Day 44 - Day in Belgrade

Belgrade has a dramatic history. It has been on the front line of warring empires for centuries - Frankish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Austrian, Ottoman - and changed hands among them during that time. It is said that Belgrade has been fought over in 115 battles and destroyed on 44 occasions. And all the conflict and changing of political leadership has meant Belgrade has been the capital of Serbia on three different occasions. It has also meant that by 1900 the city had a population of only 70,000 and had very little in the way of historic buildings. The oldest buildings, indeed the only pre 18th-century buildings, are the upper and lower fortresses in Kalemegdan park.

My accommodation is perfectly situated in that it is equally far from all the things I might be interested in: the sights seem spread around the city rather than centred in any one particular place. I set out relatively early to do some essential shopping and walk to the Kalemegdan park and fortress on the far side of the city where I had arrived yesterday. On the way I passed the gunship Sava that sits on the river, a small, white toy of a thing but as the Austrian ship that fired the first shots into Belgrade of what would become the First World War it has a significance far in excess of its appearance. 

Gunship Sava

Kalemegdan Fortress sits on a 400 foot high cliff overlooking the Sava and Danube rivers and is the oldest part of Belgrade. It was only in relatively recent times that the population of the city did not live within the protection of its walls. Its history reflects the history of the city having variously been held and developed by Austrians, Turks and Serbs at different points in time. Now the fortress is part of parkland with good views over the city and the river. I wandered the paths, enjoyed the scenery and found some open-air photography exhibitions. One of these was about Gavrilo Princip and his fellow conspirators who assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, an action that sparked the response by Austria with their gunboat and ultimately the First World War. It was a selection of old photographs showing the young students humanised in domestic settings as well as photographs of the Archduke's visit and the immediate aftermath of the assassination. Interestingly, while acknowledging the worldwide consequences, the tone of the explanatory script set Princip as a martyr for Serbia, an understandable take on events given that after 1918 the country was entirely freed from the yoke of Empire.

I explored the area of the fort, but with no particular aim. I came across a small Turkish mausoleum, apparently one of the few remaining Turkish structures in Belgrade, I saw a display of random military hardware from the twentieth century outside a military museum and I wandered the complex and massive structure. By late morning I needed to head back to the apartment to pay hard cash for my stay so I relaxed in the coolness of the apartment while the heat outside grew.

Turkish Mausoleum 

By the time the owner had made his appearance it was late afternoon and I had found out that the museum I planned to visit was not open on a Monday. I still had not caught up on my diary and all my personal administration and I could not face the heat of the afternoon and the busyness of the city so I decided to enjoy the cool and peace of the accommodation and relax. It may seem a waste of the afternoon, having cycled over 2000 miles to get to Belgrade, but it felt the right thing to do. And like all the cyclists I have spoken to who have come through here, I have not found Belgrade as nice a place to visit as Novi Sad.