranean and Western influence. Many Serbian monuments and works of art have been lost forever due to various wars and peacetime marginalizations. In modern times (since

21714-456: The artistic trends set in the 19th century Romanticism, notably Đura Jakšić , Stevan Todorović , Katarina Ivanović and Novak Radonić . Since the mid-1800s, Serbia has produced a number of famous painters who are representative of general European artistic trends. One of the most prominent of these was Paja Jovanović , who painted massive canvases on historical themes such as the Migration of

21945-399: The banks of the Danube was the main urban center with a new built Orthodox cathedral. The upper town with its castle was defending the city from inland. Becoming a major trade and cultural center, Belgrade became a significant immigration town, with immigrants settling from other parts of Serbia, Dubrovnik, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Italy and Venetia. Population blossomed, so the lower city of

22176-503: The battle were in Tašmajdan. Austrian army, headed by Eugene of Savoy , defeated the Ottomans, under the command of Hacı Halil Pasha . The Ottomans suffered heavy losses and had to hand over Belgrade to the Austrians, which kept it under 1739. The locality of Čupina [H]umka itself was named after captain Milija Lešjanin Čupa. He gained prominence in the 1717 fighting but was executed on the future Čupina Humka location in 1725. During

22407-680: The biggest casualty rate in World War I . Following the victory in WWI, Serbs subsequently formed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes with other South Slavic peoples . The country was later renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , and was led from 1921 to 1934 by King Alexander I of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty . During World War II , Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers in April 1941. The country

22638-459: The caves were the headquarters of Alexander Löhr , head of the German Air forces in Serbia, and colloquially called "Löhr’s cave"., which is accessed after passing the former quarry. Headquarters were massive, with large metal doors, truck entrances and fully prepared to support 1,000 soldiers for six months without making any surface contact. It could survive chemical and biological attacks, had

22869-586: The cemetery itself. Part of the cemetery on the side of the Takovska, belonged to the Catholics and the Lutherans. The hill in the direction of modern Seismology Institute was allocated for the graves of soldiers, drowning victims, suicides and non-Christians in general, except for the Jews, who had their own cemetery. Newspapers described the cemetery and the surrounding area as the "shelter for rascals and danglers, who tear

23100-444: The center of the cave and a little girl fell through the hole and got killed. When sports center was built, rubble and remaining bones from the old cemetery were thrown into the caves, with deposits being some 15 m (49 ft) high today. Old doctors used to say that from these piles they took bones for the anatomy classes. In general, the cave, known as the "Saltpeter cave", appears at least half of its real size being buried under

23331-560: The chocolate factory, founded the "ice factory" in Tašmajdan's underground, below the modern building of Radio Television Serbia. The ice was advertised as the "ice from the tap water ", as opposed to the naturally occurring ice from the Danube . It was a major hiding place for the local population during the 1914–1915 bombing of Belgrade by the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I and German bombing in April 1941. During World War II ,

23562-536: The city's municipal hall at the crossroads of the boulevard and Takovska, but the Main Post Office Palace was built instead. The post office itself was to be built on the lot next to this one, but it turned out it was a church land. So the post office was built on the neighboring lot, though completely following the design from the plan, while the Church of Saint Mark was later built on the church parcel planned for

23793-463: The complex is the location of the Law Faculty and Hotel Metropol. The park has undergone a renovation in 2006. Concrete walkways have been placed (6,000 square metres), and new stairways lighting have been installed. In the centre of the park a playing area for children has been constructed. Near the children's area there is a fountain which has also been renovated and 30 new benches have been placed in

24024-566: The confluence of the Sava into the Danube, where the fortress still stands today. Celts also lived in small, open and fortified settlements around the fort, called oppida . Since it is not known for sure where the Celtic fort was; some historians suggest that it was rather close to the necropolises in Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. Celtic settlements belonged to the La Tène culture . The original military camp

24255-453: The cultural monument, parts of the Lower Town, and the slope which separates it from the Upper Town are protected as a natural monument . The area was included in the first protection of the fortress in 1946. In 1968 two areas were separately protected: "Maritime Neogenic Ridge - profile under the Pobednik monument in Kalemegdan" and "Geological-geographical layers at Kalemegdan locality, at

24486-414: The cultural monuments protection expanded the zone to several blocks across the streets. Detailed plan on Kalemegdan from 1965 provided that, despite the immense archaeological value that lies beneath the fortress ground, basically only what was discovered by that time can be explored, restored or protected. That caused the problem both for the expansion of the park but even more for the further exploration of

24717-443: The decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it and replaced it as the most powerful Serbian state. Prince Stefan Nemanja (r. 1169–96) conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo , Duklja and Zachlumia . The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century. Nemanja's older son, Stefan Nemanjić , became Serbia's first recognized king, while his younger son, Rastko, founded

24948-487: The deposits and geologists dubbed it "the weirdest part of Belgrade". It branches into the direction of the Faculty of Law, but this corridor is completely buried and was never explored. All caves are cold and wet. Serbs Overseas The Serbs ( Serbian Cyrillic : Срби , romanized :  Srbi , pronounced [sr̩̂bi] ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share

25179-653: The diplomatic corps, were present. The caviar was served from the Josip Broz Tito 's plates. At the peak of its popularity, "Cepelin" had 10,000 members. It had three dance floors, state of the art sound system and the interior was patterned after the famed London club "Lavalbon": floors covered with the black artificial leather, dominant brass ornaments, luxurious séparées, plush covered armchairs, twenty different types of mirrors, one thousand colored lightbulbs, and strobe lights above each dance floor. It also had blacklights , projector which emitted psychedelic music videos on

25410-519: The east, south and west, respectively. The neighborhood of Tašmajdan forms a local community ( mesna zajednica ), sub-municipal administrative unit within Palilula. It had a population of 4,887 in 1981, 4,373 in 1991, 4,018 in 2002, and 3,073 in 2011. Almost two millennia ago, Romans were extracting stone from the quarry located in the area for the building of Belgrade's predecessor, Singidunum and for many surviving sarcophagi from that period. It

25641-423: The edges of the park). Still, it was decided that nothing will be demolished, that nothing can be built in the park, that existing edifices will be kept "as long as they stand" and that they can't be enlarged and annexed, either in width or height. While Poslednja Šansa was described as a small object, while Madera was described by the urbanists as the " boil " in the park. In October 2019, under suspicious conditions,

