WanderLex

Tag: Belgrade Travel Blog

  • Cathedral of Saint Sava and Tasmajdan Park

    Cathedral of Saint Sava and Tasmajdan Park

    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

    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

    [alert]

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

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  • What about Belgrade

    What about Belgrade

    It’s barely 6 am when the train slowed down as it approaches Belgrade Glavna station (Beograd Glavna Železnička Stanica). With that meant I have survived the infamous overnight train from Budapest to Belgrade with a tired body and nothing more. Yeah!

    In return, I get to spend 14 hours in Belgrade before hopping on another overnight train. The next ride will take me to Podgorica in Montenegro. Probably more passport checks and uncomfortable bed in the freezing night await me? The temperature was 6-degree Celsius but it felt better here than Budapest as there wasn’t much wind.

    Arriving at Belgrade Glavna station

    Belgrade Glavna station

    Train display at Belgrade Glavna station

    I’m eager to check out the white city which was once the capital of Yugoslavia. The larger country of Yugoslavia has since parted way and become countries that we know today. Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia were once a country. It’s a rather complicated past if you read about their war-torn history but everyone seems good now except for Serbia and Kosovo. For me, I just can’t wait to find out more about the present Belgrade.

    Yet, I waited almost an hour for the station’s money changer to open. While I try to shake off the image of the train’s horrible toilet.

    Beograd Glavna station front

    Bus and tram stop near the railway station seem to be rather busy, with Serbians going through their typical workday.

    Tram at Beograd

    Serbian Railways company

    After loading up with Serbian dinar, breakfast was at an old-school-looking Restoran Romanija near to the station. The waiter, an elderly gentleman who speaks some English recommended ham omelette. He mentioned that’s the common local’s breakfast.

    Breakfast at Restoran Romanija

    I tipped the elderly waiter and moving on to St Sava. It is one of the world’s largest Eastern Orthodox churches and the main highlight among Belgrade attractions.

    Scars of war in the former capital of Yugoslavia

    What I didn’t expect was a dramatic sight of two particular building ruins while walking towards St Sava. It’s something which I have not seen anywhere else in Europe. Both buildings are definitely not War memorial or museum. Or else they would have been mentioned in the official Belgrade Tourist Map (which I have gotten at the railway station).

    Map of Beograd

    Former yugoslavia defence ministry in Belgrade

    What’s more puzzling is they are centrally located along Nemanjina street in downtown Belgrade. And there are government buildings right next to them!

    Serbians passing building ruins

    Ministry of Finance

    Statue outside Ministry of Finance

    A quick check with Google later on explained those were former government buildings for Defence Ministry of Yugoslavia. The damages were inflicted during the bombing of Belgrade by NATO forces back in 1999 and have been left standing since.

    Unmistakably, there were a few soldiers patrolling around the building ruins. One of them saw me taking the photo and tried crossing the busy street towards my direction. Thank goodness for the peak hour traffic, I quickly walked away and the soldier didn’t pursue. I heaved a sigh of relief.

    But I sneaked back later to take a couple more pictures – behind the trees. I guess discreet is the word since the soldiers don’t seem to like people taking the photo of the bombed buildings. Whatever the reason.

    Building ruins in Belgrade

    Building ruins in Belgrade

    Building ruins in Belgrade

    Building ruins

    Building ruins

    I’m more curious about why the ruined buildings are left standing at such prominent location and not demolished. Do leave me a comment if you know the reason, thanks in advance!

    Is it due to the lack of funds? A reminder of NATO aggression? I have no clue… One thing for sure, it makes me wanna find out more about Belgrade and kinda regret that I am only here for a stopover. I also hope there are plans to turn them into a proper war museum. So people can get to learn about the past.

    Building, buildings of Belgrade

    Just down the street is a modern building where the National Bank of Serbia is located. And the modern structure looks totally out of place with the rest of its surrounding.

    National Bank of Serbia in Belgrade

    Tram stop Beograd

    Passing tram

    Perhaps the urban planning wasn’t really well thought-through back then. The architecture mix of a European city with Communist’s flair is quite a mess. But despite the dull fading colours and poor maintenance, I found the mess to be rather appealing. The crumbling condition shows plenty of character which a fresh coat of paint won’t. And that alone is already one plus point.

    To me, the interesting architecture mix really makes Belgrade stands out among other European cities. That’s one of the reasons I give when people asked why I even think of visiting Belgrade. The Serbian Capital city may be under the radar now but I am sure it will not remain in status quo for long.

    Stroll along street in Beograd

    Stroll along street in Belgrade

    Stroll along street in Belgrade

    Stroll along street in Beograd

    Stroll along street in Beograd

    Stroll along street in Beograd

    Stroll along street in Beograd

    [alert]

    What are your thoughts about Belgrade? Leave a comment and share it with me.

    [/alert]