Belgrade
(Beograd) is the capital of Serbia, and has a population of
around 1.6 million. It is situated in South-Eastern Europe,
on the Balkan Peninsula, at the confluence of the Sava and
Danube rivers. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe and
has since ancient times been an important focal point for traffic,
an intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe.
Belgrade is the capital of Serbian culture, education, science and economy.
As a result of its tumultuous history, Belgrade has for centuries been
home to many nationalities, with Serbs of the Orthodox Christian religion
making up the majority of the population (90%). The official language
is Serbian, while visitors from abroad can use English to communicate.
Belgrade
has precious monuments of spiritual culture, churches, monasteries
and places of worship of different confessions.
According to 2002 census, there are 90,68% Belgrade citizens of Orthodox
persuasion, about 1,29% of Islamic and 1,03% of Roman Catholic belief,
0.24% of them are Protestants, 0.03% Jews, 2,02% of unknown belief,
while 3% declared as nonbelievers.
The most important Orthodox church of Belgrade - the Cathedral Church was
built in 1840. Some of the oldest are also the Nikolajevska Church
(1745) and the Church of the Holy Mother of God (1783) in Zemun. The
monumental St. Sava's Temple, the greatest Orthodox temple, can receive
12,000 believers. By their importance and look, one can also set apart
the churches Ružica and Sveta Petka, crkva Svetog Marka, Vaznesenska,
(Ascension) church, Topčider church and the church of Alexander Nevsky.
In the wider city area there are also two old log-cabin churches in
the villages of Vranić and Orašac.
In the Belgrade area and its wider surroundings, there are several monasteries
built at the end of the XV century or later, demolished and rebuilt
several times, and mostly wholly or partially, renewed in the last
two decades. The monasteries of Rakovica, Presentation of the Most
Holy Mother of God, Fenek, Rajinovac and Tresije are beautiful monuments
of Serbian past. The monasteries in Slanci, Mislođin and Pavlovac on
the slopes of the Kosmaj have been partly renewed. The ruins of the
Kastaljan monastery are hardly accessible because the road that leads
to them is bad.
There are also several Roman Catholic churches, one synagogue, one mosque
and several places of worship of other confessions in
There
are spots in Belgrade you must definitely see and feel. Streets,
squares, monuments, parks, drinking fountains, archeological
sites... and other sights that deserve recommendation. Many
of them have been given the status of cultural assets.