25872-411: The empire. The medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan , who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included Macedonia , northern Greece, Montenegro, and almost all of modern Albania . When Dušan died, his son Stephen Uroš V became Emperor. With Turkish invaders beginning their conquest of the Balkans in

26103-465: The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Jasenovac camp was notorious for the barbaric practices which occurred in it. Sisak and Jastrebarsko concentration camp were specially formed for children . Serbs in the NDH suffered among the highest casualty rates in Europe during the World War II, while the NDH was one of the most lethal regimes in the 20th century. Diana Budisavljević ,

26334-415: The entire location ( Turkish taş , stone and maydan , mine), though it was also used for the extraction of saltpeter by Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac , which was used in the gunpowder production. Due to the proximity to the town, basically all stone buildings and walls in Belgrade from Ottoman period were built from the stone extracted here. Some historians believe that this is the actual place where

26565-458: The etherealness of Pavle, who was deemed among Serbs as the "walking saint". He also added that he was influenced by the photos of patriarch commuting by the trams – it showed his mundane approach to life, using the public transportation, and he indeed often travelled to this spot when he was visiting the Saint Mark's Church. However, the sculpture of the patriarch in the sitting position, but without

26796-518: The ethnonym, claiming that the theory advances a conclusion that the ethnonym has a meaning of a family kinship or alliance, which was also argued by a number of other scholars. According to a triple analysis – autosomal , mitochondrial and paternal — of available data from large-scale studies on Balto-Slavs and their proximal populations, the whole genome SNP data situates Serbs with Montenegrins in between two Balkan clusters. Y-DNA results show that haplogroups I2a and R1a together stand for

27027-432: The extreme south-west corner of the Palilula municipality, bordering the municipalities of Vračar on the south and Stari Grad on the west. In a narrower sense, Tašmajdan occupies the area bounded by the streets of Takovska on the north-west, Ilije Garašanina on the northeast, Beogradska on the southeast and Bulevar kralja Aleksandra . The majority of the area is occupied by the park itself (central, east, west) while

27258-566: The fall of Bulgaria to the Ottomans), icons of the Twelve apostles (six on both sides), and the reliquary containing a hand. Despot added the choirs and the monastery complex around it. The church became the seat of the Metropolitan of Belgrade , this time of the Serbian Orthodox Church , and he was proclaimed the " exarch of all Serbian lands". Over two decades later, when Belgrade was returned to

27489-754: The fall of Italy in September 1943, other ethnic groups joined Partisans in larger numbers. At the end of the war, the Partisans, led by Josip Broz Tito , emerged victorious. Yugoslavia subsequently became a Communist state. Tito died in 1980, and his death saw Yugoslavia plunge into economic turmoil. Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 1990s, and a series of wars resulted in the creation of five new states. The heaviest fighting occurred in Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , whose Serb populations rebelled and declared independence. The war in Croatia ended in August 1995, with

27720-531: The field of science and technology. There are more Serbian scientists and scholars working abroad than in the Balkans. At least 7000 Serbs who have a PhD are working abroad. Serbian American mechanical and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla is regarded as one of the most important inventors in history. He is renowned for his contributions to the discipline of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th century. Seven Serbian American engineers and scientists known as Serbo 7 took part in construction of

27951-562: The fighting that ensued, Serbia was invaded by Austria-Hungary . Despite being outnumbered, the Serbs defeated the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer , which marked the first Allied victory over the Central Powers in the war. Further victories at the battles of Kolubara and the Drina meant that Serbia remained unconquered as the war entered its second year. However, an invasion by

28182-506: The first prototypes of an analog computer. Roger Joseph Boscovich was a Ragusan physicist, astronomer, mathematician and polymath of paternal Serbian origin (although there are competing claims for Bošković's nationality) who produced a precursor of atomic theory and made many contributions to astronomy and also discovered the absence of atmosphere on the Moon . Jovan Cvijić founded modern geography in Serbia and made pioneering research on

28413-419: The flowers, steal monuments, defile graves with slurs and in other ways, so that cemetery is an abomination of Belgrade where there is no any piety for the deceased". In the western section of the cemetery the Catholics and Protestants were buried, Serbs on the central promenade, while area around modern Seisomology Institute was left for the soldiers, suicides and drowned ones. In 1835 a small Palilulska church

28644-553: The focus of the Germans to the archaeological exploration of the fortress during the war. The fortress suffered further damage during World War II. Military Museum was damaged in the April 1941 bombing, and subsequently looted. It was immediately placed under the authority of the German Military Museums Chief, repaired, and reopened for public in July 1941. After almost two millennia of continuous sieges, battles and conquests,

28875-603: The forces of Germany , Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria overwhelmed the Serbs in the winter of 1915, and a subsequent withdrawal by the Serbian Army through Albania took the lives of more than 240,000 Serbs. Serb forces spent the remaining years of the war fighting on the Salonika front in Greece, before liberating Serbia from Austro-Hungarian occupation in November 1918. Serbia suffered

29106-777: The former Yugoslavia, but within their historical and migratory areal, Serbs are officially recognized as national minority in Albania , Romania (18,000), Hungary (7,000), as well as in the Czech Republic and Slovakia . There are over 2 million Serbs in diaspora throughout the world; some sources put that figure as high as 4 million. There is a large diaspora in Western Europe, particularly in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , France , Italy , Sweden and United Kingdom . Outside Europe, there are significant Serb communities in

29337-535: The former church. When Suleiman resettled Belgrade Christians to Constantinople, they took with them the icon of the Mother of God and relics of Saint Petka and Saint Theophano. Part of them were settled in the Istanbul 's neighborhood today known as Belgradkapı , or Belgrade Gate, where they built the Church of Theotokos , and presumably kept the icons and relics. Interiors and all the relics in this church were destroyed during

29568-527: The fort. The city-fortress was later conquered by the Romans, was known as Singidunum and became a part of "the military frontier", where the Roman Empire bordered "barbarian Central Europe". Singidunum was defended by the Roman legion IV Flaviae, which built a fortified camp on a hill at the confluence of the Danube and the Sava rivers. In the period between 378 AD and 441 the Roman camp was repeatedly destroyed in

