BBC: Belgrade Is Europe's most under-rated city,do you agree?

litwin · Sep 21, 2012

which one is a most under-rated according to you ?

The word "Belgrade" conjures up images of war and ethnic cleansing. But a new Belgrade is emerging - of music festivals and nightclubs, pedestrianised streets and designer boutiques - as Serbia prepares to rejoin the European mainstream.

The Trans-European "Express" had already broken down and had its locomotive replaced. A heatwave gripped the Balkans, but there was no water on the slow moving train and no air conditioning.

What was chilly, however, was the behaviour of the border guards, who demanded and stamped our passports - with no glimmer of a smile.

As far as Croatia, the train was packed. But after entering Serbia it slowly emptied. When we finally reached Belgrade, at nearly 3am, barely 20 passengers climbed down.

Outside, the magnificent neoclassical 19th Century station, heat-dazed stray dogs wandered dozily around. Close by stood tower blocks shattered by cruise missiles - reminders of Nato's 1999 assault on the Milosevic regime.
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The Serbian young are reclaiming their city

Belgrade has long been one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Eastern Europe, but it has a slightly faded charm. Its history has been fundamentally edgy, a gateway to the world beyond Europe.

It is a city of cafes, of chain smokers, of immigrants, many of them displaced from across the former Yugoslavia as a result of the recent wars. It still feels on the edge.

But Belgrade is also an intriguing city and one eager to rediscover the confidence of its heyday. Built around a commanding crag at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, it was an important Roman settlement.

Marina Sibalic, an architect, took me up to the immense Kalimegdan Fortress, a bastion that has seen plenty of conflict - largely religious.

Indeed, the Siege of Belgrade in 1456 is remembered as a fight for the very survival of Christianity. The Christians won - then for four centuries, Belgrade swung between Muslim and Christian domination, repeatedly captured, sacked and rebuilt.
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PropagandaMachine · Sep 24, 2012

Right, geography was never my best subject but...

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BBC: Belgrade Is Europe's most under-rated city,do you agree?

litwin Well-Known Member

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BBC: Belgrade Is Europe's most under-rated city,do you agree?

litwin Well-Known Member

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