Church of Saint Sava
While Serbian rebels fought to reclaim Serbia from Ottoman occupation, Islamic Ottoman leadership had the Sarcophagus and relics of Eastern Orthodox Saint Sava publicly incinerated to intimidate Serbians. It didn’t work.
300 years later, where the holy remains were burnt, Serbians began work on the Church of Saint Sava, which would become one of the largest in the world. The construction is currently in progress, but this iconic church is a Belgrade must-see! Be sure to find the stairs to see the completed basement where services are currently held.
Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress is located at the intersection of the River Sava and the Danube. It serves as a sort of community park with bands, benches, ice cream, and more. There are also a labyrinth of tunnels underneath the fortress that run underneath the city - many are still unexplored! This was a beautiful place to sit in the evening and watch the sunset over the Danube and the Sava.
War History Museum
Located inside of the Belgrade Fortress is the War History Museum, which records the long and tumultuous history of the Balkan region. With each war came reformed regions, new borders, and fresh conflict. Even in 2018, people throughout the region were born in Yugoslavia but now occupy Serbia, despite never moving from their home. This is a very strange concept to me coming from America, and it was interesting to see how the struggle for territory has resulted in a war torn region.
Nikola Tesla Museum
Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American, did far more for the advancement of science than I realized. He revolutionized AC electric supply systems, mechanical generators, and wireless technology. He suffered from OCD, but it didn’t slow him down from pursuing free wireless technology access for everybody, which could have led to free public WiFi.
Unfortunately a suspicious car accident ended his life before he was able to complete this project, and a suspicious fire burned down his lab destroying all of his designs. Although the museum is small, I learned a lot about this Serbian genius!
Avala
The Avala TV tower, located on the Avala mountain, is one of the tallest structures in the Balkans. During the NATO bombing of 1999, the tower was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt and reopened to the public in 2010.
Today, you can ride to the top of the Avala and see an incredible panoramic view of Belgrade. In addition, there is a middle floor with a small café - by far the best place to enjoy a coffee in the city.
Monument of the Unknown Hero
This World War I memorial is located within walking distance from Avala. Similar to other tombs of unknown soliders around the world, this monument commemorates victims of the Balkan Wars and WWI.
The four female statues supporting the monument represent the different peoples of Yugoslavia.
On the a couple parts of the monument you can see smashed granite, caused by American/NATO bombing in 1999.
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