29799-411: The fortress (where modern Monument of Gratitude to France is) and ordered them to fire at the fortress wall where the old wooden bridge was located. A barrage fire of 300 salvos from De Bange cannons shelled the fortress during the entire day. It remained unclear why the prince ordered this: he decided to demolish the fortress completely, as such stories spread among the citizens; he wanted to show to

30030-560: The fortress around 535. In the following centuries the fortress suffered continuous destruction under the Avar sieges. The Slavs ( Serbs ) and Avars had their "state union" north of Belgrade with the Serbs and other Slavic tribes finally settling in the Belgrade area as well as the regions west and south of Belgrade in the beginning of the 7th century. The name Belgrade (or Beograd in Serbian), which, not just in Serbian but in most Slavic languages, means

30261-493: The fortress is today known as the Belgrade Fortress. The present name of Kalemegdan Park derives from two Turkish words, kale (fortress) and meydan (field), literally meaning "fortress field". After World War II, before skiing facilities were built on the mountains further from Belgrade, the slopes of Kalemegdan (so as of Banovo Brdo , Košutnjak and Avala ), were used by Belgraders for skiing. Also, immediately after

30492-425: The fortress to Serbia in the 11th century as a wedding gift (his son married the Serbian princess Jelena), but it remained effectively part of Hungary, except for the period 1282–1319. After the Serbian state collapsed following the Battle of Kosovo , Belgrade was chosen as the capital of Despot Stefan Lazarević in 1402. Major work was done to the ramparts which were encircling a big thriving town. The lower town at

30723-511: The fortress' Lower Town, parts of the Pobednik 's pedestal), for the partial paving of the Ruzveltova Street and for the construction of the Tašmajdan pathway between the churches of Saint Mark and Holy Trinity. Belgrade chronicler Zoran Nikolić labeled the fortress path, made of the tombstones turned with the inscribed sides down, Path of the "Former" Deceased. This was the usual practice in

30954-404: The fortress' underground. Best example is the Lower Town where neither the park fully developed nor the remains of the former port, which was located there, are visible. The area of the fortress is 66 ha (160 acres). By 2000, only 5% of that area was archaeologically surveyed, and by 2010 that number rose to 12% or 8 ha (20 acres). Based on the findings so far, it is estimated that during

31185-452: The fortress, initially hiding and denying the disease, but the fortress Ottomans were reluctant to start military skirmish in this condition. The besieging was successful as the plague never spread to Belgrade. Four outer city gates, with the adjoining walls and ramparts were demolished from 1862 (Sava, Vidin and Varoš gates) to 1866 ( Stambol Gate ). After the Ottomans fully evacuated the inner fortress in 1867, Serbian troops took over, but as

31416-541: The fortress, which was the busiest part of the city, had to be significantly expanded. Belgrade remained in Serbian hands for almost a century. After the Despot's death in 1427, it had to be returned to Hungary. An attempt by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1456 to conquer the fortress was prevented by Janos Hunyadi ( Siege of Belgrade ), saving Hungary from Ottoman dominion for 70 years. In 1521, 132 years after

31647-519: The fortress. He also began archaeological digging. However, the right to dig in the fortress was asked from both the pseudo-scientific organization Ahnenerbe and the Main Work Group Southeast of the Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce . Pressured financially and politically, von Reiswitz felt he must side with one of them, so he arranged the participation of Ahnenerbe with organization's head Walther Wüst in October 1941. Based on this, collaborationist Minister for Education and Religion Velibor Jonić issued

31878-410: The gates of King, Sava, Dark and Karađorđe, the Great Ravelin , etc. During the 2017 reconstruction of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović's Fountain , next to Defterdar's Gate in the Gornji Grad, several archaeological discoveries were made. Remnants of the Roman castrum, two urns from the Bronze Age and remains of the Neolithic object were discovered. The findings were conserved and reburied. Belgrade Fortress

32109-409: The geography of the Balkan Peninsula , Dinaric race and karst . Josif Pančić made contributions to botany and discovered a number of new floral species including the Serbian spruce . Biologist and physiologist Ivan Đaja performed research in the role of the adrenal glands in thermoregulation , as well as pioneering work in hypothermia . Valtazar Bogišić is considered to be a pioneer in

32340-435: The horse race track, a football match was held in 1915, before the German-Austrian attack, between the gunners from the Allied nations (Russia, Great Britain and France) and the Serbian team made of the players from the teams BSK , Velika Srbija and Soko . BSK had its own court nearby, on the location of the modern Belgrade University Library . During the Interbellum , King Alexander Karađorđević had an idea of building

32571-411: The imperial government sent an official diplomatic note to Serbia, protesting the shelling and reminding the prince he is only a "caretaker" of the fortress. After the takeover of the fortress, Serbian forces kept finding parts of the gallows, chains, gibbets and impalement stakes in the dungeons, used previously by the Ottomans to torture the prisoners. Official reports by the Serbian army hold claims by

32802-401: The inner fort of the city. The fort was surrounded by the deep trench. It was previously known that an inner, bascule bridge existed within the fortress, which survived until the 17th century, but its exact location and type of construction were unknown. The explored sections after 2000 include the access downhill path to the Small Staircase in Kalemegdan Park , the bastion on the Sava slope,

33033-417: The invasions by the Goths and the Huns . Legend says that Attila 's grave lies at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube (under the fortress). In 476 Belgrade again became the border between the empires: the Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire ( Byzantine Empire ), and the Slav - Avar State in the north. The Celtic fortification was a primitive one, located on top of Terazije ridge, above

33264-420: The lack of funding and many remaining German mines. After 1945 the entrances into the caves were closed and new generations completely lost any knowledge of it. It was only in the 2000s that they were rediscovered and today are slowly turning into one of Belgrade tourist attractions. Occasionally, people illegally dig through the walls of the caves, hoping to find some long lost treasure. Third large natural cave

33495-449: The lagums themselves. It hosted the "Ovo je moj grad" festival). Tašmajdan was bombed again during the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia when several objects in Tašmajdan park were badly hit: The rubble was removed but the ruined section of the building was left as it is. A small memorial was placed in the park, called "Why?" ( Zašto ?). City administration proposed architectural-urban complex, even an underground garage, but family members of

33726-399: The leaseholder of Poslednja Šansa since 1991 was expelled and Predrag Ranković Peconi, controversial business figure who has been acquiring hospitality venues in Belgrade in the past two decades, was announced as the new tenant. Sports Center, which owns the venue, claims the name will be preserved and the statue of poet Vasko Popa will be erected in the restaurant's yard. In June 2010, it

