Press Center Building by Ratomir Bogojevic in Belgrade

Picture from Peter at Ostarchitektur

This building is at the most famous shopping street in Belgrade...and chances are that you pass by without realizing what a special building it is. It sticks out more if you approach it from the Republic Square. The building is called "Dom stampe".

The Press Center Building from Trg Republike

The «Dom stampe» building (the Presse Center Building) in Belgrade was erected in 1958-61. This modern business building was executed following the designs made by architect Ratomir Bogojević (1912–1963) one of the most prominent representatives of Serbian modern architecture, in the spirit of Le Corbusier.
At the time it was a novelty in the Belgrade setting. As a part of Trg Republike, this building plays a significant role since it completes a block whose highest point is the «Albanija» Palace (I made a post about it here).

The Press House is “designed and built in almost a classic manner, fits just right with the nearby Reunion Palace and the Foreign Trade Chamber buildings, and makes the ensemble of representative city palaces complete” at the Republic Square.

Trg Republike 5 /corner of Kneza Mihailova

Now the Belgrade Cultural Centre is located in the first floor of the building.

Best travel tips for Serbia - ETHNO VILLAGES

Links for Tour 4: Enjoying rural tourism and Serbian traditions in ethno villages


After general travel tips for Serbia, tips for a citytrip in Belgrade, tips for a bike tour through West Serbia and tips for discovering spiritual and cultural heritage in Raska and Kosovo I'm now sharing tips for a nice way to discover the beautiful traditions of the Serbian culture in Serbian ethno villages (етно село).

Most of the Serbian villages looks so authentic that you can call almost every village an "ethno village". There are some that are a little bit more styled and preserved like Sirogonjo (I wrote about it here) and Trsic (I wrote about it here) for exemple.

a village in south of Serbia

But in any rural area of Serbia you find pictures places where you can spend a couple of days in a healthy area and make some day trips to interesting cultural sites!
How to find a rural house for the holidays:

The ladies at panacomp organize not only accomodations in ethno houses, but also workshops and activities by request (like folk dances etc.)
Here a link to a general owerview about rural tourism
And here the "panacomp" list of housholds that are renting for tourists

old buildings in the village

Another site to find a nice ethno house to rent is this site of Serbian villages "selo" This site promotes alternative and responsible tourism: "Travelling Balkans"
I like also this link of "Odmor na selu" (Vacation in the village) it's about a village near Valjevo.

Salas in Vojvodina

the yard of a typical Salas

In Vojvodina the northern region of Serbia in the Pannonian plain has many farm estates called "salas" (салаш) a cluster of farmhouse, economic buildings and stables distanced from urban areas. Now you can't almost find quieter places to stay that a solitary salas!
Here a list on "Serbia tourist guide" with Vojvodian salas to rent

A village that I know and that I find very beautiful (and it's near Subotica and Sombor for excursions) is Stara Moravica, a village with Hungarian ethnic majority. Here a site with a salas in Stara Moravica to rent (some links of the site do not work properly at the moment)...

a typical village in Vojvodina

Free guides for Serbia:
You can read big parts of the Bradt Travel Guide for Serbia online here
A little printable guide of Serbia in three languages (serbian/english/german) You can order also your free copy...if you have the patience to wait....(it took many weeks for us)
Also good links for touristic informations about Serbia are the following sites:
The National tourist organization of Serbia has a very nice site, where you can explore culture, regions, food and traditions
Another good site full of information is "Visit Serbia"
In your pocket guide of Serbia (good online presentation)

Best travel tips for Serbia - RASKA/KOSOVO

old Serbia

Links for Tour 3: Visiting UNESCO heritage sites and spiritual places in Raska and Kosovo
These two regions are filled with historic facts and tradition. Endangered World Heritage, a long ottoman past and medieval treasures of the Serbian empire..here you have loads of culture!

The Raska Region

Serbia's South/West has currently two names. Serbs call it Raska or Old Serbia, while Muslims who live in the same region and are in majority here call it Sandzak. These two names reflect the two characters of this region in which Orthodox and Muslim populations live alongside one another with their different traditions and customs.
Even before the chaos in Kosovo, this part of Serbian territory was considered a possible future flash point and it's still making headlines. This area was the heart of medieval Serbia.
There are numerous beautiful examples of sacral buildings in existence from middle age highlighting the importance of this region in the past:

The old church of St. Peter near Novi Pazar
St. Peter's church (Црква светог Петра) is one of the oldest churches on the territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church. I made a post about it.

