# Belgrade, Serbia - Balkan Boomtown



## Loshmi (Jan 17, 2007)

*Belgrade* is the capital and the largest city of Serbia. The first settlements in the area of Belgrade emerged in prehistoric Vinča in 4800 BC. The site of the city was settled in the 3rd century BC by the Celts, before becoming the Roman settlement of Singidunum. 
The Slavic name Beligrad (a form of Beograd, literally meaning White City) was first recorded in 878 AD. It first became the capital of the Serbian Kingdom of Syrmia in 1284; the Serbian Despotate was governed from the city from 1403, while in modern times it was the capital of the various incarnations of Yugoslavia from 1918 until 2003, as well as of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 until 2006.
The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers in north central Serbia, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkan peninsula. The population of Belgrade, according to the Serbian census of 2002, is 1,676,124.
It is the largest city on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and by population ranks fourth in South Eastern Europe behind Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest.

Location of Belgrade










Belgrade Coat of arms










Belgrade has a population of 1,676,124 as recorded in the 2002 Serbian census. The main ethnic groups were Serbs (1,417,187), Yugoslavs (22,161), Montenegrins (21,190), Roma (19,191), Croats (10,381), Macedonians (8,372), and Muslims by nationality (4,617)

*Economy*

Belgrade is the most economically developed part of Serbia. More than 30% of Serbia's GDP is generated by the city, which also has more than 30% of Serbia's employed population.

The city's economy has been growing strongly since 2000. During the 1990s the city was severely affected, like the rest of Serbia, by an internationally imposed trade embargo. The hyperinflation of the Yugoslav dinar, the highest ever recorded in the world, also decimated the city's economy. The National Bank of Serbia is located in the city. Major companies based in Belgrade include Jat Airways, Telekom Srbija, Telenor Serbia, Delta Holding, and many others.Also many foreign companies choose Belgrade as regional headquarter such as Japan Tobacco, Motorola, Microsoft, Philip Morris International, Société Générale,Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), Vodafone, Raiffeisen Bank...
As of December 2006, the average monthly net salary in Belgrade amounted to 36,306 Serbian dinars which, at about 535 Euros, is the highest average net salary of any district in Serbia.

*Nightlife*

Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife, and many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife feature of Belgrade are the barges (splavovi) spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.
Weekend visitors—particularly from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia—consider Belgrade more of a metropolis than the capitals of their own countries, due to what they see as the friendly atmosphere, great clubs and bars, cheap drinks, the lack of language difficulties, and the lack of restrictive night life regulation

Famous spots for the followers of what is often termed alternative or non-mainstream music and cultural trends can enjoy famous and very well established clubs named Akademija and the famed KST (Klub studenata tehnike) located in the basement of the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Electrical Engineering. One of the most famous sites for alternative cultural happenings in the city is the SKC (Student Cultural Centre), located right across from Belgrade's highrise landmark, the Beograđanka. Concerts featuring famous local and foreign bands are often held at the centre. SKC is also the site of various art exhibitions, as well as public debates and discussions.

Those preferring a more traditional Serbian nightlife experience accompanied by traditional music known as Starogradska (roughly translated as Old Town Music), typical of northern Serbia's urban environments, can opt for a night out at Skadarlija, the city's old bohemian neighbourhood where the poets and artists of Belgrade gathered in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Skadar Street (the centre of Skadarlija) and the surrounding neighbourhood are lined with some of Belgrade's best and oldest traditional restaurants (called kafanas in Serbian), which date back to that period. At one end of the neighborhood stands Belgrade's oldest beer brewery founded in the first half of the nineteenth century. One of the city's oldest kafanas is the Znak pitanja.


