Greetings! We recently returned from a trip to Serbia (country #113), where we were able to experience Golubac (goh-loo-BAHTCH) and Belgrade (BELL-grahd) as part of a river cruise on the lower Danube River. Below, you will find information and photos from our trip. Please note that there will be references to religion, wars, and politics within this post. These references are for historical purposes only, and should not be interpreted as a promotion or degradation of any of those topics. In addition, the information herein (especially with regard to wars/conflicts) is not intended to be a comprehensive accounting of the events and should not be seen or interpreted as such.
Belgrade is the only capital in the Balkans with a 2-river system, which is a protected ecosystem
Serbia is a landlocked European country in the west-central region of the Balkans that was part of the former Yugoslavia (meaning “Land of the South Slavs”) for most of the 20th century. Serbia is surrounded by Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Serbia is considered to be the gateway to the Balkan Peninsula, and its capital, Belgrade, is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Almost seven million people live in Serbia, with 2.3 million of them living in Belgrade, which is the political, administrative, financial, cultural, educational, and touristic center of the country. While 15,000 people move to Serbia each year, 60,000 leave Serbia each year, including many in the medical profession who choose to move to Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, where they have an aging population and need more staff. This greatly affects the Serbian hospital system, with hospital workers being overworked and underpaid.
(Above) The traffic pattern used to go through the fortress. When the fortress renovations began, they rerouted the traffic to cut through the mountain (in the bottom photo, just above the yellow building on the right), but not before traffic mishaps impacted the original structure (as shown in the photo of a tractor trailer getting stuck)
History of Serbia
The land currently known as Serbia has been consistently occupied since the Paleolithic Age, with Slavic migrations evident since the 6th century. Byzantine, Frankish, and Hungarian Kingdoms were established from then until 1217, when the Serbian Kingdom was recognized by the Holy See (The Vatican) and Constantinople. The Kingdom subsequently grew into the Serbian Empire by 1346, though it eventually came under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-16th century. After an earlier attempt at a Serbian revolution did not yield lasting results, a Serbian Revolution in the early 19th century resulted in Serbia becoming the first constitutional monarchy (where the monarch makes decisions according to a constitution and not on their own) in the region. During this time, Serbia became one of the first Balkan countries to abolish feudalism, and in 1835, they became the first European country to adopt a democratic constitution.
(Above) Belgrade Fortress
Serbia ended up being ruled by the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire throughout the balance of the 19th century. However, Serbs made attempts to become free and separate from outside rule, which was the objective in the two Balkan Wars (1912 and 1914) that ensued prior to World War I (WWI). It is said that WWI was triggered when a Bosnian Serb assassinated the Archduke of Austria in Sarajevo in an attempt to try to free Bosnia of Austro-Hungarian Rule, which led to Austro-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, thus starting the war. In 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was conquered, and Serbs started liberating all countries. Within this process, a new kingdom was established with other South Slavic countries, including Serbs, Croats (individuals from Croatia), and Bosnians, which was ruled by King Peter I of Serbia.
In 1921, King Peter I was succeeded by his son, Alexander, who established a dictatorship and changed the name of the kingdom to Yugoslavia with the objective of having a single Yugoslav nation, which alienated non-Serbs who were living there due to the lack of unity felt. Croatians were against the kingdom and one of them assassinated Alexander in Marseille in 1934, leaving his 11yo son, Peter II, as his successor.
Interesting fact: Eighteen Roman Emperors were born in Serbia, the most outside of Italy.
Yugoslavia
Despite Yugoslavia’s attempts to stay neutral in World War II (WWII, Belgrade was bombed in 1941, and the Axis powers invaded the region, during which concentration camps were established across the region, and tens of thousands of Serbian Jews were killed. By the time the war ended in 1944, over a million people had died in Yugoslavia, including 270,000+ in Serbia. The Iron Curtain was established after WWII, and this was considered the “rebirth of Yugoslavia.” It became a one-party state: the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, led by Josip Broz Tito, familiarly referred to as “Tito.”
Tito
Tito was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army and converted to a couple of different parties (including Bolshevism), receiving his nickname along the way. After leading the charge on eliminating the Nazis, Tito became the head of the Federal Yugoslavia government, which included establishing a new constitution and bringing several countries into the fold. It was said that Tito had the ultimate power and suppressed any opposition to his rule. After WWII, he had a conflict with Moscow, who disapproved of his independent style of leadership, as Tito told Joseph Stalin “no,” and this isolated Yugoslavia from Russia. Yugoslavia was subsequently invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but Tito refused this even though he accepted help from the member countries, and could sit comfortably with leaders of different blocs (e.g., Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth, President Nixon). Instead, in 1961, he formed an organization of states that were not in the blocs (including India, Egypt, Indonesia, and Ghana) and called it the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Under Tito’s rule, it was said that the average Yugoslavian had more freedom than others in this region, as he was considered to be a benevolent dictator and did not rule in terror like Stalin or Romania’s Nicolae Ceaușescu. Under Tito, Yugoslavia was considered to be the strongest socialist superpower in the world, and they demonstrated that socialism could work. Tito had one goal: for citizens of Yugoslavia to join together in unity and not let the conflicts of the past get in the way of unity. He died before he could see any progress in this regard. When he died, on May 4, 1980, at the age of 87, his funeral was (at the time) the second largest attended funeral in terms of delegates representing other countries, as four kings, 20 presidents, and numerous prime ministers, and other members of foreign affairs attended his funeral.
