Hidden Belgrade (63): Finding Vračar and Belgrade’s holiest mound

On May 10 1594, the Ottoman rulers of Belgrade decided to make sure to make the point to their Serbian subjects that any resistance to their rule is futile. The reason was the first massive uprising against the Ottoman rule in Banat, which erupted in the spring of that year, motivated by the victories of Habsburg forces against the Ottoman army, which 73 years before … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (63): Finding Vračar and Belgrade’s holiest mound

Srdjan GarcevicMay 11, 2021May 11, 2021Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade

Hidden Belgrade (62): The End

My first memory of cemeteries were incessant visits to my grandad’s grave at Belgrade’s New Cemetery what I was a little boy. My grandad passed away at the age of 65 in the middle of the greatest economic crisis in Serbia in 1993 and, even though I was five, I remember my grandma trying to honour his memory by making sure we properly arranged a … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (62): The End

Srdjan GarcevicApril 30, 2021Leave a comment

Best of Belgrade, Guide to Belgrade, The Belgradist

Fast food: Indulging during Lent in Belgrade

Serbia enjoys a bit of a reputation for heavy feasting, especially involving copious amounts of grilled mince meat, and piglets and lambs roasting on spits. There, however, is another, deeply traditional side to our food, which, although somewhat unfashionable for a few generations, is coming back with the global rise of veganism and fasting and rediscovery of religious fervour in the country. Traditional Orthodox fasts … Continue reading Fast food: Indulging during Lent in Belgrade

Srdjan GarcevicApril 8, 20211 Comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Occupation in 2-6 Pictures: Beginning

On this day 80 years ago, 6 April 1941, my great-grandparents’s flat in Vuka Karadžića street in Belgrade was torn in two by the Nazi bombs. On the same day, their relative, who was a child at the time was almost killed in the debris the Stukas made of an air-raid shelter by the Ascension church. A few days later, as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia … Continue reading Occupation in 2-6 Pictures: Beginning

Srdjan GarcevicApril 6, 2021Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Belgrade Erotic Epic

Given it is Spring and the birds and bees and slowly appearing, here are a few (in)famous places in Belgrade, which shaped the sex life of the city. Oriental allure One of the best books about the life of sex workers in early to mid 19th century Belgrade is undoubtedly “Kata Nesiba i komentari” by Ivan Janković. Janković, a famous Belgrade activist and legal scholar … Continue reading Belgrade Erotic Epic

Srdjan GarcevicMarch 18, 2021Leave a comment

Uncategorized

Homepostela

Ever since I first read The Alchemist, some 23 years ago, I became obsessed with the idea of life-changing travel. Although an intellectual friend of my parents quickly assured 9 year old me that the book and its ideas were pabulum – a view I fashionably espoused for a while later – it is probably the book that, to this day, shaped me the most, … Continue reading Homepostela

Srdjan GarcevicMarch 13, 2021Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (61): Old School Belgarde

Ever since the First Serbian uprising in 1804, education was a major component in building the nation, as well as its identity, in large thanks to the two major personages of Serbian Enlightenment: Dositej Obradović and Vuk Karadžić. The first major educational institution was the Great School, which was operational between 1809 and 1813. It was devised by Obradović and attended by Karadžić and was … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (61): Old School Belgarde

Srdjan GarcevicJanuary 18, 2021January 18, 2021Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (60): The sacred tree of Bulbulder

Ever since the ancient times, some trees and plants were regarded as holy by the Serbs and all other Slavs. Although Serbs were mostly Christianised in the 9th century, many of the old customs remained and were incorporated into Christian holiday rituals – such as burning of an oak tree branch on Christmas eve – especially after St Sava secured autocephaly (autonomy) of the Serbian … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (60): The sacred tree of Bulbulder

Srdjan GarcevicJanuary 6, 2021January 6, 2021Leave a comment

Best of Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hindsight, 2020

The year was supposed to be a one of normalcy and return to glory. Belgrade started celebrating early in 2020 as the restored Victor returned to Kalemegdan in February. Tourism, already on the up for the past half decade, was supposed to continue booming and things were supposed to go as usual. Then, of course, everything was turned upside-down with the arrival of COVID. State … Continue reading Hindsight, 2020

Srdjan GarcevicDecember 26, 2020December 26, 2020Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (59): Yugoslavia’s Crib

Due to many destructions brought upon Serbia, there are a few houses that have been standing long enough and have been important enough to tell the story of the country’s history (and various incarnations). Thankfully however, one of them is located bang in the heart of Belgrade, at Terazije. One of the first works by one of Serbia’s first starchitects, Jovan Ilkić, this Neo-baroque house … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (59): Yugoslavia’s Crib

Srdjan GarcevicDecember 1, 2020December 2, 2020Leave a comment

Guide to Belgrade, Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist, Uncategorized

Making an entrance, Belgrade style

Entrances to buildings in Belgrade used to be stages where architects showed their utmost creativity in the interwar period. They were designed to woo potential tentants to buy or rent by making a block of flats look like a private castle, or to impose the serious nature of a company or official building. Some of my favourites were built while Belgrade modernism (local variant of … Continue reading Making an entrance, Belgrade style

Srdjan GarcevicNovember 30, 2020Leave a comment

Guide to Belgrade, Pokretači, The Belgradist, The Nutshell Media

#94 Vladimir Bajagić o pokretanju Majstora i Margarite, fantastične, pun-tastične picerije…