*Sport*

Here are around a thousand sports facilities in Belgrade, many of which are capable of serving all levels of sporting events. Belgrade has hosted several relatively major sporting events recently, including *Eurobasket 2005*, the *2005 European Volleyball Championship*, and the *2006 European Waterpolo Championship*. Belgrade will be the host city of the European Youth Olympic Festival 2007 and *2009 Summer Universiade*, chosen over the cities of Monterrey and Poznań. 
The city launched two unsuccessful candidate bids to organize the *Summer Olympic Games*: for the *1992 Summer Olympics* Belgrade was eliminated in the third round of International Olympic Committee voting, with the games going to Barcelona. The *1996 Summer Olympics* ultimately went to Atlanta.
The city is home to Serbia's two biggest and most successful football clubs, Red Star Belgrade and FK Partizan, as well as a few other first league clubs. Belgrade is one of only 3 European cities with two teams having reached the Champions cup final (The other two being Milano and Madrid). The two major stadiums in Belgrade are the Marakana (Red Star Stadium) and the Partizan Stadium. Belgrade Arena is used for basketball matches, along with Pionir Hall. while the Tašmajdan Sports Centre is used for water polo matches.

*Tourism*

Ince 2000, in line with country's revival of diplomatic relations with Western Europe and the US, Belgrade has been seeing a return of foreign holidaymakers absent since the wars of the 1990s. The Tourist Organisation of Belgrade (TOB) is the official organisation which promotes the city as a tourist destination.

The historic areas and buildings of Belgrade are among the city's premier attractions. They include Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun, Nikola Pašić Square, Terazije, Students' Square, the Kalemegdan Fortress, Prince Michael Street, the Parliament, the Temple of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace. On top of this, there are many parks, monuments, museums, cafés, restaurants and shops; both sides of the river Sava, not to mention views of the city from the Avala Monument, on a hilltop overlooking the city. Josip Broz Tito's mausoleum, called Kuća Cveća (The House of Flowers), and the nearby Topčider and Košutnjak parks are also popular, especially among visitors from the former Yugoslavia.

In recent years growing numbers of young people, especially from Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, have visited Belgrade to enjoy the city's nightlife.

*Transportation*

Belgrade has an extensive public transport system. Belgrade's public transport system is based on buses (120 urban lines and more than 380 suburban lines), trams (13 lines), and trolleybuses (10 lines). The system is mostly run by GSP Beograd (the City Transport Company) (Serbian: Градско Саобраћајно Предузеће or Gradsko Saobraćajno Preduzeće, ГСП or GSP) and СП Ласта/SP Lasta for suburban lines, in cooperation with some private companies on various bus routes. Belgrade also has a commuter railway network, Beovoz, run by the Serbian Railways. The city's Main Railway Station connects Belgrade with other European capitals, as well as with many of towns in Serbia. However, more popular in Serbia is travel by coach, and the capital is well served with daily connections to all major and minor towns in the country, as well as in the region. The motorway system provides for easy access by car to Novi Sad to the north, Niš to the south, and Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, to the west. As a city situated at the confluence of two major rivers, the Danube and the Sava, Belgrade has many bridges - the two main ones are Branko's Bridge and the Gazela, both of which connect the core of the city to New Belgrade. The Port of Belgrade (Serbian: Лука "Београд" or Luka "Beograd") is on the Danube, and allows the city to receive goods by river. The city is served by Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (IATA: BEG), a few kilometres west of the city centre. At its peak in 1986, almost 3 million passengers travelled through the airport, though that number dwindled to a trickle in the 1990s. Following growth since 2000, the number of passengers reached about 2 million in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, 2 million passengers passed through the airport by mid-November.


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## Loshmi (Jan 17, 2007)

*Belgrade - City of the Future in Southern Europe*

Financial Times has organized European cities and regions of the future for 2006/07 and, after winning the second round, Belgrade was awarded the name City of the future in Southern Europe. The award was received by Mr. Nenad Bogdanović, the mayor of Belgrade. He was accompanied by Ms. Vesna Perić, deputy Director of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA). SIEPA, together with the USAID’s project – SEDP has nominated Belgrade for this award. Our representatives were informed that the main competitor in this round was the Turkish city Manisa. The region of Southern Europe, where Belgrade is the City of the future, includes Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Turkey and Mediterranean islands (Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Crete, etc.).

The awards were also given to London (City of the Future in Northern Europe), Paris (City of the Future in Western Europe), Brno (City of the Future in Central Europe), and Baku (City of the Future in Eastern Europe). These five cities are competing for the final award of being named the European city of the future for 2006/07.