33957-539: The lowest section and the Danube is Kula Nebojša ("Impregnable, Fearless, or Daredevil Tower"), which has been turned into a museum of the Greek revolutionary Rigas Feraios , who was strangled by the Turks in this tower and his corpse thrown into the Danube. Donji Grad, like the neighboring Savamala, frequently suffers from flooding, and Kula Nebojša suffered extensive damage during the major floods of 2006 . The Orthodox churches of Ružica (former Austrian gun depot) and Sveta Petka are also located in this area, as

34188-409: The majority of the makeup, with more than 50 percent. According to several recent studies Serbia's people are among the tallest in the world, with an average male height of 1.82 metres (6 ft 0 in). Early Slavs , especially Sclaveni and Antae , including the White Serbs , invaded and settled Southeastern Europe in the 6th and 7th century. Up until the late 560s, their activity

34419-423: The material proof to confirm the German idea of transforming Belgrade into Prinzeugenstadt . He specifically searched for the monumental gate at the entry into the Lower Town, built during the Nicolas Doxat's rebuilding of Belgrade under the orders of Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 1720s and 1730s. The gate was named after the Holy Roman Emperor from that period, Charlies VI . Already on 15 July 1941, secretary in

34650-415: The megaprojects, and augmentation of the German historic role and importance in this region, Krencker praised March's project as the "artistic dream, which represents rare and major German cultural act which will contribute to the old German glory of Belgrade". Just few days after German scientists left the fortress, Germany attacked Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941 . The Olympic complex was pushed aside, shifting

34881-430: The mid-18th century to the first decades of the 19th century. Serbian has active digraphia , using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić , who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. Serbian Latin was created by Ljudevit Gaj and published in 1830. His alphabet mapped completely on Serbian Cyrillic which had been standardized by Vuk Karadžić

35112-411: The most famous of whom are Slavko Vorkapić , Dušan Makavejev , Živojin Pavlović , Slobodan Šijan , Goran Marković , Goran Paskaljević , Emir Kusturica , Želimir Žilnik , Srđan Dragojević , Srdan Golubović and Mila Turajlić . Žilnik and Stefan Arsenijević won the Golden Bear award at Berlinale , while Mila Turajlić won the main award at IDFA . Kusturica became world-renowned after winning

35343-490: The neighborhood of Banjica from 1910. A field in the Donji Grad was adapted for planes in January 1911. It was situated along the bank of the Sava river, from the old Turkish bath (modern Planetarium) to the mouth of the Sava into the Danube. One of the flight pioneers, Edvard Rusjan , died in an airplane crash after taking off from this field and being hit by the gust of košava on 9 January 1911. Remains of Rusjan's plane were originally exhibited in Donji Grad and his funeral

35574-458: The northern and extreme western sections are urbanised. In a wider sense, it occupies the additional area to the north (between Ilije Garašanina and 27. marta streets) and east (between Beogradska and Karnedžijeva streets) The latter is also known as Little Tašmajdan . Tašmajdan is bordered by the neighborhoods of Palilula on the northeast, while it extends into the neighborhoods of Vukov Spomenik , Krunski Venac and Nikola Pašić Square on

35805-435: The officers, for the public horsemen and for “anyone else who wanted to participate”. But for decades, the city had no regular horse track. Originally, the races were organized in the, at that time, outskirts of Belgrade: eastern Tašmajdan from 1863 (modern Vukov Spomenik neighborhood, close to the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law and Metropol Palace Hotel Belgrade area), and from the 1890s in Marinkova Bara . After

36036-415: The oldest house in Belgrade. The 1837 plague outbreak almost brought to the war between the ruling prince Miloš Obrenović and the Ottomans in the fortress. The outbreak began in Ottoman Empire in 1836, which had no medical protocols of any kind at the time, and prince Miloš blocked the borders immediately imposing the mandatory quarantine. A group of plague infected Ottoman nizams on the way to Belgrade

36267-414: The oldest stage in the history of the Pannonian Sea. Those include sediments originating from the middle, Badenian stage of the Miocene period. The cliffs are thought to have a historical importance also - the Slavic name of Belgrade, white town, according to one of the theories, originates from the exposed white layers of Miocene limestone on top of which the city was built. The Church of the Dormition of

36498-594: The park are battered, the ancient ramparts of Singidunum crushed, all being hit by the heavy, modern artillery, from precisely measured distance and even more precisely unmeasured hatred". Heavy fighting occurred in the Lower Town in 1915, when Serbian forces, led by major Dragutin Gavrilović , persistently but ultimately unsuccessfully, fought the invading Austro-Hungarian army. Before full occupation, Austro-Hungarian army temporarily entered Belgrade, from 3 to 14 December 1914. Already on 4 December they erected gallows in fortress' Upper Town, and on several other locations around

36729-406: The park as well. Marking 80th anniversary of his death, a monument to the Russian émigré architect Nikolay Krasnov was dedicated in the park. Krasnov designed some of the most representative public buildings in Belgrade during the Interbellum. A stone monument, representing Krasnov sitting at the drawing desk, is work of Nebojša Savović Nes. The monument, work of Russian sculptor Sergey Nikitin,

36960-418: The park's main alley. The sculpture, sculptured by Miloš Komad, was selected in March 2022. With the surrounding area, Tašmajdan forms the cultural-historical complex Old Belgrade ( Stari Beograd ), while the park itself is in the zone of the protected natural area of Miocene Sandbank-Tašmajdan ( Miocenski sprud-Tašmajdan ). The protected geological natural monument was established in 1968, and after

37191-488: The park. The outdoor swimming pool was built in 1959–1961. Its dimensions are 50 x 20 meters; its depth varies between 2.2 and 5.0 meters; its capacity is 3,500 m³ and 2,500 seats. Next to the big one, there is a small swimming pool for children. Altogether, there is enough room for 4,000 people. It is equipped for international day-and-night competitions in swimming, water polo, water diving, etc. and also used for certain cultural venues or as an outdoor cinema during summer. It

37422-583: The paths, removal of sick trees and planting of new ones, construction of two children playgrounds and a special area for the pensioners . Two public toilets and park infrastructure were renovated, the video surveillance system was installed and the statue of the writer Milorad Pavić was erected. The star-shaped fountain, patterned after a similar one in Barcelona, was closed in 2020, and fully renovated by September 2021. As of 2013, Tašmajdan Park had 1,100 individual trees from 61 different species and covered and area of 11 ha (27 acres). In November 2017

