Streets & Squares
When we arrive in a city for the first time, we are attracted by its rhythm and people, and its notable buildings, bridges, boulevards, squares and parks… If you decide to get to know Belgrade better by walking, city center is perfect place for this.
Knez Mihailova Street – the most beautiful pedestrian and shopping area, stretches from Terazije Square to Kalemegdan Park. When, in the 1880’s, the richest and most influential Belgrade families built for them selves houses in Knez Mihailova street, it became the city “artery”, the liveliest trade center and the main promenade of the citizens of Belgrade.
Kralja Petra Street is one of the oldest Belgrade streets. In the 1st and 2nd century A.D. in this area were Roman forum, basilica and thermae. In this street, in the 19th century, was the first official Belgrade pharmacy and the first city hotel – “Kod Jelena”. Today, the Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Cathedral Church, as well as the oldest Belgrade restaurant – the “?” cafe – are situated in this street.
Skadarlija is one of the oldest quarters of Belgrade, sometimes compared to the Paris Montmartre, for which Belgradians say that “Who hasn’t been to Skadarlija hardly actually visited Belgrade”. In the same cobble-stone street, the restaurants and cafés within small houses dating from the 19th century, offer a special treat of the bohemian way of entertainment. Waiters with giradeau hats will extend their welcome by serving a Serbian kind of brandy called Rakija, distilled from any fruit growing on these latitudes, starting from plum – our national fruit. A large choice of national gastronomic specialties, spiced up by live bands playing old urban music till dawn, is what makes Skadarlija a unique place.
The Republic Square is the place where archeologists had discovered the remnants of the Roman Singidunum and where, in Turkish times, the Stambol Gate used to stand, the gate opening to the road leading to Constantinople, is today marked off with: the monument to Prince Mihailo Obrenović, the National Theater and the National Museum. This cultural and social focus of Belgrade where history intertwines with the present day is the place where concerts and other events take place, and the nearby café-restaurants are favorite places for gathering of young people.
Terazije Square came into being as separate space in front of the entrance to the old part of the city toward the middle of the 19th century. Square reached its full beauty in 1860, when the fountain was built, in memory of Prince Miloš Obrenović. Terazije Square has always been the center of the social life of Belgrade, with many hotels, coffee houses and trade shops. In always crowded café-restaurant of Hotel Moscow you can enjoy the famous cake “Moscow Slice”. On the other side of the square, the beerhouse of Hotel Kasina is the gathering place for beer lovers.
Students Square is the oldest of Belgrade’s squares. On this place archeologists had discovered Roman thermae, in Turkish times, one part of what is now the University Park it used to be a Turkish cemetery and this later became the Great Market. The most beautiful feature of the square was Captain Miša’s Building, which had been erected in 1863. After the removal of the market in 1927, the park was extended to cover the central space. Today, the square is surrounded by faculties, and students are the most numerous walkers of this part.