Kalemegdan Fortress

This  citadel provides a fantastic panorama of the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, and of New Belgrade and Zemun. The adjoining Kalemegdan Park offers numerous attractions. One of the central places is the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion dating back to 1928. To the east of the park, there is the Belgrade City Zoo (for further information on Kalemegdan Park and zoo, please refer to Belgrade, Nature in the City, or Danube.travel, the section on nature).

The Kalemegdan Fortress is itself a museum, built from the 1^st to the 18^th century and besieged more than 100 times. The earliest remains of the fortifications date even back to the Celts! The ground on which it stands was a Roman Castrum, where a Roman legion protected the nearby harbour of the Roman Danube Imperial Fleet. Later it was rebuilt with a different purpose as a Byzantine castle, a medieval castle of Serbian Despots and – later on – as Austrian and Ottoman fortifications. The Kalemegdan fortress is divided into the Upper Town and the Lower Town. The area is accessible for persons with disabilities.

Information: Kralja Petra 71/III (administrative building), 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, tel. +381 11 2620685, www.beogradskatvrdjava.co.rs

Opening hours (The Gallery, The Clock Tower): daily 10.00 – 17.00

The most impressive is the monumental icon of Belgrade, called “The Victor”. Erected in 1928, it commemorates  Serbian victory in the Balkan Wars 1912/13 and the end of Austrian-Hungarian rule. You can come to The Upper Town of the fortress through the Clock Gate (Sahat kapija), built in 17^th century;nearby is the Sahat kula, the clock tower, from 18^th century. One may also admire the drinking fountain of Mehmed Pasha (1577), the tomb of Damad Ali Pasha (18^th century), and the Roman well. The Eastern outworks have the Despot’s Gate, Leopold`s Gate and Zindan Gate. Close to the fortification walls, there are also the Ružica Church and the St. Petka chapel (please refer to the section Belgrade, Religious Places).

Within the medieval fortifications there are also the Gallery of the Natural History Museum and the complex of the Military Museum, opened in 1904, but moved here to a new building, in 1924 (for more information on both museums, please refer to the section Belgrade, Museums, or Danube.travel, the section on museums).

Information on the Military Museum: Belgrade Fortress bb, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, tel. +381 11 3343441, www.muzej.mod.gov.rs

Opening hours: Tue – Sun 10.00 – 16.00, Mon closed

In the Lower Town, once filled with merchant houses and churches that were later transformed into mosques, one should see the former Turkish baths, now the

Planetarium of Belgrade (information: tel. +381 11 3032133).

There is also the Gate of Charles VI, built by famous German sculptor Balthazar Neumann around 1720. Since 2011, the Nebojša Tower is an interactive museum in memory of Greek freedom fighter Rigas Feraois and Belgrade history of the 19^th century (Information: tel. +381 11 2620685; opening hours: Jun – Sep 10.00 – 20.00, Oct – May daily 10.00 – 18.00).

Further on you will find a sports center built in 1974, new tennis courts, and a series of gastronomic venues (cafés, restaurants) along the Sava river.

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