37653-412: The peoples of Southeast Europe . They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion. The Serbian language (a standardized version of Serbo-Croatian ) is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the plurality in Montenegro. The identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions. In the 19th century, the Serbian national identity

37884-400: The plague spread quickly. There are reports of the dead lying in the streets for days as there was no one to bury them. The Austrian garrison was decimated and the corpses of the soldiers who died of plague were burned with their personal properties. After Austria lost the Austro-Turkish War of 1737–1739 , northern Serbia, including Belgrade, was returned to the Turks. One of the provisions of

38115-462: The post office. The plan also included the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs Building in Tašmajdan itself, but it wasn't built either. A tennis court was located on Tašmajdan during World War II. As basketball was played on the clay at the time, local guys began playing basketball there. In 1942–44, a group of 4 players was formed: Bora Stanković (1925), Aleksandar Nikolić (1924–2000), Radomir Šaper (1925–98) and Nebojša Popović (1923–2001). After

38346-399: The project got lost in the bureaucracy. Urbanists drafted a detailed regulatory plan for the park in 2001. They concluded that both restaurants (Madera and Poslednja Šansa) and a group of houses across the Law Faculty, shouldn't be in the park area. The only edifice which is completely surrounded by the park, and which should be preserved, was the Seismology Institute (churches are located at

38577-409: The project never materialized. Family members of the victims opposed to the stipulation in the competition that memorial text will blame only the NATO and not the executives of the television (then general manager Dragoljub Milanović served 10 years for not relocating the workers in time). Officially, the problem is due to the ownership issues, as some lots are owned by the city, and some by the state, so

38808-669: The real estate prices. In 2022, new city administration headed by mayor Aleksandar Šapić included in the city's urban plan relocation of the Belgrade Zoo out of the fortress. In February 2023, Šapić announced relocation to the Ada Safari section of Ada Ciganlija island. City manager, Miroslav Čučković, explained the relocation: "Since the foundation of the new city administration...we made decisions which are connected to our dedication to spaces to which Belgraders were coming close to in all of these previous years. Those are spaces for which we think should have some new type of content and possibility to directly invest into them". Šapić added that

39039-447: The recent Yugoslav Wars (1991–1999). According to most recent census conducted in Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro, there are nearly 7 million Serbs living in their native homelands, within the geographical borders of former Yugoslavia . In Serbia itself, around 5.5 million people identify themselves as ethnic Serbs, and constitute about 83% of the population. More than a million live in Bosnia and Herzegovina (predominantly in

39270-406: The relocation, city administration was left with the large number of tombstones. Some of the stones and bricks were sold, earning nice income to the city, but still, many remained. Administration decided to reuse them for construction works around the city. The stones were used for the 1927-1928 works on the Belgrade Fortress (pathways around the Big Staircase in Kalemegdan Park which connected it to

39501-404: The remains from the Mileševa monastery in the golden casket and later scattered the ashes over Tašmajdan. When an international congress of Byzantinologists was held in 1927 in Belgrade, some of them gathered with Marko Kuzmanović, a protopope of the Saint Mark Church. As Kuzmanović wrote, based on previous researches, they all took 60–70 steps from the church altar to the east and ended up on

39732-435: The remains of the Serbian Saint Sava were burned at the stake on 29 April 1595 by the Ottoman grand vizier Sinan Pasha (area known as Little Vračar) and not the Vračar hill itself or Crveni Krst , another alternative site. Little Vračar ( Serbian : Мали Врачар ) occupied the area along the Tsarigrad Road , starting from the modern crossroad of the Takovska Street and Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra. Sinan Pasha transported

39963-418: The removal of the cemetery came in 1871 from Mihailo Jovanović, Metropolitan of Belgrade. As the city was in the financial crisis at the time and was not able to buy such a large lot for the new cemetery, mayor of Belgrade Vladan Đorđević donated a patch of his land to the city for the purpose of establishing a new cemetery. City government officially obtained land in 1882 and gradual restriction of burials

40194-402: The revision and reconfirmation in 2021, today covers 2.46 hectares (6.1 acres). It is placed in the category III of protection. Exposed cliffs from the Miocene period show layers from the period of existence of the ancient Pannonian Sea . The exposed sandbank in the north and northeast section of the park, consists of three sections. The most recognizable section is seen from the western stands of

40425-406: The river, to walk along the present boulevard which encircles the fortress. The fortress itself will end up being additionally degraded and devalued, so architects and archaeologists suggested surveys, explorations and conservation of the fortress' foothills instead. The park project was described as a smokescreen, with the actual purpose of selling the riverbanks to the private investors and elevating

40656-408: The rule of despot Stefan Lazarević in the first half of the 15th century, when Belgrade became capital of Serbia, the city within the fortress had 5,600 to 12,000 inhabitants. Archaeological examinations were done on the following locations: In September 1969 major discoveries were announced. The appearance of the Lower Town was almost completely changed after the excavation. The medieval cobblestone

40887-414: The second half of the 19th century, a small number of Serbs converted to Protestantism, while historically some Serbs were Roman Catholics (especially in Bay of Kotor and Dalmatia ; e.g. Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik ). In a personal correspondence with author and critic dr. Milan Šević in 1932, Marko Murat complained that Orthodox Serbs are not acknowledging the Roman Catholic Serb community on

41118-459: The second half of the 19th century, after Prince Miloš ordered for gunpowder stores to be removed outside of the city due to the safety reasons. Already in 1880, city newspapers were reporting on the bad condition of the Tašmajdan cemetery. The burial lots were purchased in the Saint Mark's Church, which became quite wealthy, but the cemetery was neglected. Also, as the land was owned by the church, city administration had no interest into arranging

41349-404: The small mound , called Čupina Humka from where both the Sava and the Danube rivers could be seen. Then they told him that this is the exact spot where the remains of Saint Sava were burned. On that spot today is the Poslednja Šansa restaurant. Historians who claim that Tašmajdan is the right location include Jovan Rajić and Sreten Popović. During the 1717 siege of Belgrade , parts of

