While you would have read the first part of the Belgrade sojourn, this article will cover the Kalmegdan (Belgrade Fortress) and the Stari Grad areas that has so much of history attached to it. It is recorded that the city was torched and had to be rebuilt 41 times through the annals of history, so it has undergone changes many times – and each version has been drastically different from the previous one.

Old Town or Stari Grad: Belgrade’s ‘Old Town’ or Stari Grad has no defined boundaries, but roughly includes the Kalemegdan Fortress, the central grid of streets that include the pedestrian Kneza Mihailova, which ends at Trg Republike (Republic Square) and the bohemian Skadarlija quarter, which will be covered in the next post.

Kalemegdan Fortress or Belgrade Fortress : It is situated at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, overlooking the city and provides panoramic views of the surrounding area. The fortress has a long and rich history, dating back to the 2nd century AD when it was initially built as a Roman military camp. Over the centuries, it has been expanded and modified by various civilizations that occupied the region, including the Byzantines, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ottomans, and Austrians. The name Kalemegdan is derived from the Turkish words kale which means fortress and meydan means battlefield.

This was the stronghold of Ottoman power in Serbia from the final Ottoman conquest in 1521 to the later 19th century. The fort finally passed onto the hands of the Serbians in April 1867, when the last Ottoman Pasha, Ali Reza Pasha, handed the keys to the Serbian Prince Mihailo Obrenovic.

The park is beautiful and a verdant open space of greenery for the citizens old and young, to spend some time in the open. Well, some young ones were curious to see us and wanted a picture taken with us!

As you go past the Kalemegdan park, before you enter the fort gate (Inner Stambol), you come across the ‘Monument of Gratitude to France‘. This monument has historical significance, as it heralded was formally unveiled on 11 November 1930, the 12th anniversary day of the end of the First World War, in the presence of King Alexander – also known as Alexander the Unifier-  and Queen Maria. In attendance were also the royal government, the delegation of the French government, Serbian war veterans, distinguished citizens, associations, schools, and the citizens of Serbia.

This monument was the work of a Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, who made a model in his Zagreb studio. It is a representation of the friendship and cooperation between Serbia and France during the World War I. The Monument was built with the donations from the Friends of France and the Association of French Schools Alumni. The monument represents a bronze female figure, symbolizing France, rushing to the aid of Serbia. The west side shows French and Serbian soldiers, while the east side bears a personification of Sorbonne as a young woman surrounded by students. Engraved on its front are the year of erection and the dedication “A la France”, and on the back, the inscription “We love France as she loved us 1914–1918”. With this work Meštrović introduced a new concept of public monuments which express a certain idea.

Another interesting monument is the ‘Keys Handover Memorial‘ in the Kalemegdan Park. This marks marks the spot where on 6 April 1867, the town keys of the several Serbian fortresses were given to Prince Mihailo Obrevic (the ruling Prince of Serbia from 1839-42) by the Ottoman Turks. This was an important step towards international recognition of at the Treaty of Berlin that was signed on 13th July in 1878.

The park also has several sculptures, fountains, lot of trees and flowering plants that make it look very aesthetic.

Inner Stambol Gate: We went through the Inner Stambol gate (The Istanbul Gate), to enter and see the fortress from the inside. This is the main gate to the fortress. It is connected via a bridge to the Clock gate.

The gate dates from the 1700s when Austrian forces occupied Belgrade. However, the gate was later destroyed and rebuilt under Turkish rule. This was the main trade gate between Belgrade and Istanbul which is where the gate gets its name.

During the great reconstruction works on the fortress during the Austrian rule of Belgrade in 1717–1736, the fortifications of the southeast front were built on the basis of the design of the engineering colonel Nicolas Doxat de Demoret. It was built in the baroque style.

After handing over the keys to Prince Mihailo in 1867, the Serbian flag was flown alongside the Turkish flag at the Stambol Gate and the Turkish guard was replaced by a Serbian guard. After Serbia declared war on Turkey in 1876, the pillar with the Turkish flag was removed from the gate as the last symbol of Serbia’s vassal relationship with the Turkish Empire.

If you head on through the gate however immediately you will come across the Sahat Tower. The Sahat Tower was built in the mid 1700s and is again an example of the Baroque style. Over the centuries it has been an important watchtower to warn against oncoming enemy forces.