Sopocani Monastery near Novi Pazar
In the vicinity of Novi Pazar stands the Sopocani monastery (Сопоћани Манастир), built around 1260 as the endowment of King Stefan Uros I (Стефан Урош I), the son of King Stephen the First-Crowned (Стефан Првовенчани). The primary and major value of the Sopocani monastery are its frescoes, by which it ranks among the best examples of the European medieval painting. Here the nice UNESCO site about Sopocani and here my post.

Djurdjevi Stupovi Monastery
The monastery of St. George in Ras belongs to the most important sacred places in the history of Serbian people. As early as the Middle Ages it became known as "Djurdjevi Stupovi", named after its pillars towers which adorned the monastery church. The monastery was founded by the founder of the Nemanjic dynasty, Stefan Nemanja (Стефан Немања), in the second half of the 12th century.
Here is my post about it.

Djurdjevi Stupovi

Studenica Monastery
The Studenica monastery was built in the late 12th century, as the endowment of the Serb ruler Stefan Nemanja (Стефан Немања), who endowed it richly with the icons and books. After he had become a monk and left for Serbian Hilandar on the Mt. Athos, his older son Stefan, later named the "First-Crowned" (Стефан Првовенчани), took his place in taking care over the monastery.(Here my post)

Novi Pazar
Novi Pazar, the former capital of the region and still the most important city here, bursts with oriental sights and smells. I made posts with beautiful pictures about Novi Pazar here, here and here.

Novi Pazar

Here are links for spiritual/cultural landmarks and Serbia's orthodox treasures
of this region:
An overview about the region from "Serbia in your hands" and from "Visit Serbia" will give you a first impression.
"panacomp"has two interesting tours called: SERBIAN U N E S C O HERITAGE inclusive KOSOVO AND METOHIJA 1 and SERBIAN U N E S C O HERITAGE inclusive KOSOVO AND METOHIJA 2 for group travels.


Kosovo and Metohija

A lot of medieval monuments in Kosovo and Metohija are in the list of World heritage in Danger. Many monuments have already been destroyed by blasting, incendiary and looting. I will intentionally not give any numbers of how many monuments/churches have been devastated as every source gives another information and also this is used a lot for manipulating information to show which side of criminals is worst.

Kosovska Mitrovica

Visok Decani Monastery
The Decani Monastery was built in the mid-14th century for the Serbian king Stefan Decanski (Стефан Урош III Дечански) and is also his mausoleum. Here my post.

Gracanica Monastery
The Gracanica Monastery was one of the last monuments by Serbian King Uros II Milutin. It was errected in 1321 on the ruins of an older church.

Saint archangels Monastery
The saint archangel monastery was founded by Tsar Dusan and built between 1343 and 1352 on the place of the earlier church,and is part of the Visegrad fortress complex abov the city of Prizren. Here my post.

Prizren
The city of Prizren is just awsome. Here my impressions.


And this are just a few highlights to visit. Kosovo and Metohija is filled with exiting landmarks!
And here my favorite links:
The diocese of Ras-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija
Kosovo – the land of the living past – by the monks of Decani
Kosovo and Metohija by "Serbia in your hands"
A nice pdf to download about spiritual and cultural heritage of Kosovo

Travelling in the Kosovo province on one's own?
With foreign number plates you can travel everywhere in the entire province (stick to the roads...as off road there might still be landmines). With Serbian number plates however it's not recommended to travel in the Albanian parts. The Serbian authorities do not recognize as official the external border crossings of Kosovo. Between the northern Kosovo region and Central Serbia there is just an administrative line but no "official border". It is therefore advised not to enter Serbia through the Kosovo province (at the administrative line in the north) as you will not get an entrance stamp for Serbia and this can give you again problems when leaving the country. If you enter the Kosovo province by the administrative line in the Serbian part and leave it again from the Albanian part to get to Central Serbia you might have trouble at the border for leaving the Kosovo province.

