Category: The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade

Hidden Belgrade (44): Derelict Showcase of Modernity’s Greatest Evil

Staro Sajmište was built as an art-deco fairground to promote modernisation of Yugoslavia by providing the newest wares and technologies, mostly from the West. It was opened by a consortium of local businessmen on September 11, 1937, with a few expansions (notably the Turkish and German pavilion) constructed in 1938, based on the designs by Rajko Tatić, Miroslav Lučković and Đorđe Lukić. It was the … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (44): Derelict Showcase of Modernity’s Greatest Evil

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Best of Belgrade, Guide to Belgrade, Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Belgrade 2020: Three Things to Look Forward To

I got burnt last year by making a list of things to look forward to in Belgrade in 2019. Two out of four did not come to pass (Chinese Cultural Centre and St Sava Mosaics), and the restored Palilula market only opened in the last few days of 2019. Still, I decided to press on this year, out of spite to the general chaos surrounding … Continue reading Belgrade 2020: Three Things to Look Forward To

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Culture, Guide to Belgrade, The Belgradist, Travel

Magic of Epiphany in Serbia

The Feast of Epiphany, which according to the Julian calendar falls on January 19, is the day with some of the most colourful rituals in Serbia as it marks the end of Christmastide. Given it is the day when, according to the New Testament, Jesus’s divine mission became apparent to the masses after his baptism in the river Jordan, most of the folk rituals surrounding … Continue reading Magic of Epiphany in Serbia

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Balkans, Best of Belgrade, The Belgradist, Travel

Best “Made in Serbia” Gifts

“Made in Serbia” should be a much bigger thing than it is currently. The country is full of artisans and entrepreneurs, old and new, making fantastic things, but we do not give them enough credit. Indeed, due to the deprivation and harsh sanctions during 1990s  even many locals tend to look down on local produce and prefer foreign wares – but  Serbian producers are making … Continue reading Best “Made in Serbia” Gifts

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Culture, Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

How Ivan Meštrović brought the Kosovo Myth to life

In 1911, Ivan Meštrović, a Croatian sculptor raised in Dalmatian backwater and educated in Vienna, who was hailed as one of the greatest of his generation and a successor to Rodin,  caused the first of many political stirs in his life. Instead of exhibiting his monumental, secession-inspired works to show the glory and grandeur of the imperial Austro-Hungary during the 1911 international art exhibition in … Continue reading How Ivan Meštrović brought the Kosovo Myth to life

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (43): Last days of Yugoslav socialist consumerism

While many emphasise worker-ownership or its non-aligned anti-imperialist foreign policy as distinctive features of Yugoslav socialism, for me one of the most striking ways it differed from the countries behind the “Iron Curtain” is its deep openness to Western consumerist culture. Indeed, if you ask average former Yugoslavs what the main difference was between them and their supposed ideological comrades in the Warsaw pact, they … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (43): Last days of Yugoslav socialist consumerism

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Culture, Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (42): Art for The People!

Public art in Belgrade is back in fashion with many ambitious projects completed and planned. They range from the sculptural/architectural collaboration between Turner prize-winning Richard Deacon and widely acclaimed local sculptor Mrđan Bajić to the future gigantic monument to  the founder of the most successful of Serbian medieval states, Stefan Nemanja, made by the acclaimed Russian sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov. There have also recently been two … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (42): Art for The People!

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (41): Occult Belgrade

Given Belgrade’s long and bloody history it is almost a wonder that there is not a larger number of stories of hauntings and other occult occurrences. This is even more remarkable considering that Serbia has a long association with and interest in the occult – from being connected with vampire crazes since 18th century (we invented the word after all), to its prominent role in … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (41): Occult Belgrade

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (40): National Assembly’s Grand Interior

Built in 1936, on the spot of the former Batal mosque, and just across the road from the royal place complex, the National Assembly building, was built to impress the power and ambitions of the ill-fated Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The outdated, Belle Epoque grandeur of its exterior was based on a design by Konstantin Jovanović in 1892, (later modified by Jovan and Petar Ilkić in … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (40): National Assembly’s Grand Interior

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Best of Belgrade, Guide to Belgrade, The Belgradist

Best of Belgrade June 2019: Ultimate Belgrade Eating and Drinking Guide

It’s been a while since I’ve done a list of Belgrade’s best spots for eating and drinking. Part of the reason is my laziness, and the other part is that in the past few years, there has been a boom in the offer. While before there were a few new places worth checking out every month, now there is enough to lose track (thankfully insta-fiends … Continue reading Best of Belgrade June 2019: Ultimate Belgrade Eating and Drinking Guide

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Best of Belgrade, The Belgradist, Travel

Faces and Blossoms of Art Nouveau in Serbia

From the curvy floral beauty of the Subotica’s Synagogue to the Morava-style inspired rosettes on Belgrade’s telegraph building, Art Nouveau architecture takes various shapes in present-day Serbia. This diversity was in large part because this sensuous new style, originating in late 1800s France, was used as an artistic expression of national romanticism that gripped Europe those days. Back in early 1900s, north of the Sava … Continue reading Faces and Blossoms of Art Nouveau in Serbia

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Guide to Belgrade, The Belgradist

Smellscape of Belgrade

Faintness of wisteria in Krunska. Sweet roses on the Danube run. Endless evenings under the lindens in Palmotićeva. Chlorine and sunscreen at Taš. Damp asphalt and grass at Ušće. Muddiness of the last dip at Ada. Charred paprika skins, hinting ajvar. Crisp smog around Bajloni. Eau de Kafana and wool, tumbling through a December night. Smogless, snowy morning in an empty city. Dusty seats of … Continue reading Smellscape of Belgrade

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Beyond Brutalism: Belgrade’s Magical Pre-WWII Architecture

Although best known for socialist modernism and brutalism, Belgrade’s architecture is (in)famously eclectic due to the various political twists and turns that shaped the city’s identity (as I’ve written here). Although through much of the 19th century, Belgrade’s foreign and foreign-educated architects were trying to find their feet by copying architecture of Serbia’s powerful neighbours, in early 20th century and arrival of art-nouveau, which embraced … Continue reading Beyond Brutalism: Belgrade’s Magical Pre-WWII Architecture

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Belgrade, Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (38): Great Men Behind National Museum’s Tiny Egyptology Collection

Ever since Napoleon invaded Egypt at the turn of 19th Century, having  an Egyptological collection was a status symbol in the West. These collections, stuffed with precious ,strange mummies, statuses of animal-headed gods and golden trinkets not only served to pique the curiosity of the local educated elites but were also a symbol of civilisational continuity: that its current rulers and citizens are physically connected … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (38): Great Men Behind National Museum’s Tiny Egyptology Collection

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Guide to Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hip Markets to Majestic Mosaics: Four Things to Look Forward to in Belgrade in 2019

Due to a culture of unrealistic promises and hectic decision-making, it is often impossible to know for certain when, and even if things will happen in Belgrade. Nevertheless, in order to keep the spirits up during these dark snowy days here are four things, with a reasonably high probability of happing, which I hope will make life in Belgrade a bit more fun this year. … Continue reading Hip Markets to Majestic Mosaics: Four Things to Look Forward to in Belgrade in 2019

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Guide to Belgrade, The Belgradist

Christmas in Belgrade

Like with many thing, I only became aware of the joys of Serbian Christmas (explainer of what that means, and why it is on Jan 7 here), when I could no longer enjoy them. The day when it happened was 6 Jan 2008, at Heathrow,  and during the train trip to the outskirts of Coventry, UK where I was going for my second term at … Continue reading Christmas in Belgrade

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