Ada Ciganlija, popularly known as the Belgrade Sea, the former gathering place of the citizens and guests of Belgrade during the spring and summer months, is now active all throughout the year. Take a walk along the circular path around the Sava Lake to find all the potential recreation and relaxation opportunities in this oasis in the centre of Belgrade.

Meet Belgrade by walking the city streets and enjoy the interesting story of the history of the city, the architecture and the lives of its citizens. This tour will introduce you to the core of the city, the Belgrade Fortress, as well as the largest green surface in Belgrade, Kalemegdan Park.

HistoryBelgrade is a city with a tumultuous, but also frequently tragic past, primarily due to its unique position at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, on the border between the East and the West.DOWNLOADen_antique_singidunum.pdfRoads run through it and around it, used by invading warrior peoples conquering and destroying this city, rebuilding it and adding to it over and over.Belgrade has been permanently settled since the mid Neolithic period, the time when its area played host to the Vincian culture, more than 4,000 years B.C.E.The Greeks came later, followed by the Romans who pushed the Celts across the Sava and Danube rivers, installing their fourth legion, the Legio Flavia, at Singidunum. They built a mighty fort on the Kalemegdan ridge with a city next to it.From the Celtic dun and the Roman castrum the city grew into a significant border fortification of the Huns and then the Byzantine emperors Anastasius and Iustinianus, the Avars, Bulgars, Ugars, Serbs, Turks and Austrians, until it became the capital of modern Serbia during the 19thcentury.The name Belgrade was first recorded in a letter on April 16, 878, when Pope John VIII notified the Bulgarian Emperor Mihail Boris that he had removed from office Sergi (episcopus Belgradensis) due to sinful living.Belgrade had around ten names in the past. As each conqueror claimed it, they immediately changed its name, but the new name almost always spoke of its beauty and whiteness. It was called Belgrad, Bello Grado, Alba Urbs, Alba Graeca, Griechisch Weissenburg, Nndor Fehrvr, Nndor Alba, Castelbianco. All these names are translations of the Slavic wordBeograd.This city, living through and surviving numerous wars and destruction during the centuries, is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and thus had a number of symbolic names, such as: House of Winds, Combat Hill, Thinking Hill, House of Freedom

It became the capital of the Serb medieval state during the reign of King Dragutin Nemanji who married the princess Katerina and therefore received Belgrade, Mava and Srem as dowry from the Hungarian king, as well as during the time of Despot Stefan Lazarevi who, as the vassal of the Ugric king received Belgrade in his possession, along with a number of other large estates. Only in the 19thcentury, at the time of the First Serbian Uprising and subsequently, during the reign of Prince Milo, from 1841 onwards, did Belgrade become the permanent capital of the Principality, and thereafter the Kingdom of Serbia. Following World War I, in 1918, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and thereafter of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II it regained its position as the capital of the country of Yugoslavia that changed its name a number of times, only to become, once again and finally, the capital of Serbia.Belgrade gradually grew from an oriental town into a modern mid-European city during the 19thcentury. It had 25,178 residents and 3,444 houses at the time the Turks left Belgrade in 1867.The first electric light was switched on in Belgrade in 1882, while the first train took off towards Ni from the Belgrade railway station on August 23, 1884.The first cobbled road in Belgrade, made up of oaken cobbles, was laid down in 1886 in Kralja Petra I Street, between Knez Mihailova and the Cathedral Church. As the spring rains started to fall, shoots sprang forth from those cobbles, to the delight of the citizens of Belgrade.The first horse-drawn tram was engaged on October 1, 1892. Water pipelines were installed in several streets in the city centre during the same year.The first telephone rang in 1890, while the first cinema projection was held in 1896, a mere six months after the first projection by the Lumire brothers in Paris.Belgrade had a population of 50,000 citizens and grew into a true European capital during the early 20thcentury. Unfortunately, it was bombed and demolished during World War I, and the same occurred in World War II, when the Nazi Luftwaffe turned a large part of the city to dust and rubble in 1941. The cycle was repeated in 1944 when the allied Anglo-American air force repeatedly demolished large parts of the city in addition to the few remaining German military facilities. Unfortunately, another round of destruction, hopefully the last, occurred in 1999 when the NATO Alliance air force destroyed several tens of residential buildings, administrative, communal and production facilities, communications, etc. All of these bombings left behind a large number of human victims, dead, buried in the rubble or wounded.Belgrade has more than 1,700,000 citizens today and is growing into a true metropolis. More than a quarter of the population of Serbia lives there today! The city is growing towards umadija, as well as towards Srem and Banat. It is becoming ever more beautiful, orderly and clean, but also increasingly frantic, since life in Belgrade is ever faster as it is in all big cities.The makeup of the population of Belgrade often changed during the past centuries. People from all over the Balkans and central Europe moved to it, and many departed under their own volition or under duress, but those that remained became Belgraders within a generation and seldom abandoned it without pressing need.Belgrade is a city that is changing and developing at an accelerated pace. A city that welcomes everybody. A city that leaves nobody indifferent.Belgrade - the city of culture, Belgrade full of inspiration, the city of sports and leisure, city of festivals and music, Belgrade Europes best nightlife and entertainment... an inexhaustible source of energy. Belgrades glamour at the crossroads of the European revival celebrates a diverse mix of culture, architecture, the natural combination of oriental passion and European refinement. Belgrade is very much alive and full of positive people, energy, love, joy, smiles, sighs and sounds. Belgrade is a city that makes everyone come back with a reason! Step into the attractions of Belgrade. Choose one of our sightseeing tours. Take a ride on a bike and stop for a refreshment. Feel the energy of the youth and take part in one of the numerous events. Relax and dine in a restaurant on the river or in some of the lively Belgrade streets. Check out our clubbing scene. Have a taste of organic produce in the green markets of Belgrade.FortressThe Belgrade Fortress is a museum of the history of Belgrade, a place where you can literally observe the passage of time.