(Above) Scenes along the Iron Gates Gorge part of the Danube River, which separates Serbia (and the Balkan Mountains) and Romania (and the Carpathian Mountains), making it the largest gorge in Europe
Serbia After Tito
Communism began to collapse in Eastern Europe not long after Tito’s death, leading to a resurgence of nationalism and the rise of Slobodan Milošević, whose goal was to have a stronger Serbia. However, his approach led to a civil war in the early 1990s (Yugoslav Wars from 1991 to 2001) due to ethnic tension, primarily impacting Croatia and Bosnia, where large communities of Serbs opposed independence from Yugoslavia. This ultimately resulted in the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Further bloodshed came in the 1990s when Kosovo pushed for independence and were placed under the supervision of NATO and the United Nations (UN). In 2000, the one-party system of Yugoslavia was replaced with a multi-party system, but Milošević still had a strong hold over media and security. Once the Yugoslav Wars ended, Serbia became the home to the most refugees and displaced people in all of Europe. Milošević lost the next election and was arrested and put on trial for war crimes.
In 2023, Serbia was renamed Serbia and Montenegro, and following a peaceful dissolution with Montenegro in 2006, Serbia became an independent sovereign state. In 2008, Kosovo (which had been part of Serbia’s sovereign territory) unilaterally declared independence, a decision that was met with mixed reactions around the world. Serbia has refused to acknowledge Kosovo as an independent nation, which has prevented Serbia from becoming part of the European Union (EU). This impacts travel between the two nations, as Serbians cannot cross the Danube River to enter Romania (which is a member of the EU) without a visa or passport.
Interesting fact: “Vampire” is the only Serbian word that is used in all languages.
Nikola Tesla
(Above) Nikola Tesla Museum, Urn with Tesla’s ashes, and a monument of Tesla
Nikola Tesla is (arguably) the most famous Serbian. He was born in modern day Croatia to a father who was a priest and a mother who was “uneducated but intelligent.” He had three sisters and a brother, who died after falling off of a horse. Tesla’s father wanted him to be a priest, as well, and was upset when Tesla told him that he was not interested in priesthood. However, when Tesla became sick with Cholera, his father prayed that if Tesla made a full recovery, he would support whatever Tesla wanted to do with his life. Tesla made a full recovery and subsequently went to other parts of Europe for school. Tesla also worked closely with Thomas Edison, solving complex engineering problems no one else could solve. Their partnership ended when Edison failed to pay him the sum he had promised for the work. Tesla subsequently had 300 patents in three categories, including machine engineering and rotating magnetic field, and he invented the induction motor.
Tesla emigrated to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life. Despite his groundbreaking contributions to modern science, he died penniless in a New York hotel room, surrounded by little more than his personal belongings. He left behind 170,000 ideas and notes, which are in an archive that is inaccessible. People had forgotten about him and he did not have a successor, so, his items were given to his nephew, who brought them to Belgrade. The museum in Belgrade was opened to the public in 1955 and is the only one that is a memorial to Tesla (the others are technical museums). There are several monuments and sculptures of Tesla throughout Belgrade, and there is also one in New York’s Central Park.
St. Sava Church
(Above) St. Sava Church (also called St. Sava Temple), with a ceiling feature that has a Greek cross in its center
St. Sava Church (also called St. Sava Temple; modeled after the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul) is the largest Orthodox Church in Serbia, and one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world. It was named after the nation’s patron saint, who was the first archbishop of Serbia. St. Sava’s remains were ordered to be burned on a hill in Belgrade, and the church was built to mark the spot where his remains were burned. The gold cross on the dome of the church can be seen for miles around, and there is 24 karat artistic gold on the inside walls to protect the images. There are pedestals around the church that people use for prayer, and two of the ones most often prayed to are “the godmother” and the one for St. Sava. There are 15 priests that service this church, and unlike in Catholicism, priests in the Orthodox religion are expected to be married in order to set an example for the parishioners. The Orthodox Church also follows the old calendar, which means that they celebrate Christmas on January 7, and Easter also often falls on a day that is different from other religions.
(Above) Rakia tasting – Rakia is a plumb-based liquor that is akin to moonshine in alcohol content
Our time in Serbia was both insightful and deeply impactful, particularly given how recently the country emerged from one of the most turbulent chapters in its modern history. We look forward to returning so that we can explore other parts of Belgrade (hopefully when the weather is more favorable!). Until next time, take care and be well…