Special Sub-Topic: Belgrade - Crossroads of Rivers and History Click Here To Play: Belgrade - Crossroads of Rivers and History

The first urban settlement in the place of today’s Belgrade was built by Celts in the 3rd century BC. When Romans conquered it, what did they call it?

Singidunum. Celts built the city in the 3rd century BC. Romans conquered it in the 1st century BC and called it Singidunum. Sirmium was a close-by Roman town, today’s Sremska Mitrovica. Viminatium was also a Roman town near what is today Kostolac, in eastern Serbia. Lutetium is an element, name derived from Roman Lutetia, today Paris. It is noteworthy that some 15 km east of Belgrade, near village of Vinca (pronounced Vincha), in the 6th millennium BC was built the first urban settlement in Europe. This is earlier than the first urban settlements in Mesopotamia. It was the main settlement of Neolithic Vinca culture, discovered by Miloje Vasic in 1908. The site was excavated in period 1918-1934 and is today on public display.

You are standing on the fortress rising above the junction of two big European rivers, admiring a superb view. Name these two rivers!

Danube and Sava. Sava is the longest river of former Yugoslavia, with length 945 km, and discharge at Belgrade of 1,722 m3/h. Danube has length of 2,850 km and discharge at Belgrade 6,500 m3/h. Above their confluence rises Kalemegdan fortress. Rivers are forming a river island called Veliko ratno ostrvo (Great War Island), which is an important resting place for birds migrating in autumn from North Europe to Africa. This island is built by the water-suspended erosion material brought by river Sava, and left there due to the decelerated speed of river at the confluence. Morava and Drina are other major Serbian rivers. Morava confluences Danube east of Belgrade and Drina confluences Sava west of Belgrade.

What is the name of the fortress above the river confluence in Belgrade?

Kalemegdan. Kalemegdan (in Turkish: Kale – fort, megdan – battle) fort was built, attacked, defended, destroyed and re-built many times through history. It was a border between Rome and barbaric tribes, between Western and Eastern Roman empires, Serbia and Hungary, Ottoman and Habsburg Empires. Serbs have settled the area around 630 AD, and ruled it in periods 1284 – 1521 and from 1867 on. Today Kalemegdan is a very popular park used for recreation and sports. Tourists can visit its long walls, catacombs, interesting military museum (with parts of F-117 stealth fighter shot down 1999), restaurants, cafes and interesting zoo. Ada Kale is an island on river Danube, downstream from Belgrade, today underwater because of construction of dam Djerdap. Fort Petrovaradin is the fort above city of Novi Sad, north of Belgrade. Gardos is a tower in Zemun, town across Veliko ratno ostrvo from Kalemegdan, today a part of Belgrade. When Belgrade was a border town between Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire, Gardos Tower in Zemun and the Bell Tower on Kalemegdan were looking one upon the other as enemy symbols.

The best known football team of former Yugoslavia, World Champion for 1991, Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) plays on its stadium that could originally receive up to 110,000 spectators. What is its popular name?

Marakana&Maracana. Popular Marakana was built in 1963. The stadium was then able to receive 110,000 people (standing). It got its nickname from famous Brazilian stadium. Today, it has seating capacity of 51,000. Famous is the local football rivalry between Crvena Zvezda and Parizan, also from Belgrade.

This temple, which can be seen from entire Belgrade, is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church building in the World. What is it its name?

Saint Sava. Saint Sava founded the Serbian Orthodox Church in XIII century. In order to suppress Serbian unrest, Turkish pasha Sinan burned his remains on the place of today’s church. It was year 1595. The church, in commemoration of this event, was built from 1895 till 2004. Its height is 70 m. It has 12 m high gold-plated cross on top of it, and also 49 computer-controlled bells. The church was built entirely by donations .

After a long walk through the city, you can go to dine in one of well-known 19th century-style restaurant, in the famous bohemian quarter of Skadarlija. Which restaurant is NOT in Skadarlija?