How to visit Serbian orthodox monasteries?
To visit Serbian orthodox monasteries protected by KFOR you must carry personal documents as they will control you.
From what I can tell, the monks in Serbian orthodox monastery are not really strict about behavior of visitors in the monastery, as they assume that if you dress not adequate and behave rather rude, that you’re not doing it on purpose, but that you just don’t have a clue about the rules. However it’s nice to show you arrive prepared and are willing to show your respect for their holy place.
Apropriate clothing: For men it’s long trousers and closed shoes, and no head coverage. For woman it’s a long skirt, long sleeves and a headscarf.
Greeting the monks: Walking toward the monk (or monks) you can nicely say: "pomaže bog" (literally: That god helps) and he will answer "bog pomogao" (literally: God helps). The monk will then hands you his hand that you will hold in your both hands and bend down your head and tell: "oče blagoslovi" (literally: Father bless me) and he will make a sign to bless you.
Of course you don't need to do all that, a simple greeting is fine. The monastery always will send one monk to show you around the monastery and answer your questions. Often you will be invited for coffee and cakes or exquisite monastery rakija. If you want to show gratitude leave some money or in the designated places or simply by the icons in the chapel.



In the next post there will links for the last tour:
Links for Tour 4: Enjoying rural tourism and Serbian traditions in ethno villages (26.10.2009)

Best travel tips for Serbia - TARA/KOPAONIK

Tara National Park

(Links for Tour 1 - Visiting Belgrade - here)

Links for Tour 2:
You are into natural attractions or you enjoy sport activities
Discover the beautiful region of Tara National Park and Kopaonik region by bike! Here markowe, a brit with serbian roots suggests a 7 days trek from Kopaonik to Tara.

Kopaonik in winter

Day 1 - Kopaonik

Day 2 - Kopaonik-Raska-Golija

Day 3 - Golija-Sjenica

Day 4 - Sjenica-Gostilje

Day 5 - Gostilje-Zlatibor-Mokra Gora

Sargan eight railway station in Mokra Gora

Day 6 - Mokra Gora-Tara

Day 7 - Tara-HOME!

Panorama over Zlatibor mountains

I wrote also about that region and here are posts about the surroundings of Tara National Park and about Drvengrad the village build by director Emir Kusturica in Mokra Gora.

Mokra Gora

maps of the region:

If you try to look up Serbia in googlemap you will be a little disapointed what concerns Serbia, just a couple of highways and a little more around Belgrade. So I try to give here links to some maps that are more satisfying, if you wish to put an itinerary of West Serbia together. But for travelling you'll need a good road-atlas anyway.
This is one of the better maps of Serbia in internet. And this is one with a good choice of roads and you can print it out.

Typical restaurant in Zlatibor

And here the list of links for the attractions of the region: The Raca Monastery not far from Baijna Basta (description and panorama movie)

Raca Monastery

Emir Kusturica's Drvengrad "Küstendorf" the official website

Church in Drvengrad

Website of Kopaonik, the major place for skiing ans snowboarding in Serbia Tara National Park (the webiste with wonderful pictures)

Zlatibor Village

In the next posts there will be some more links:
Links for Tour 3: Visiting UNESCO heritage sites and spiritual places in Raska and Kosovo (23.10.2009)
Links for Tour 4: Enjoying rural tourism and Serbian traditions in ethno villages

Best travel tips for Serbia - BELGRADE

After giving some general travel tips I thought about some of my favorite itineraries for Serbia.

The reasons why you're visiting Serbia as a tourist may vary, usually you can resume them into some categories. Here I pass out links for 4 different tours to discover Serbia.



Links for Tour 1.
You head for a city trip in a top destination? Then visit Belgrade (and if you have a little more time add Novi Sad and Nis to your journey)

The best links to catch all the attractions and to find good information, help for reservation and to find places to eat are the following two sites:
the official website of Belgrade (in english, german and serbian)
and the website of the Tourist Organization Beograd.



And here my personal best 5 of Belgrade.

Here the links to good guides for Belgrade:
Completely free, the inyourpocked guide can be downloaded here and printed out makes a handy little guide to carry.



For a really different kind of tour through Belgrade, I put my NATO-Trail-Guide together, where I lead the visitor to landmarks that NATO bombing in 1999 changed forever...complemented with lots of background informations.