41580-448: The smell, or that some more lucrative structures might be built instead of the zoo on such exceptional location, since "direct investments" were given as one of the reasons. Šapić then retreated a bit, stating this is just a "political idea" which is not hastily made, that only now analyses and surveys will be done to check the viability, that nothing will be built instead of the zoo but the fortress will be conserved instead, and that there

41811-428: The soldiers of the "ghoulish, headless and limbless wraiths" and other abominations roaming the fortress. The army issued an order that, despite there was no enemy anymore, all guards must keep watch "at least in pairs". Mihailo's successor, prince and later king Milan Obrenović , ordered the leveling of the terrain in the eastern sections of the fortress and planting of the greenery and trees, which in time developed into

42042-416: The state for help and beneficence. The hospital is mentioned in the 1728 Census. It was a hospital already in 1719, later becoming the residence of Thomas Berger, the head of the hospital. After his death, his daughter continued to reside in the building. The hospital ( Stattspital ) was moved to another location, into the newly constructed building in 1724. A small church was built next to it. This new hospital

42273-408: The state was still only autonomous (full independence was achieved in 1878), Serbia was only to "manage it" and was not acknowledged as the proprietor of the fortress by the neighboring Austria-Hungary . First squad of Serbian soldiers, under the command of colonel Svetozar Garašanin, ceremonially replaced the Ottoman guardsmen on 18 April 1867. First action by the Serbian authorities, just 5 days after

42504-405: The strongest ever in Serbia, instigated by the geologist Jovan Žujović , the Geology institute of the Great School began collecting data on earthquakes. After the Great School was transformed into the University of Belgrade in 1905, the university established the Seismology Institute in 1906 and proposed the location of Tašmajdan. First seismographs were installed in 1909 and the first earthquake

42735-414: The successful Second Serbian Uprising when Serbian prince Miloš Obrenović ordered the building of a new town around the old Kalemegdan fortress ( Savamala neighborhood), he also ordered that the old Serbian cemetery from Varoš Kapija (near Zeleni Venac ) be moved to Tašmajdan, which was done in 1828. New cemetery was intended as "international" contrary to the existing practice, so beside Serbs, it

42966-602: The town of Priština . Both Lazar and Sultan Murad I were killed in the fighting. The battle most likely ended in a stalemate, and afterwards Serbia enjoyed a short period of prosperity under despot Stefan Lazarević and resisted falling to the Turks until 1459. The Serbs had taken an active part in the wars fought in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire, and also organized uprisings; because of this, they suffered persecution and their territories were devastated – major migrations from Serbia into Habsburg territory ensued. After allied Christian forces had captured Buda from

43197-410: The town, for hanging civilians. In 1928, building company "Šumadija" proposed the construction of the cable car , which they called "air tram". The project was planned to connect Zemun to Belgrade Fortress, via Great War Island. The interval of the cabins was set at 2 minutes and the entire route was supposed to last 5 minutes. The project was never realized, but the idea of the cable car was revived in

43428-417: The turn of the 2nd century AD as since the early 100s, Legio IV Flavia Felix became permanently stationed in Singidunum. At first, the fortress was set up as earthen bulwarks and wooden palisades, but soon after, it was fortified with stone as the first stone fort in Belgrade's history. The remains can be seen today near the northeastern corner of the acropolis. The legion also constructed a pontoon bridge over

43659-428: The upper section of fortress, turned into a park, with beautiful promenades and the statue of "The Victor" (Serbian: Pobednik ), the so-called "Roman well" (Serbian: Rimski bunar ), actually built by the Austrians, the Popular Observatory (since 1963) in the Despot Stefan Tower , the türbe (tomb) of Damad Ali Pasha , Mehmed Paša Sokolović's Fountain , tennis and basketball courts, etc. Also adapted for visits

43890-471: The urban area of Belgrade. For centuries, the city population was concentrated only within the walls of the fortress, and thus the history of the fortress, until most recent times, reflects the history of Belgrade itself (see: Timeline of Belgrade history ). The first mention of the city is when it was founded in the 3rd century BC as " Singidunum " by the Celtic tribe of Scordisci , who had defeated Thracian and Dacian tribes that previously lived in and around

44121-420: The vicinity of the cemetery in Tašmajdan, there were many shops of funeral equipment and stonecutters. Small shops in time evolved into larger facilities, mostly selling old and cheap goods for the poorer citizens. Mostly owned by the Jewish merchants, these second hand shops formed the predecessor of modern flea markets, stretching along the street to the location of modern Law Faculty. Eastern part of Tašmajdan

44352-423: The victims rejected it. City conducted a design competition in 2013, with 40 applicants, selecting a design by the "Neoarhitekte" bureau (Snežana Vesnić, Vladimir Milenković, Tatjana Stratimirović). The project included conservation of the remaining ruins, and creation of one continuous "discretely symbolic" and "suggestively poetic" memorial complex with the existing "Why?" memorial. Though never officially abandoned,

44583-409: The walls which were mostly black. The rooms were stuffy and the colors of the lights changed depending on the DJ who was working that night. Parts of the walls and furniture were in red, with colorful flower prints. The club was located next to the Fifth Gymnasium and sponsored by the Tašmajdan Sports and Recreation Center. It was opened by Saša Nikolić and had working hours of 16:00–21:00 (matinée, for

44814-478: The war, some parts of the fortress were closed for public. In some parts the new, Yugoslav People's Army was stationed, while others were closed because of the ammunition left behind. In 2018 it was announced that the entire riverbanks section from the Branko's Bridge on the Sava, to the Pančevo Bridge on the Danube, will be transformed into the linear park , patterned after the High Line park in New York City and Zaryadye Park in Moscow . It would encircle

45045-449: The war, the group became founding fathers of the "Yugoslav school of basketball". Later, Stanković became secretary general of FIBA , Nikolić was a coach, labeled the "Father of Yugoslav basketball" while Šaper and Popović turned to administrative positions. All four are FIBA Hall of Fame inductees. After the war, new Communist authorities planned to build a massive building of Arts Museum in Tašmajdan. An architectural design competition

45276-421: Was a break in the magazine's lapidarium , and the Herkulanka was vandalized and broken. Ta%C5%A1majdan Tašmajdan Park ( Serbian : Ташмајдански парк / Tašmajdanski park ), colloquially Tašmajdan ( Serbian Cyrillic : Ташмајдан ) or simply just Taš (Serbian Cyrillic: Таш, literally : Tash), is a public park and the surrounding urban neighborhood of Belgrade , the capital of Serbia . It