Upitnik (Question mark). Skadarlija is an area around Skadarska Street in Belgrade centre. In the second half of 19th century, it was a bohemian quarter, where artist, mostly poets, writers and painters gathered. A fair amount of contemporary Serbian poetry was composed in these cafes. Today it is famous for its restaurants, like Dva bela goluba (Two white doves), Tri sesira (Three hats), Dva jelena (Two deers), Ima dana (There are days). Restaurant '?' (Question Mark) is also a famous restaurant, one of the oldest in Belgrade, but near the Kalemegdan fort.

Belgraders like to meet each other 'by the horse'. Where is it?

Monument to Prince Michael. Monument to Prince Michael (Knez Mihailo) is in the city centre, close to Skadarlija. Prince Michael is mounted on a horse, hence the name of the location. It is a popular meeting point for Belgraders. From there, you can walk through the main pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova, and afterwards go to other evening destinations. The monument is made by the Italian sculptor Enrico Pazzi in 1882. The monument honors the complete liberation of Serbia from Ottoman rule.

This TV tower was once unofficial symbol of Belgrade. It was on the top of which volcanic mountain in the city outskirts?

Avala. Avala is 511 m high volcanic mountain on south-eastern outskirts of Belgrade (city centre lies at altitude around 200 m). Avala got its name from the word 'havala', meaning 'nice view' in Arabic language. On the top of the mountain there was a 205 m high TV tower that was destroyed by NATO bombing campaign in 1999. TV tower is to be rebuilt. Close by is a Monument to the Unknown Hero (WWI memorial built by Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic), Jajinci Memorial Park which is dedicated to tens of thousands of victims of nearby Nazi Banjica extermination camp. Fruska Gora and Kosmaj are also nearby mountains, while Zvezdara is a hill inside the city proper.

Today a commercial palace, unofficial and symbolic centre of the city, named after once popular restaurant. It is called what?

Palata Albanija (Palace Albania). The Palace Albania was the first high-rise building in Belgrade. It was built in the eve of WWII, in 1940. It got its name from popular restaurant called Albania, whose name honored the tragic episode of Serbian army retreat through Albanian mountains during WWI. It is interesting that restaurant’s devoted customers opposed the bringing the restaurant down, so they demonstratively sat and ate while the restaurant was being dismantles from the roof down. On the day of liberation, on 20th of October 1944, Yugoslav Partisans and the Red Army mounted on Albania a red flag, the sign the city has been liberated from Nazis.

Summer is hot in Belgrade and people mostly go to cool themselves by swimming on what river island?

Ada Ciganlija. Ada Ciganlija, aka the Belgrade's Sea, is an island on river Sava, and a very popular sport and leisure resort. It lies four kilometers upstream from Kalemegdan. Eight square kilometers of island is used primarily as a recreation zone. Tens of thousand of bathers visit it daily during summer. Prince Milos Obrenovic proclaimed Ada Ciganlija a national public good, back in 1821. Other are also river islands in the city, but in the Danube. You can also swim in Danube on Lido beach of Veliko ratno ostrvo.

It is autumn, and you are preparing for a long walk through the city. You will more likely take umbrella with you then a wind-jacket?

False. Belgrade has a pleasant climate for the most part of year, apart from some windy days in winter. It has a moderate, dry continental climate. Average annual temperature is 11.7 degrees C, with annual rainfall 670 mm. Koshava is the southeast-eastern, catabatic (downfalling) wind, that brings clear and dry weather. It mostly blows in autumn and winter, continuously in intervals of several days. The average speed of Koshava is 25-43 km/h but it can peek over 100 km/h. Albeit somewhat unpleasant because of chill factor, Koshava cleans well the air of Belgrade, which is quite polluted during heating season.

Walking around the city you’ll notice many partly empty quarters or strangely missing buildings. It is mostly the consequence of what?

Bombardment. Belgrade suffered heavy civilian and infrastructure losses during turbulent 20th Century. During this period, it was heavily bombarded and attacked 6 times. Austrian-Hungarian troops under general Oscar Potiorek bombed Belgrade on July 29, 1914. German troops under field marshal Mackensen attacked and took the city, October 6-9, 1915, in fierce fighting that destroyed much of the city. On April 6-7 1941, German Luftwaffe bombed the city, killing an estimated 17, 500 people, almost all civilians. The city was bombed again by the Allies on April 16-17 1944, killing about 1,600 people. On October 20, 1944, the city was liberated by Yugoslav partisans and the Red Army. This time city was not shelled but took by street-to-street fighting, to minimize civilian and infrastructure costs. The NATO bombing in March-June 1999 caused considerable damage to the city, especially government and administrative buildings, hospitals, Hotel Jugoslavija, Avala TV tower, Chinese embassy, Radio Television of Serbia, where 16 employees died.