The competition for city and regions of the future is given on all continents and is organized by the specialized edition of the Financial Times for foreign and direct investments, FDI Magazine. The title carries a recommendation for the biggest future investment location, by the most recognized financial newspaper in the world. Categories and criteria by which the judges have made their decision are based on economic potential, cost effectiveness, human resources, IT and telecommunications, transport, quality of life and FDI promotion. The final winner of the "European city of the future for 2006/07" contest is London.


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## Loshmi (Jan 17, 2007)

*In Belgrade start
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM FAIR (ITTFA)*

Shortened title in use: IFT 2007
First held: 1978
Frequency: annual
Organizer: 

BELGRADE FAIR, Bulevar vojvode Misica 14, 11000 Beograd, tel.: + 381 11 2655-377, 2655-722 e-mail: [email protected]
Co-Organizer:	IFT Management, Bulevar vojvode Misica 14, 11000 Beograd, tel. +381 11 3613-279, www.ift-belgrade.com
Project Team: 

Nikola Andric
Industrial branch – Event brief description
Tourism
Exhibit range: 
National Travel Organizations, Local Travel Organizations, Travel Industry Associations, cities and destinations, travel agencies, spas, tourist attractions, hotels and services, camps, air plane transportation, rent-a-car agencies, finance and insurance, Internet services, media.
Opening hours: 10.00 a. m. - 7.00 p. m.

Exhibitors:
750

Participating countries:
Bulgaria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Cuba, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, China, Hungary, Montenegro, Mexico, Macedonia, Japan, Poland, Egypt, Portugal, Romania, Serbian Republic, Spain, South Africa, Romania, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Tunis, Turkey, United Kindom, United States

Indoor space:
10985 sq.m.

Visitors:
70,000


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## Loshmi (Jan 17, 2007)

Belgrade future skyscraper's

*Belgrade - Delta city Autokomanda (2008)*




























*Belgrade - Blok 20 (2009)*



















*Belgrade - Verano Tower*


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## BiH_mafia (May 1, 2007)

this is no constuction site thread:S


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## Loshmi (Jan 17, 2007)

Ovo je samo slika kakav ce Beograd izledati za koju godinu, a ne diskusija o citavoj gradnji.

*Where to stay*

*5 star hotels*

Name: *Hyatt Regency Belgrade*
Address: Milentija Popovica 5, 11070 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3111-330; 2204-204
Belgrade, Serbia
http://belgrade.regency.hyatt.com

Name: *Intercontinental Hotel*
Address: Vladimira Popovica 10, 11070 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 301 1234
Belgrade, Serbia

Name: *Aleksandar Palas Hotel* (Recently given 6 stars by the "best world hotels" organisation)
Address: Kralja Petra 13-15, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3305 300; 3305 326
Belgrade, Serbia
http://www.aleksandarpalas.com/

Name: *Hotel Slavija LUX*
Address: Svetog Save 2, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 2450 842; 244 11 20
Belgrade, Serbia
http://www.slavijahotel.com/

*4 star hotels*

Name: *Best Western Hotel Sumadija*
Address: Sumadijski trg 8,11030, Banovo Brdo, Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 35 54 255; 552 689
Belgrade, Serbia
http://www.bestwestern.com

Name: *Hotel Balkan*
Address: Prizrenska 2, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3636-000; 2687-466
Belgrade, Serbia
http://www.balkanhotel.net

Name: *Hotel Metropol*
Address: Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 69, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3230 910; 3230 919
Belgrade, Serbia

Name: *Hotel Majestic*
Address: Obilicev venac 28, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3285-777
Belgrade, Serbia

*3 star hotels*

Name: *Hotel Union*
Address: Kosovska 11, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3248 022; 3248 056
Belgrade, Serbia

Name: *Hotel Rex*
Address: Sarajevska 37, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 36 11 862; 36 13 949
Belgrade, Serbia

Name: *Hotel Royal*
Address: Kralja Petra 56, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 2634 222
Belgrade, Serbia

Name: *Hotel Kasina*
Address: Terazije 25, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: + 381 (0)11 / 3235 574
Belgrade, Serbia


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## Loshmi (Jan 17, 2007)

Shopping in Belgrade

Money can be exchanged at official exchange offices, which are clearly labelled and they are numerous in central Belgrade, or at the airport. There are many ATMs, which accept foreign bank and credit cards without a glitch (note: they are new machines so you wont have any problems with them). 