Vladimir Bajagić je pokrenuo Majstora i Margaritu 2017. sa prijateljima u maloj radnji u Balkanskoj ulici u Beogradu. Ove godine ova prelepa picerija je uvrštena na listu 50. najboljih u Evropi (van Italije) i skoro se preselila u veći prostor u Vuka Karadžića, sve tokom jedne od najvećih kriza u ugostiteljstvu. Sa Vladimirom sam pričao o putu do Majstora i Margarite, izazovima koje je donela … Continue reading #94 Vladimir Bajagić o pokretanju Majstora i Margarite, fantastične, pun-tastične picerije…

Srdjan GarcevicNovember 30, 2020November 30, 2020Leave a comment

Pokretači, The Nutshell Media

Pokretači #93 Antonina Petković o putu do visina modnog sveta

Antonina Petković o uspesima u svetu visoke mode Continue reading Pokretači #93 Antonina Petković o putu do visina modnog sveta

Srdjan GarcevicNovember 23, 2020November 23, 2020Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (58): Boosting Belgrade’s Economy, Ottoman Style

Although the idea of building malls and hotels to boost Belgrade’s economy seems very contemporary, however it has a long pre-history. A bit more than fifty years after Belgrade was conquered by Suleiman the Magnificent, between 1572 and 1578, the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (known in Serbia as Mehmed-paša Sokolović), who was immortalised in Ivo Andrić’s “the Bridge over Drina” decided to boost Belgrade’s … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (58): Boosting Belgrade’s Economy, Ottoman Style

Srdjan GarcevicNovember 3, 2020November 3, 2020Leave a comment

Pokretači, The Nutshell Media

Pokretači #90 Mirjana Katić, direktorka Matematičke gimnazije, o jednoj od najboljih škola u Evropi

Mirjana Katić je direktor Matematičke gimnazije, jedne od najboljih državnih škola na svetu. Pričali smo o njenoj ljubavi prema matematici i kako gaji atmosferu koja Matematičku gimnaziju čini izuzetnom. Beleške Samir Salim i njegovo učešće u istraživaju koje je nagrađeno Nobelom ove godine Nikola Mrkšić Alumni Matematičke u Pokretačima: Igor Simić, Anđela Karabašević i Vladislav Sudžum, Iva Brkić, Aleksandra Alorić , Nikola Otašević i Srđan … Continue reading Pokretači #90 Mirjana Katić, direktorka Matematičke gimnazije, o jednoj od najboljih škola u Evropi

Srdjan GarcevicNovember 2, 2020November 2, 2020Leave a comment

Best of Belgrade, The Belgradist

Treats and Tricks: A Brief History of Serbia’s Favourite Sweets

Sweets are not the first thing you would associate with Serbia and, traditionally, they did not have a prominent place in the country’s cuisine. In Serbia, the need for sugary treats was traditionally sated by plentiful fruit and preserves. Indeed, in one part of Njegoš’s epic Mountain Wreath (Gorski Vijenac), in describing his trip to Venice, duke Draško complains that the Venetians only subsisted on … Continue reading Treats and Tricks: A Brief History of Serbia’s Favourite Sweets

Srdjan GarcevicOctober 31, 2020Leave a comment

The Nutshell Media, Uncategorized

Beosvet Podkast #1 Dorćol Menhetn

Novi podkast o Beogradu. Prva epizoda o Dorćolu, Dorćol Menhetnu, o tome kako se grad promenio od vremena kada su njim žarili i palili Gru i Isidora Bjelica… i zašto ne treba da budemo nostalgični Za slične sadržaje, lajkujte The Nutshell Times na Facebooku! Postanite mecena The Nutshell Times-a preko Patreona. Continue reading Beosvet Podkast #1 Dorćol Menhetn

Srdjan GarcevicAugust 9, 2020August 9, 2020Leave a comment

Best of Belgrade, Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (55): Easy Urban Hikes

Given that this summer it will be more difficult and stressful for Belgraders to leave the city for their preferred coastlines of Greece, Croatia and Montenegro, we will be forced to be creative during our staycations. Thankfully, thanks to its geography, in Belgrade you are never too far away from places to escape the heat, have a nice hike and even see some of its … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (55): Easy Urban Hikes

Srdjan GarcevicJune 26, 2020September 3, 2020Leave a comment

Politics, Serbia, The Belgradist

An African-American Star in 1920s Yugoslavia

In April 1929, Josephine Baker was the first African-American star to visit Belgrade, while she was on her tour around Central Europe on the Orient Express. The visit came during her peak popularity in Paris, just before she made her hit „J’ai deux Amours”, and while she was still shunned in her native US, despite entrancing everyone with her dance and skimpy exotic outfits. She … Continue reading An African-American Star in 1920s Yugoslavia

Srdjan GarcevicJune 4, 2020July 4, 2020Leave a comment

Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist, Uncategorized

Hidden Belgrade (53): Belgrade’s Most Storied Church

Church of the Ascension (Vaznesenjska crkva) lacks the glitz of Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Saborna crkva), the grandeur of St. Mark’s and St. Sava’s, or romance of Ružica and Topčider church, but there are few churches, in the city who witnessed as many dramatic and glorious events in the city’s history. That was maybe its fate from the beginning given that it … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (53): Belgrade’s Most Storied Church

Srdjan GarcevicMay 31, 2020Leave a comment

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