If you wish to buy a guide, then my favorite is a Belgrade walking Guide from Ljubica Corovic. She suggests 10 walking routes through Belgrade which reveal the past and present of the city in a interesting way.



And of course you sure heard it before: Belgrade is the nightlife capital of the east! So here a nightlife guide and the place where to find out what's going on!

Belgrade-Blogs

A good way to stay informed about a city is to follow it throught the eyes of Bloggers. My favorite Belgrade based blogs (in english) about the city are:

The blog of Belgraded is the one I follow the most as it's updated frequently and has a good link called 100-things-to-do-in-Belgrade (good inspiration!)

Other good blogs are Adam's blog The Balkan File (It is run by a British expat in his mid-20s who has made Belgrade his home) and Life in Retro(bel)grade - a blogger lady that invites you to take a step back to to see the big picture of Belgrade.

A newer blog that covers Belgrade and did a good review about Belgrade Hotels (read it before booking...) is merkat traveler - travel to belgrade -blog

And for beautiful pictures from the serbian capital I like to check belgradedailyphoto-blog


Maps of Belgrade:

Here is a good interactiv map where you can find single streets and attractions in Belgrade

NOVI SAD
Here the in your pocket guide for Novi Sad.
And here the wikitravelguide for Novi Sad
NIŠ
Here a little basic guide for Niš
And here the wikitravelguide for Niš



In the next posts I'll put together some more links:
Links for Tour 2: Discovering natural attractions in the beautiful region of Tara National Park and Kopaonik by bike! (20.10.2009)
Links for Tour 3: Visiting UNESCO heritage sites and spiritual places in Raska and Kosovo (23.10.2009)
Links for Tour 4: Enjoying rural tourism and Serbian traditions in ethno villages (26.10.2009)

Best travel tips for Serbia

I've been frequently asked to share my advice for travelling to Serbia, and I've already sent out some links, some suggestions and tips. It's time to put all the precious infromation together and to share it with my readers.

When I decided to travel to Serbia for the first time (that's quiet a long time ago...) you could not find ANY advise for travelling there, but just recomendations to NOT go to that area of the world. The war was over, the NATO agression fresh in the back an internet was not yet sharing many links regarding that area.

Today it's easier, tourism is wide spread also in Serbia and even less informed people know that the entire Balkan region is not only of a stunning beauty but also a safe place to explore and makes it also a good place for simply spending a vacation.

Preparations for visiting Serbia

Of course you can just jump into a plane and land in the middle of Belgrade and have a perfect stay without even knowing where you are. The advise I'm passing on here, are if you're a traveller like me, the one that enjoys the preparations and getting inspired for the journey as much as the travelling itself!

1. read something about serbian history


Serbia is a country with an important history and everything you see is loaded with history! So I suggest to read at least this historic summary, that will put the things you see in the right historic contest.


2. learn the serbian cyrillic alphabet


Learn to read cyrillic characters or at least print this cyrillic alphabet out and carry it with you. Most of the signs are written in cyrillic, however in Belgrade and where big communities of hungarians (in northern Vojvodina province) or albanians (in Kosovo and Metohija province) live you find a lot written also in the latinic alphabet.


3. learn about serbian cuisine


The Serbian eating style is something that delights tourists the most: it's absolutely fantastic! In this overview about serbian food you find an explanation to all the dishes served in restaurants, a good guide to drinks and eating habits. (For vegetarians, well what to say? if you decide to eat meat once in your lifetime, do it in Serbia...
Since the food is so good you might come back from Serbia and have the wish to cook the nice things yourself. So here my 4 favorite links to serbian recipes:

astal - Vera's recipes from the Vojvodina region
emo serpica - traditional serbian food
palachinka - serbian food in stunning nice pictures
moje grne - Dragana's vaste recipe collection

Formal matters for Serbia

French embassy in Belgrade

Here some general information to get the administrative things right when entering and leaving Serbia. It's not complicated, but it's nice to have it here all in one place:

1. Here a list of all Diplomatic and Consular Missions of Serbia (listed by countries)


2. Here is an overview for Visa regimen with the list of countries
Foreigners should register their arrival in Serbia (if you're staying at a Hotel, they will do that automatically for you) with the competent authorities (according to the place of residence of the foreigner - the police department). It's not a bif deal and it doesn't cost much (a couple of cents for the papers).