45507-429: Was a location of one of the first horse tracks in Belgrade. First modern horse races in Belgrade, based on those held in Western Europe, were organized in 1842, by the former British consul-general George Lloyd Hodges . During the reign of prince Mihailo Obrenović , horse races became an annual event since 1862, with prince himself being one of the participants and creator of the rules. He organized three annual races: for

45738-446: Was about religious themes. The founders of the Serbian Orthodox Church wrote various gospels , psalters , menologies , hagiographies , along with essays and sermons. At the end of the 12th century, two of the most important pieces of Serbian medieval literature were created– the Miroslav Gospels and the Vukan Gospels , which combined handwritten Biblical texts with painted initials and small pictures. The Crnojević printing house

45969-406: Was accidentally discovered in 1967. Larger remains of the Metropolitan's Seat were discovered in 1977. They include arched open walls of the former porch. In February 2021, city announced it will finance the archaeological surveys on the locations where the church may have been built, in hope that at least the foundations of the church are preserved being buried underground. Gornji Grad (Горњи Град),

46200-508: Was adopted as part of the Serbian coat-of-arms after First Serbian Uprising in 1804, it was meant to show the incorporation of Serbia into the western empire. The gate was damaged already during the heavy Allied Easter bombing in April 1944 . It is not known whether Ahnenerbe was searching for something specifically or just wanted to falsify the route by which Aryans reached Germany from the Middle East. Some surviving documents show that they discovered remains of Celtic and Gothic settlements,

46431-412: Was already cut in 1949 but was restored in 2009 with the reconstruction and opening of the Sava Gate. Also, it would prevent the exploration of Donji Grad, which is still largely unexplored and leave the Gate of Charles VI, a masterpiece of Balthasar Neumann, within the zoo itself. As of 2017, the zoo was not relocated but the idea of expansion was dropped, too. Apart from the protection of the fortress as

46662-408: Was also the burial place for Hungarians, Germans, Greeks, Italians and French. In the mid-19th century, near the modern crossroads with the Takovska Street (named Ratarska then), was where city ended at the time, and the fields began. The Batal mosque was located there, giving its name to the developing neighborhood. Kafana Valjevo was located where the Czech embassy is today. At the crossroad

46893-415: Was announced that the park will be completely reconstructed as a gift of Azerbaijan to Belgrade. The park has been reopened in June 2011 after throughout renovation, including the installation of a coloured fountain broadcasting classical music. As a sign of gratitude Belgrade has erected a monument to the former president of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev in the park. Reconstruction included the rebuilding of

47124-445: Was away from then downtown, but already in the 1850s, the area surrounding the cemetery was completely urbanized. Also, as the city expanded, cemetery became inadequate. One the one side, it became too small for the function of the city's main graveyard. On the other, once projected to be on the outskirts of the city, as Belgrade grew, Tašmajdan practically became downtown and close to the Royal court . The first official initiative for

47355-441: Was built. Some of the most important Serbs from this period were buried in the churchyard , including politicians Toma Vučić-Perišić and Stojan Simić and Stevan Knićanin , philologist Đura Daničić , botanist and first president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Josif Pančić and philanthropist Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac . Belgraders protested because new cemetery, built on an inhabited fields, gardens and vineyards

47586-399: Was closed in 1980. In the 1980s, "Taš" replaced "Cepelin". The club had the so-called " Chivas booths", which introduced whiskey as a symbol of prestige in the Belgrade's night life. Popular venues in the 1990s included "Bus" (in the park, close to the stadium, located in a small edifice which extended from the real derelict bus) and "Pećina" (situated at the entry into the lagums , and in

47817-475: Was conducted until it was fully closed 1901. It was moved to the newly built Belgrade New Cemetery , several blocks to the east, beginning from 1886 and the moving was finally completed in 1927 with park being planted instead of the old cemetery. However, many bodies from older periods were not moved and remained below the park. As many weren't relocated because they had no surviving family members. or their families weren't interested or solvent enough to pay for

48048-469: Was first announced for September 2016. The planned location was the Manjež park, but this plan never went through. The monument is ultimately placed in the Little Tašmajdan, across the building of the Archive of Serbia, which was designed by Krasnov. Geologically, the rocks on Tašmajdan are 13,5 million years old, and the ridge was probably a low island during the existence of the inner Pannonian Sea . Fossils from this period have been found and are kept at

48279-475: Was generally neglected in the second half of the 14th century, the church also deteriorated a lot. When the Hungarians handed over the city to Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević, he began massive reconstruction of the fortress, including the church, which was restored and expanded. Chronicler Constantine the Philosopher described the church, including the famed icon of the Mother of God, relics of Saint Petka and Saint Empress Theophano (relocated to Belgrade after

48510-442: Was halted at the border in Aleksinac and placed in the quarantine, but majority of them fled and continued to Belgrade, spreading the plague on its path ( Ražanj , Paraćin , Jagodina , Ćićevac ) and ultimately reaching the fortress in the spring of 1837. The prince ordered full and strong siege of the fortress by the Serbian guardsmen, cutting the fortress off completely for six weeks. The pasha complained and threatened from inside

48741-399: Was historically largely based on Orthodox Christianity and on the Serbian Church in particular. The conversion of the South Slavs from paganism to Christianity took place before the Great Schism of 1054 . During the time of the Great Schism, Serbian rulers including Mihailo Vojislavljević and Stefan Nemanja were Roman Catholics, with the former being a vassal of the Papal States . In 1217,

48972-413: Was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began. Led by Miloš Obrenović , it ended in 1815 with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities. Likewise, Serbia was one of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish feudalism . Serbs are among the first ethnic groups in Europe to form

49203-429: Was inhabited, the fortress formed one of the quarters in the administrative division of Belgrade. It was called Grad ("city") for administrative purposes and continued to be translated in the foreign languages as "fortress". According to the censuses, it had a population of 2,219 in 1890, 2,281 in 1895, 2,777 in 1900, 2,396 in 1905 and 454 in 1910. Kalemegdan was the location of the second airport in Serbia, after one in

49434-416: Was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. Three elements, together with the legacy of the Nemanjić dynasty , were crucial in forging identity and preservation during foreign domination: the Serbian Orthodox Church , the Serbian language , and the Kosovo Myth . When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from

