I have one confession to make. Before going to Serbia I had quite contradictory feelings about this country and I didn’t expect that Serbia would amaze me so much. Please, don’t sentence me to death. I am still young and foolish. I will try to convince you that now I have changed my opinion. I will start my story from the very beginning, from the day when I arrived at the city which has arisen from its ashes 38 times - Belgrade.
Belgrade is a city of contrasts. On the streets you
can see a lot of wonderful buildings in European style. It looks like they were
built with a great love and scrupulosity: fretwork, balconies, columns,
balustrades… At the same time most of them are not in the perfect state as the paint
has crumbled or cracked, but it doesn’t make it any worse. On the contrary,
adds some charm to the city. Sometimes modern life makes itself felt as the
city has a lot of graffiti paintings. From my point of view, they look really
great, and seems like those old experienced buildings are not against of this
personal intervention. Old Belgrade looks to be in a harmony with those
innovations. Perhaps, it doesn’t want to be completely restored and doesn’t
mind this shade of modern life.
Didn’t I prove my feelings to this city? No? Okay,
then let me tell you more about the main attractions. What about Knez Mihailova
Street? Or Prince Michael Street. It’s a picturesque street in the center of
the city. The street was named in honor of Mihailo Obrenović III and was built
in 1870s. It’s said that here used to be a center of a Roman city called
Singidunum. Moreover, during Ottoman times this area was built up by private
houses, gardens, fountains and mosques. Nowadays it’s the main pedestrian and
shopping zones of the city.
The Serbs belong to the Orthodox Church, so that’s why
there are so many Orthodox churches and more than 10 monasteries. Church of
Saint Sava is one of the largest Orthodox temples in the world. It is the
biggest church in the Balkans and the second Orthodox Cathedral in the world
after the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Church of Saint Sava is the
place where according to the chronicles, the Turks burned the Holy relics of
St. Sava – the first Archbishop of Serbia and patron of the country. The
Cathedral was built in the Byzantine style in 1894-1986.
If you still have any doubts about my love to Belgrade, right now I will dispel all of them. Serbia has the only hotel in the world (outside the former Soviet Union) which is called “Moscow”. Please, read all this paragraph with a strong Russian accent, as this fact really warms my cold Russian soul. By the way, “Moscow” is one of the oldest and prestigious hotels in Belgrade.
Belgrade has not only a piece of Russia, but also a piece of France. Skadarlija, a vintage street in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad (Old town), is considered to be the main bohemian quarter of Belgrade, similar to Paris’ Montmartre. Here you can find a lot of shops, cafes, clubs and so on.
Botanical garden “Jevremovac” is a garden of
biological faculty of University of Belgrade. There are more than 250 different
plants and greenhouse with tropical and subtropical plants will soon turn 120
years. Once it was one of the biggest and luxurious greenhouses in the central
Europe.
To be honest, I have another one confession to make:
the garden isn’t that wonderful and needs some care. So if you don’t have much
time in Belgrade, you can easily skip this landmark and visit something else.
Here, in Kalemegdan Park, I finish my Belgrade story.
I hope now you like this wonderful city as much as I do. However, I hope to see
you next time, out of Belgrade. I will tell you about a lovely Serbian town and
a mineral spa resort called Vrnjačka Bajia. And now I will leave you to enjoy
this beautiful sunset.
2 коммент.
I was in Serbia too! But I saw the city in another option of view, I was shown the city by my friend. PS. Amazing photos
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Thank you very much! It would be interesting to know what you think about the city :)
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