Here you see why I check border customs, that's what I bring with me....

3. It's never a bad idea to check border customs (here an overview) As a tourist you shouldn't have any troubles with customs officers. Be just sure to get an "Entrance to Serbia stamp" in your passport, that will avoid troubles when travelling out of the country again.


General advise for Serbia



1. It's forbidden to take pictures of any military facilities.

In Belgrad they sell T-shirts with written: Serbia European Nightmare

2. Don't panic if you read some bad facts about Serbia.
It's still some anti-serbian propaganda going on, and whatever unpleasant happens in Serbia is displayed as a big thing in western european medias (there are however some sites, like at de-construct, oposing against that). Remember that statistically it's more likely you happen to get harassed in a western european city that somewhere in Serbia. Be respectful and you get respected!

3. Stay out of politic debates and go easy on spreading your opinion about themes like Balkan Wars, ethnic groups and Kosovo.
In the entire balkan region people are still very sensitive about these themes and if you're not part of them you can not 100% understand it. So keep the good advise for your diary and not for the table at the local Kafana. If you are interested in following politics in Serbia (and it's really entertaining) here an overview of the political parties, their leaders and their ideas.

After these more general links, the next few posts will be about 4 itineraries to discover Serbia.

Hotel Narcis in Strpce (Kosovo and Metohija)

This building is really high on my "favorites of the balkan"- list! From the first time I saw the building in pictures I was fascinated by its shape. So you can immagine how I was exited when I travelled from Prizren to Gnjilane following the way through Bresovica (a ski region in the Shar-Mountains) and I stood in front of this impressing building! Location Strpce (serbian: Штрпце, albanian: Shtërpcë) is a little town in the south of Kosovo and Metohija, on the northern side of the Sar Planina (Sar Mountains) on the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It lays 3km from Brezovica, one of the most important ski-center from former Yugoslavia. Strpce has a majority of serbian population so that it's considered a serbian enclave (the only one in the southern part of Kosovo) however there is a big albanian minority (population is 13'600, 9'100 serbs, 4'500 albanians, 300 roma). The place is controlled by ukranian KFOR. The village of Strpce We're here 40km from Pristina, at around 1'000 meter above sealevel, Strpce is a rather sleepy place. The winning side of Strpce is the location settled in a wonderful eco-region, with fresh air, a rich flora and fauna, delicious food and a ski resort that can be easily reached by tourists from Prizren, Skopje, Tetovo, Belgrade, Pristina, Vranje .... But reality in Strpce (and the region) doesn't look that bright: The ski resort is run down, hotels (also Hotel Narcis) had to close down and the town looks empty all year round. Why? What was really good fonctioning in the former Yugoslavia was of course interupted when the Kosovo war broke out. But why could this attractive place not find its way back to prosperity? Many Serbs struggle to stay in business until the ski season brings in roughly 100,000 middle-class Kosovar Albanians, who patronize Serbian-run restaurants, hotels and shops. Then both sides are forced to put aside ethnic and political differences, if only temporarily.
But since the unilateral declaration of independence of the Kosovo Province many Serbian-owned restaurants and hotels sit empty during ski season because Albanian tourists are under pressure to boycott Serbian establishments. If this situation doesn't normalize it will cost some of Brezovica’s 15,000 Serbs their jobs. Jovica Budovic, director of Hotel Narcis, lamented that it limped along with only 5 percent occupancy. He said the creaking infrastructure at the resort, which can accommodate 5,000 skiers an hour on 10 ski lifts, was in dire need of investment.
But few Serbs are willing to invest in a resort that could fall into Albanian hands. “This used to be a four-star hotel, but now because of the politics here, we are empty and everything is frozen,” Mr. Budovic said. “Making money is more important than divisions. It is the politicians who are making the problems.” Hotel Narcis was a A-class hotel and offered 200 beds in 124 rooms, soprtfacilities for summer and winter and halls for meetings and celebrations. The ski facilities have been kept going since 1999 only by international organization stationated in the Kosovo region, for their own purpose. Also they used the hotels for semiraries and meetings. But not in the recent time anymore. Now there were some atempts by Kosovo Trust Agency, KTA to privatize the Hotel complexes in the Bresovica area (Belgarde oposes this, as "privatize" would mean it would fall into Kosovo-albanian hands and coulderase the serbian enclave in other words it's still considered a very delicate question. That means also that no Serbian firm (nor international) is willing to invest in a business in a province where its status is so unclear like the temporary status of Kosovo and Metohija province. And to be honest, where is the fun of skiying where KFOR peacekeepers in camouflage patrol the slopes and there is barbwire everywhere?

Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren

When you leave Prizren along the Bistrica River, after 2,5 km on the old road between Prizren an Skopje you meet the Holy Archangels Monastery (Манастир Светих Архангела) on the right. It was founded by Tsar Dusan and built between 1343 and 1352 on the place of the earlier church,and is parto of Visegrad fortress complex (the fortress is above on a mountain).
The monastery was looted and annihilated after the Ottomans arrived in 1455, and in 1615 it was rased to the ground, and its material was used for the construction of the Sinan Paša Mosque in Prizren. The entire complex was archeologically explored in 1927, and its remains were conserved after Second World War.

In the 1990's the reconstruction of Holy Archangels began. The necessary infrastructure was built and within the old walls a new residential quarter (konak) was built for the brotherhood of monks. A chapel was built inside the konak dedicated to Holy Bishop Nicholas of Žica. The first monks arrived in 1998 and the monastery since then has gained an important role in the spiritual life of the Serb people, especially in this area.






After the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and retreat of the Yugoslav army forces, reconstructed objects were burned and looted in June 1999, by the members of KLA, after the KFOR arrival.

But the reconstruction was interrupted by the war, the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and retreat of the Yugoslav army forces in this region, which has not spared the brotherhood of the Holy Archangels. In June 1999 a monk from the monastery, Fr. Chariton, was abducted. Immediately afterwards, a dozen of monks, together with the majority of the Serbs from this region, left the monastery. The headless body of Fr. Chariton was found in mid 2000 and buried in Crna Reka Monastery. After the arrival of KFOR the brethren gradually returned to the monastery.





During the 2004 unrest in Kosovo, the monastery was burned and looted again by albanian terrorists though during that time it was "controlled" by the KFOR. It's not really understandable how this could happen...I let the conclusions up to your fantasy.
The entire monastery complex is under protection of the Republic of Serbia, as a Monument of Culture of Great Importance, and today in the monastery lives a brotherhood of eight monks that are under constant protection of the German KFOR. :-)








Today the life of the monastery unfolds in complete isolation and consists of everyday services and monastic duties. The woodcarving workshop produces miniature carved items which are very rare and have become well-known abroad. The tailoring workshop is also busy and the monks are learning to work with computers. Today the monastery has become a spiritual center gathering the remaining Serb Orthodox people from Prizren and Sredacka Župa.


ARCHITECTURE
Having inherited the rich building tradition of his predecessors, Dušan's demands with respect to the architecture and richness of the Monastery were great. He probably wanted the pious endowment in which his earthly remains were to be interred to be a symbol of the power and greatness of the state which he ruled.




In addition to the large Church of the Holy Archangels, residential quarters, library and other buildings, within the Monastery there was another, smaller church, the Chapel of St. Nicholas. In the Monastery Charter one can read that a separate building within the complex was designated as the infirmary. The monumental refectory was cross-shaped with an apse on the eastern side. A bridge across the Bistrica River connected the Monastery with Dušan's castle at Ribnik and the royal palace in Prizren.




Holy Archangels was a great imperial pious endowment, lavishly decorated with rich materials. Although the name and origin of the main architect are unknown, it is almost certain that a building of such harmonious proportion and shape and such exquisite workmanship could only have been the work of an architect who had fully mastered the experience of the architects of Constantinople architects in spatial exposition and wedded it to the Mediterranean, Romanesque-Gothic sensibility in the use of stone. In Holy Archangels we appear to have the full flowering of the long-awaited synthesis of religious art forms of the European East and West which matured in the Raška school, on the one hand, and in the monuments of Kosovo and Macedonia, on the other.



Here to download is a very informative file from the European Commission.