The Belgrade Fortresschanged and developed throughout the centuries, it saw many armies, was the field of many battles, it witnessed the brutality of the conquerors and the courage of the tireless defenders of the city. It was the place where Belgrade started to develop.The Fortress was built in stages, during the lengthy period between the 1stand 18thcentury, from a Roman castrum, through a Byzantine castle and the remains of the medieval capital of the Serb Despotate, all the way to an Austrian-Ottoman artillery fortification. The complex consists of the fortress itself, divided into the Upper Town (Despots Gate, Sahat kula - Clock Tower, Roman Well, Statue of the Victor), Lower Town (Neboja Tower, Amam Turkish bath, Gate of Charles VI) and the Kalemegdan Park, home to busts of important persons from Serbian history, science and culture.The Belgrade Fortress offers an exciting view of the confluence of Sava and Danube, of New Belgrade and Zemun. The Kalemegdan Park contains the Cvijeta Zuzori Pavilion, the Grand Stairway, the zoo, childrens park and a number of monuments and sculptures, several sports courts, a museum, a caf and a restaurant.SkadarlijaThe old, bohemian quarter of Belgrade, Skadarlija, arose during the late 19th and early 20th century when its inns were the gathering place of the best known names in Belgrade. It is frequently compared to the Montmartre of Paris, both in appearance as well as the exuberant and dynamic artistic atmosphere.

This part of the city arose during the early 19thcentury, with Skadarska Street being named and the houses being numbered in 1872. Skadarlija was once home to many famous writers, actors, painters and journalists. The bohemian spirit of Skadarlija started to develop in 1901 when, following the demolition of the famous Dardaneli inn, its residents moved to the inns of Skadarlija. Many famous local and international names spent their best days there during the night.The famous Serbian poet and painter ura Jaki lived and died in Skadarlija. His house was turned into a meeting place for poets during the Skadarlija Nights. Contemporary Skadarlija, a noted tourist attraction of Belgrade, houses the famous restaurants Tri eira (Three Hats), Ima dana (Time Enough), Dva jelena (Two Stags), Skadarlija, Zlatni bokal (Golden Flagon), Dva bela goluba (Two White Doves) and Putujui glumac (Travelling Actor), along with galleries, antique and souvenir shops. This ambiental environment, with its revitalization initiated in 1968, was urbanistically and architecturally shaped by the renowned Belgrade architect Ugljea Bogunovi.The fraternization of the Belgrade Skadarlija and the Parisian Montmartre occurred on October 22, 1977, at the initiative of the city of Paris. A caravan arrived from France on that occasion, carrying a poet, two painters, representatives of the administration of the Free Commune of Montmartre, fifteen musicians from the parade orchestra and several members of the Society of Beer-drinkers, Second-level Knights of Barley. A large procession of Belgraders, along with the guests, paraded in honour of this event from the Monument of Gratitude to France, across the Republic Square to Skadarska Street, where a memorial plaque was placed. Six months later Skadarlija returned the visit to its fraternal commune, and the artists of Skadarlija performed their programs on the most important places in Montmartre.ZemunOnce a separate town, Zemun has been a municipality within the city of Belgrade since 1945. People have settled the area of Zemun as far back as the Neolithic, using the favourable position of the banks of the Danube and the Sava.

The toponym Zemun arose with the arrival of the Slavs, based on the dugouts (zemunice) the first settlers lived in. The history of Zemun as a town in the contemporary sense of the word originates in 1717 with the arrival of the Austrians and its joining the Habsburg Monarchy. It became a significant fortification against Turkey and developed as an economic and trading centre located at the border. This improved the position of Zemun as a cultural nexus with special impact for the Serbs still living under Turkish rule at the time.Zemun had a population of 17,000 in 1910. Most were farmers, but a quarter of the population was employed in crafts and industry. Zemun had more than 30,000 citizens around 1920, with varied national composition. Just under half were Serbs, nearly a third Germans and a fifth were Croatians.The Zemun Fortress is the oldest building in Zemun, mentioned as early as the 9thcentury. The current remains are from the 15thcentury. The Millenium Tower stands at the centre of the fortification. It was erected by the Hungarian authorities in 1896 and was renewed in 1962. It is also known as the tower of Sibinjanin Janko (John Hunyadi).The sundial house in Dubrovaka Street 2 was constructed during the early 19thcentury in a classical style with elements of baroque. The renowned Serbian writer and public official Jovan Suboti spent the last days of his life there.The house of the Karamata family in Matije Gupca Streeet 17 was built in 1764 for the wealthy merchant Kuzman Jovanovi, only to be purchased by Dimitrije Karamata in 1772. His descendants still live there. The house interior with its household, period furniture from the 18thand 19thcentury and family portraits, stands preserved to this day.Ikos house, at the corner of Beanijska and Svetosavska Street, was erected in 1793 in a transitional style between baroque and classicism. It was home to the famous merchant and diplomat of Insurgent Serbia Petar Iko.Spirtas house, in Main Street 9, is a rare example of a residential building from the second half of the 19thcentury, designed by a Viennese architect in a neogothic style. The house was built for the Aromanian family Spirta. It currently houses the Memorial Museum of Zemun, founded in 1955.The house of Dimitrije Davidovi, in Main Street 6, was built during the second half of the 18thcentury in a classicist style, as a single-story civil house. It is the birthplace of Dimitrije Davidovi, founder of Serbian newspapers, secretary to Prince Milo Obrenovi, a statesman and a diplomat.