49665-421: Was not recognized internationally until the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Serbia fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, which forced the Ottomans out of the Balkans and doubled the territory and population of the Kingdom of Serbia . In 1914, a young Bosnian Serb student named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , which directly contributed to the outbreak of World War I . In

49896-455: Was one of the largest recorded in Belgrade. Surviving rib of this airplane became the first exhibit in the predecessor of the modern Aeronautical Museum Belgrade . Today, the area is used by the parachutists and paragliders and as the location of the air shows for sports and ultra-light aviation. In June 2021 it was announced that the memorial bench dedicated to Rusjan will be placed below the fortress and that surrounding green area will be named

50127-484: Was one of the venues for the 2006 Men's European Water Polo Championship and one of the venues of the 2009 Summer Universiade in July 2009, the event for which the pool was renovated. The indoor swimming-pool was built in 1964–1968 and open for public on 17 February 1969. Its dimensions are 50 x 20 meters and depth is between 2.2 and 5.4 meters; its capacity is 3,700 m³. The swimming pool is surrounded with four diving boards – 1, 3, 5 and 10 meters high and 2,000 seats. It

50358-405: Was organized in 1948, which was won by Nikola Dobrović , but then it was decided his design is "formalist, excessively massive, and fortress-like". Miladin Prljević was given the task of reducing the project, so he downsized it from five huge buildings to two, one to exhibit paintings and sculptures, and the other for medieval collection. This was still deemed too expensive and it was decided to form

50589-415: Was probably occupied by the soldiers from the Legio VIII Augusta from 46 AD to 69. Early Singidunum reached its height with the arrival of Legio IV Flavia Felix which was transferred to the city in 86 AD and remained there until the mid 5th century. The presence of Legio IV prompted the construction of a square-shaped castrum (fort), which occupied Upper Town of today's fortress. Construction began at

50820-470: Was quite small, with only 2 rooms, a kitchen and a basement, so it way not be the same city hospital. Lazaret or a quarantine hospital is not mentioned in the documents, but it is safe to presume that it had to be formed during the viral outbreaks, as was usual in the time. The procedure in case of outbreaks was probably analog to the existing procedure in Buda , the capital of Hungary . Today unidentified disease ravaged Belgrade in 1730. Viral epidemic killed

51051-421: Was raiding, crossing from the Danube, though with limited Slavic settlement mainly through Byzantine foederati colonies. The Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today central Serbia was an important geo-strategical province, through which the Via Militaris crossed. This area was frequently intruded by barbarians in

51282-437: Was recorded in June 1910. Seismology Institute was officially part of the University of Belgrade until 1995, but is still located in Tašmajdan. Little Tašmajdan ( Serbian : Мали Ташмајдан / Mali Tašmajdan ) is the eastern extension of the park, across Beogradska street which forms its western border, while Ilije Garašanina and Karnedžijeva streets form its northern and eastern borders, respectively. The southern section of

51513-405: Was recorded that the Romans used this stone for the construction of the city's aqueduct in 69 AD. The castrum of Singidunum had tall walls, built from the white Tašmajdan limestone. After the Slavs settled in the area, because of the white stones of the fortress they named the city Beligrad , or "white city". The quarry remained operational during Ottoman period, thus giving the name to

51744-416: Was regularly shaped, with the granite slabs posted in the horizontal rhythm, interrupted with the thin squares of red Italian granite. The design is patterned after the façade of the Michelangelo 's temples on Capitoline Hill in Rome . The left side has "disheveled" pattern, made of differently sized and combined granite slabs. The plateau was finished in February 2018. In June 2018 it was announced that

51975-450: Was stopped after the Allied bombing of Belgrade began. By 1943, the Germans completely rebuilt the Gate of Charles VI, in greatest detail. Reconstruction included the cartouche with the initials of the emperor on the capital from the outer side, and the supposed coat-of-arms of never-existing Tribalia , on the inner side (boar with an arrow pierced through the head). As the motif of this coat-of-arms appeared in medieval Serbian seals and

52206-433: Was subsequently divided into many pieces, with Serbia being directly occupied by the Germans. Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) were targeted for extermination as part of genocide by the Croatian ultra-nationalist, fascist Ustaše . The Ustaše view of national and racial identity, as well as the theory of Serbs as an inferior race , was under the influence of Croatian nationalists and intellectuals from

52437-553: Was the first printing house in Southeastern Europe and is considered an important part of Serbian cultural history. Notable Baroque -influenced authors were Andrija Zmajević , Gavril Stefanović Venclović , Jovan Rajić , Zaharije Orfelin and others. Dositej Obradović was the most prominent figure of the Age of Enlightenment , while the most notable Classicist writer was Jovan Sterija Popović , although his works also contained elements of Romanticism. Modern Serbian literature began with Vuk Karadžić 's collections of folk songs in

52668-462: Was the house of the Savić family, used as a medical facility and across it was the Marić pharmacy. Next to the pharmacy was a curvy road which was leading to the Tašmajdan cemetery. The cemetery wasn't divided into parcels, but had numerous narrow, crossed paths, grown into bushes. This was also the location of Fišeklija , a series of gunpowder stores, where gunpowder was sold in fišeks , cone -shaped bags made from waxed paper. The stores developed in

52899-416: Was uncovered, so as the old ramparts and gates. In the process, the Lower Town was made more accessible to the visitors, including the new stairway and reconstruction of the part of the medieval rampart. In the Upper Town, four large, massive pillars from the period of despot Stefan Lazarević (15th century) were discovered. They are remains of the medieval bridge which was located in front of the main entry into

53130-405: Was used for public reading of decrees and laws. It was here that on 30 November 1830 the Sultan's hattisherif (decree) was publicly announced, declaring autonomy (de facto, internal independence) of Serbia and granting hereditary ruling rights to the Obrenović dynasty. Ruling prince Miloš Obrenović ordered the relocation of the cemetery to Tašmajdan in 1828 and in 1832, when he decided to build

53361-424: Was visiting the Lower Town, when they were replaced with Serbian policemen. There were two administrators, one Turkish and one Serbian. The Turkish administrator had jurisdiction only over the Turkish population, but in the Turkish-Serbian matters, Serbian judge was presiding. In the mid-1830s there were 3,000 houses in the Lower Town of which 2,500 were owned by the Turks who rented them to the Serbs. Later, while it

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