The cannons and howitzers line up along the ramparts, below in the moat are a dozen or so tanks, and by the doorway a captured Humvee from 1999. Belgrade’s Military Museum is, appropriately enough, located inside the walls of the medieval stronghold, Kalemegdan Fortress, that stands at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers. History has not been kind to Belgrade. Several of the exhibits outside the museum were captured by Tito’s Partisans or the Red Army during WWII when the city was occupied by the Germans, bombed by the Allies and liberated by the Russians. Other even more modern exhibits were captured from the Kosovo Liberation Army and the NATO forces during the conflicts of the 1990s. Inside the museum which costs only 150 RSD (about 1,5 Euro or US$1.50) you walk through time – there are weapons, armour, uniforms, flags and other artefacts from Roman times, the wars with the Turks, right through medieval times and the two world wars. But unfortunately there are very few notices in English up to WWII so you might find it better to hire a Belgrade city guide for half a day or even longer to explain more of the history of Serbia and ultimately, help you understand the country today. The Military Museum is open from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
The fortress itself beyond the museum is great to explore – for centuries the city of Belgrade was contained within the walls of the citadel and you can still see the great medieval walls, impressive gateways and towers, and two beautiful churches, the Rose Church and the tiny modern chapel of St Petka whose interior walls are covered in bright mosaics. In the summer there are often exhibitions in various sentry rooms set into the walls Down by the Danube is the 15th century Nebojsa Tower which was built to fire cannons on any enemy approaching by boat (usually the Turks who eventually captured the city and occupied Serbia for centuries), and on the other side of the fortress is a pleasant park filled with statues, memorials, souvenir stalls and strolling couples, which leads onto the main pedestrianised street of modern-day Belgrade, Knez Mihalova.
If you would like to book day tour of Belgrade with an English-speaking local guide to show you around the fortress and the city and to improve your understanding of Belgrade and its people, please contact tara@readyclickandgo.com for more details or Visit ReadyClickAndGo
About the author: Tara
The travel professional with years of experience in the travel industry – in guiding, reservations, operations, contracting, customer service and product development – and have travelled extensively in Asia and Eastern Europe not just on holiday but also for work, inspecting hotels, visiting attractions and seeing exactly what each destination has to offer. The only way I could do this properly was with my own guide, car and driver and this inspired me to create my own range of customised private day tours for other people to be able to explore in-depth and learn to love their destination as much as I do.
Website: www.readyclickandgo.com
Website: http://www.readyclickandgo.com