The Belgrade Sahat Tower is 27.5 metres high, and the clock has a central mechanism with weights as well as two gongs. It has to be mechanically wound but can work quite well for about a week between windings. The Sahat Tower as a whole has been preserved in its original form, but the clock mechanism was renewed in 2002 and now works on modern principles. The famous Turkish travel writer from the 17th century, Evliya Cebelebi, noted that the bell of the Sahat Tower can be heard by a traveller from a distance that had been covered in a day from the River Sava.

As we walked through the gate, we came to the view point where we could see the confluence of the River Sava and River Danube. This is a beautiful vantage point to see the city of Belgrade from a birds eye view.

A short walk ahead brought us to the statue of Pobednik or The Victor. Built in 1928, this is the work of enowned sculptor Ivan Meštrović to commemorate Serbia’s triumph over both Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The Victor is set on a pedestal in the form of a Doric column on a tall cubic base, designed by the architect Petar Bajalović. It is a standing bronze male figure in the nude, with a falcon in the left hand and a sword in the right (as symbols of peace and war). The Monument was designated as a cultural heritage property in 1992.

As you walk through, you come across the ‘Roman Well‘, which in truth is not Roman at all. It is more likely to have been built in the 18th century by the Austrians and that the name could be connected to their ambition to be considered as the inheritors of the great Roman Empire. It served as an underground water tank.

We then walked past the Institute of Protection of Cultural Monuments that was founded by the People’s City Board on May 27, 1960. Today there are 333 immovable cultural assets (cultural monuments, physical cultural and historical sites, archeological sites, and sights), which the institute is engaged with to protect and preserve these sites. They span across 16 City municipalities and it works in tandem with joint professional teams.

As you walk through the verdant gardens, you finally come to the Tomb of National Heroes that was built in the year 1948. It is placed under the walls of the fort. There are granite plaques with busts of Serbian heroes, namely Djura Djakovic – a communist and revolutionary (1886–1929), Ivan Milutinov – an eminent military commander during World War 2 (1901–1944), Ivo Lola Ribar, politician, communist, military reader and a close associate of Josip Broz Tito (1916–1943), and Mose Pijade, another close associate of Tito (1890–1957).

A flight of steps took us to the other side of Kalmegdan, where there are more stretches of greenery and it was a delight to see senior citizens chatting amongst themselves or reading newspapers on the benches.

StariGrad :You finally step out of the fortress area into other parts of the Stari Grad, such as the Kneza Sime Marcovica Road and we visited the following places. There is more to Stari Grad than what is written here, so do look out for the next piece that I write.

Holy Archangel Michael Orthodox Church: The Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel, also known as the Saborna Chis one of the most important and most beautiful churches in Belgrade, located in the central Kosančićev Venac neighborhood, overlooking the Sava port. It’s Bell tower is visible from most parts of New Belgrade, as well as from the Sava shores to the south.

The cathedral was built from 1837 to 1840 by order of Prince Miloš Obrenović, in the style of classicism with late baroque elements. The interiors are richly decorated with one of the most beautifully painted ceilings of all Serbian churches.

The Patriarchate palace of the Serbian Orthodox church is located across the street from the cathedral and it’s home to the Library and Museum of Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as an ecclesiastic art academy.  It is the administrative seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its head, the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Built in 1935, the building was declared a cultural monument on 18 December 1984. The building is a project of the Russian émigré architect Viktor Lukomski.

Princess Ljubica’s Residence: Princess Ljubica (1788- 1843), was  was Princess consort of the Principality of Serbia as the wife of Miloš Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, and the founder of the Obrenović dynasty. This palace was used for living until 1829, but taking into consideration its age and state Prince Miloš Obrenović had decided to build another residence, which came to be known as Princess Ljubica’s Residence.

The Residence of Princess Ljubica is one of few buildings surviving from the first reign of Prince Milosh Obrenovic and was built between 1829 and 1831. This white 2-story mansion is not particularly big. But it has several living rooms that has period furniture. The princess’ room is the only one with a bathroom. Because of its cultural and architectural importance the residence has been designated a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance.

Embassy of France: The French Embassy is in a prominent place in Belgrade, between St. Michael’s Cathedral and Kalemegdan on the Knez Mihaila pedestrian street,  and was built by French architect Roger-Henri Expert Serbian architect Josif Najman as assistant in 1926. It is one of the most beutiful buildings in the art deco style.

More on Stari Grad in the next post. Stay tuned and do subscribe !