This modern hall can receive 23,000 spectators. Name it!

Belgrade Arena. The Belgrade Arena is one of the biggest sport halls in Europe. It has 37,500 square meters. It is universal hall for different indoor sports, like basketball, volleyball, handball and athletics. It also serves for social and cultural programs. Opened in 2004, it is located in part of the city called Novi Beograd (New Belgrade, across Sava River). It recently hosted Phil Collins, Andrea Bocelli, David Copperfield, Eurobasket 2005, Democratic and Radical Party conventions. Other mentioned halls are older sport halls in Belgrade.

Twelve Tomahawk missiles were fired at this tall building, it miraculously survived these attacks. What is it called?

Usce Tower. The Usce Tower is the 105 meters tall steel and glass building. Today it is a business tower, but it was erected in 1964 for the headquarters of Communist Party of Yugoslavia. It was very robust: its construction withstood the direct hit of twelve cruise missiles during NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. It is interesting that during the 1970s, Nikola Kavaya planned to perform a terrorist attack on the building by kidnapping a Jumbo Jet and hitting it into the Tower, so to kill the president Josip Broz Tito. The plan was however busted and Nikola Kavaya was arrested and sentenced to prison. Other are also tall buildings in Belgrade.

Like many other southern European and Mediterranean cities, Belgrade is very lively at night, but it has one unique feature that distinguishes it from the others. What is it?

barges (splavovi). Like many other southern European and Mediterranean cities, streets in the wider centre of the city are often full of people, even late in the night, and many clubs and cafes are open until dawn. But the unique feature of Belgrade are its very popular barges ('splavovi') on the shores of the Sava and Danube. They offer a wide variety of music, from traditional, folk and so called turbo-folk, to gipsy, jazz and Latino. There are no many cabarets in the city.

Belgrade is the city of art festivals. Which one is NOT the Belgrade's festival?

Gucha Brass Band Festival. Belgrade is the city of art festivals. The well-known yearly festivals are BITEF (Belgrade Theatre Festival, festival of modern theatre), FEST (Belgrade Film Festival), BELEF (Belgrade Summer Festival), BEMUS (Belgrade Music Festival) and Guitar Art Festival (contemporary guitar festival). Very popular is the Belgrade Book Fair, one of the biggest book fairs in the world. Popular is also Belgrade Beer Festival. Gucha Brass Band Festival is a popular festival of folklore brass-bands in Western Serbian town of Gucha.

What was the approximate population of Belgrade in 2006?

1,500.000 - 2,000.000. Belgrade has 1,576.124 inhabitants (2002 census). After the WWII it had less than 100.000 residents. After the war, city has seen the long period of very fast urban and population development. The left banks of river Sava, once swamps, were meliorated and the new part of town is built there, called New Belgrade. It is now the fourth biggest city in south-eastern Europe, after Istanbul (Turkey), Athens (Greece) and Bucharest (Romania).

Belgrade is closer to Equator then New York?

False. Belgrade is more to the north that New York. Belgrade has latitude of 44°49' North, while New York City has latitude of 40°47' North. The average annual mean temperature for New York City if around 12.7 Celsius, while Belgrade is somewhat cooler, with annual mean temperature of 11.7 Celsius.

Belgrade lies at the altitude of how many meters above sea level?

0 -250. Belgrade is a low-laying city. The confluence of Sava and Danube lies at around 73 m above sea level, while the city lies from that point up to some 220 m above sea level.

Which one was NOT a historicl name for Belgrade?

Agram. Belgrade means The White City in Serbian language. Alba Graeca (Greek White) was the Latin name for Belgrade. Nandorfehervar was a medieval Hungarian name for it. Veligrad was Byzantine name. Agram is German name for Zagreb, Croatia.