The stores work into late hours during work days while on Saturdays they normally close around 3 p.m and most of them are not open on Sundays. Therefore, finding an activity for the weekend must be thought of beforehand. At night, however, there are bars, cafes and discotheques that are open, selling cheaply priced drinks. Belgrade is reputed to have some of the best night life in Europe. Clothes and Accessories 

Import taxes make clothes and shoes in Serbia very expensive. Many items from common European chains can be found for 20% less in neighboring Budapest. Still, Belgrade has many flagship stores, mostly located on Knez Mihailova Street, or the pedestrian zone. They include Escada, Max Mara, Hugo Boss, Stradivarius, Tommy Hilfiger, Sweet Years, Paul & Shark, Pull and Bear, Lacoste, Zara, Bershka, Gas, Diesel, Miss Sixty, Energie, Tom Tailor, Tally Weil, Springfield, Mango, Massimo Dutti, Cortefiel, Pedro del Hiero, Levi's, and Marella. 

There are also many multi-brand stores selling higher class designer clothes and accessories. The best ones are Artisti (a chain of stores throughout the city) who have the new Gucci, Prada, Bikkembergs, Dior, Tod's, DSquared2, Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino collections. The second store chain is Land featuring brands such as Just Cavalli, D&G, CNC by Costume National, Iceberg. The official distributor of Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Versace Jeans Couture is a store Alta Moda in Kralja Petra street. Close to Alta Moda are other designer multi brand stores such as Monobrand and EuroModa. 










The multi brand concept stores are developing very quickly, so it's not going to be a problem finding all types of clothes. Best concept stores are Buzz (Knez Mihailova street), chain of street-wear stores called Urban and Avanguardia. 

Searching for accessories, watches: You can find also a variety of brands from the cheapest (Swatch) to the most expensive (Breitling for Bentley, Cartier, Boucheron, Rado...). Accessories can be found everywhere but for the hippest you can see Dve Smizle (Millenium Shopping Mall, Knez Mihailova) and Time Zone feat. Kenzo, Christian Lacroix Bijoux, Miss Sixty Jewelry and others (Makedonska street, next to Politika newspaper headquarters).


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## sk (Dec 6, 2005)

belgrade is a very beatiful city.
i have a friend who used to study there and he always talks about how many nice cafeterias and places to go ,belgrade has.
with all these projects under construction,when finished,they can be used to attract people to the city not just for tourism


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## ramone011 (Jun 20, 2008)

Belgrade was and is perfect for nightlife, I suggest fantastic Beer Fest that is taking place every summer in Belgrade, more info:
www.belgradebeerfest.com

If you don't want to go to hotel, you can rent various apartments, one of online sites:
www.rentastan.com/eng/index.php


Beautiful and friendly people are welcoming you


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## Manolo_B2 (Oct 26, 2007)

interesting city... but i expected more austro-hungarian influences than ottoman...

doesen't matter, good nightlife is the most important thing!


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## Faela (Mar 23, 2008)

So pretty! Nice pics


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## SutroTower (Jun 25, 2008)

Manolo_B2 said:


> interesting city... but i expected more austro-hungarian influences than ottoman...
> 
> doesen't matter, good nightlife is the most important thing!


I agree!!:cheers:


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## channel (Apr 24, 2008)

^^ me too :cheers:

some nice pictures of belgrade, due to crap media many people elsewhere think belgrade, sarejevo et al are war zones thats unhabitable:bash: could not be further from the truth


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## montesky (Mar 21, 2006)

Manolo_B2 said:


> interesting city... *but i expected more austro-hungarian influences than ottoman...*
> doesen't matter, good nightlife is the most important thing!


?
Where did you saw ottoman style buildings here? Perhaps you are referring to the orthodox temple on one of the pics? I’m underlining - orthodox (Byzantine) style


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## YU-AMC (Jan 27, 2008)

Wow Aleksandar Palas is top notch. 200 E a night easly.


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