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Home  >  Belgrade • Serbia  >  Cathedral of Saint Sava and Tasmajdan Park

Cathedral of Saint Sava and Tasmajdan Park

Alex Posted onDecember 7, 2015January 21, 2018 Belgrade, Belgrade Travel Blog, Cathedral of Saint Sava, Eastern Europe, Europe, Solo Travel, Tasmajdan Park Leave a Comment

The massive Cathedral of Saint Sava (“Temple of Saint Sava” in Serbian) clad in white marble and granite echoes the name of Belgrade’s white city. Built and dedicated to Saint Sava whom was the founder of Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. I could not see the cathedral while walking along the street of Bulevar Oslobođenja from Nemanjina street, with the buildings blocking my view. The iconic landmark of Serbian Capital city sits on a park shared by the National Library of Serbia and a smaller Saint Sava Church, whereas the park is surrounded by a buzzing neighbourhood.

National Library of Serbia
National Library of Serbia
Saint Sava Church
Saint Sava Church

Residential near to Cathedral

Hmm…just came back from some PJ party…?

Pajamas man in Belgrade

Prayer from a distance…

Prayer from a distance in Belgrade

Posted Contents

  • Impressive Orthodox Cathedral in Belgrade
  • Unfinished Cathedral of Saint Sava
  • Tasmajdan Park
  • The bombing of Tasmajdan Park
  • St. Mark Church

Impressive Orthodox Cathedral in Belgrade

The Neo-Byzantine style Orthodox Cathedral is truly a sight to behold. Its emerald-green-colour dome, golden cross and the massive white structure are unmistakeable once I am near the park. It’s believed that the remains of Saint Sava were burnt by the Ottoman at this ground.

Cathedral of Saint Sava

Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade

Cathedral of Saint Sava from the front

The statue of Saint Sava next to the Cathedral.

Saint Sava statue

Unfinished Cathedral of Saint Sava

A cathedral of such scale must have an impressive interior to match right? But no, far from it, and that’s because the cathedral’s interior is still in an unfinished state. Despite the ongoing works, the interior is open to the public. Don’t expect too much though, it’s mostly empty inside except for a small praying area and souvenir stall.

Inside Cathedral

Inside Cathedral of Saint Sava

Inside Cathedral

Inside Cathedral

Inside Cathedral

Otherwise, it’s more likely to remind you of a construction site fenced up with forklifts, cranes, scaffolding, building materials and workers around. The sound of knocking and drilling echoes every now and then. I just take that as a rare opportunity to see a Cathedral construction in progress. Do note about the empty interior and manage your expectation if you are visiting Belgrade and wanting to see the Cathedral else you may end up being disappointed.

Interior of Cathedral of Saint Sava

Interior of Cathedral

Interior of Cathedral

Why did it take so long? The preparation goes way back to 1894 but numerous design changes at the beginning delayed the construction start time to 1935. Various wars in between halted the progress until 1985 and now are pretty much due to the lack of funds.

So, it’s more than a hundred year in the making and down to just the interior, I’m sure it will have an interior to match its exquisitely beautiful exterior once completed. And I hope to be back to see that!

Cathedral of Saint Sava building timeline

Tasmajdan Park

I went on to check out St. Mark Church at Tasmajdan Park from Cathedral of Saint Sava. The centrally located large green park in front by a nice looking cascading water fountain with two prominent bronze statues. One of them is the late Serbian writer, Milorad Pavic accompanying by the flag of Serbia.

The quiet park looks to be a great place to spend a lazy afternoon with family and friends.

Cascade fountain at Tasmajdan Park

Fountain at Tasmajdan Park

Milorad Pavic Statue at Tasmajdan Park

The other is not Serbian but the late President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev… which is somewhat surprising given his controversial reputation. Not sure what’s the reason behind the statue being here…

Heydar Aliyev Statue at Tasmajdan Park

The bombing of Tasmajdan Park

Sadly, the peaceful looking park was among the targets of NATO bombing in 1999, largely aimed at the former Serbian Broadcasting Corporation located here, and yet the collateral damage of that assault includes a children’s theatre. Many innocent children were killed in that senseless bombing…madness!!!!

We were just children monument

We were just children.

Such simple words…this heart-shaped monument is dedicated to the children killed during the bombing. It moved me to tears thinking about these poor kids and their parents in grieve forever. WTF NATO?! Why?!

St. Mark Church

I moved along with a heavy heart towards St. Mark Church (Crkva Svetog Mark), another iconic Orthodox Cathedral.

Saint Mark Church in Belgrade

St. Mark Church in Belgrade

Somewhat similar to Cathedral of Saint Sava, the Serbo-Byzantine style church interior decoration is still largely unfinished minus the construction mess. I really like the retro-looking facades colours of St. Mark Church but didn’t stay long, perhaps yet to overcome the sadness after seeing the heart-shaped monument.

Inside St. Mark Church of Belgrade

Interior of St. Mark Church in Belgrade

Just beside the church is a small Russian Orthodox Church.

Russian Orthodox church

Headless sculpture at Tasmajdan Park

What are your thoughts about the unfinished Cathedral of Saint Sava? Leave a comment and share it with me.

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About Author

Alex

A Singapore Travel Blog about one guy, his camera and an irresistible impulse to travel. Join his adventures to find travel reviews and tips @ WanderLex.com. Read more

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