PE “Belgrade Fortress” was founded in 2002 with the aim of improving and protecting the complex of Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park, which covers over 60 hectares and includes buildings, archeological sites and cultural and historical monuments of inestimable national importance.
Apart from being the most visited tourist location, the complex is also a kind of oasis in the city center, and a favorite place for rest and recreation of many Belgraders. Revitalization of the complex is one of the priorities, which preserves its history and ensures its future, for the two million visitors who visit it every year.
MONUMENT OF NATURE – KALEMEGDANSKI RT
Based on a protection study carried out by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia declared the “Kalemegdanski Rt” in Belgrade, located south of the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, between the Upper and Lower Belgrade Fortress, a monument of nature. The boundaries of this natural monument include a unique natural geological rarity on the territory of Serbia – the seashore profile from the oldest stage in the history of the former Pannonian Sea.
In the area of the “Kalemegdanski rt” Monument of Nature, which covers 14 hectares and 7 acres, the protection regimes of the 2nd and 3rd degree have been established, as published in a Decree in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. According to the Rulebook on evaluation criteria and the procedure of categorization of protected areas, the Natural Monument “Kalemegdanski rt” was declared a 1st category area of international, national and exceptional importance, with the aim of preserving the sediments of the Miocene age. “Kalemegdski rt” also has its historical significance for Belgrade, because this limestone rock is probably responsible for the name that our capital has borne since the arrival of the Slavs in the Balkans at the beginning of the seventh century. The whiteness of the limestone ridge with the remains of an early Byzantine fortress, which had to have stood out clearly in the surrounding landscape, with ramparts and towers built of stone of the same geological composition and colour, undoubtedly determined the new name of the city, White City – Belgrade. Thus, “Kalemegdanski rt”, in addition to its geological value, also has historical significance and as such represents an inseparable part of the identity of our capital. The natural monument “Kalemegdanski rt” has now been entrusted to the management of the PE Belgrade Fortress.
BAROQUE GATE
Changes in architectural concepts during Ottoman and Austrian rule over the fortress are especially visible in the Sahat Gate complex, next to which stands another gate today. It was built in the axis of the Stambol Gate during the Austrian rule of Belgrade, during the third decade of the 18th century. There are four decorative niches on the sides of the gate. At the bottom there is a smaller room for guard accommodation and on the opposite side is the entrance to the side room of the Sahat Gate. After the return of the Turks to Belgrade in 1740, this gate was walled up and its baroque facade was removed.
Archaeological excavations carried out at the Austrian Gate in 1987 enabled a detailed renovation of the interior. Two years later, the space was adapted and housed a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of Belgrade Fortress. The main exhibits are scale models, which show the appearance of the fortress in the 15th century, as well as its development and transformation into a baroque fortress in 1736 and 1790. In the niches are Roman statues found in Serbia and altars from Singidunum, and the chamber at the bottom of the room is dedicated to Despot Stefan Lazarevic and the defenders of Belgrade in the 15th century.
DESPOT STEFAN LAZAREVIC MONUMENT
The bronze figure of a man with a cloak is a monument paying tribute to the famous Serbian ruler, writer and builder Despot Stefan Lazarevic, during whose government Belgrade became the capital of Serbia for the first time. Despot Stefan, the son of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanovic and Princess Milica, inherited Serbia, which had been dealt a heavy blow at the battle in Kosovo and which had to recognise the supreme authority of the Turkish Sultan. As one of the proofs of vassal obedience, Princess Milica sent her youngest daughter, Olivera, to the Sultan’s harem. Despot Stefan respected the vassal oath until 1402, when, after the battle of Angora, Sultan Bayezid fell into Tatar captivity. At that time, there was a change in the Despot’s foreign policy and he became a Hungarian vassal in order to have the protection of a powerful Christian state. The Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg then gave him the administration of Belgrade, where the Despot moved the Serbian capital to from Krusevac. Belgrade played the role of the capital for only 23 years, until the Despot’s death in 1427.
MILITARY KITCHEN
It is located between the gate of Carlo IV and Nebojsa Tower. It leans against the remains of northeastern rampart of the Lower Town. It was built in the second half of the eighteenth century and it is made of stones and bricks. Upon the siege of the Tower, Karadjordjevic’s insurgents used this building as a cannon foundry since 1807.
THE GATE OF CARLO VI
The gate of Charles VI is located within the medieval northeastern ramparts of the Lower Town and it was named in memory of the Austrian Emperor Charles VI, during whose government the city was ruled by the Habsburgs for the first time. The military success of the Austrians in the fight against the Turks, that is, their occupation of Belgrade and northern Serbia in 1717, was greeted by Europe as a great victory of Christianity over Islam. According to the provisions of the treaty concluded in Pozarevac the following year, Austria kept the conquered territories, so Belgrade became not only the main border fortress, but also the centre for the spread of Catholicism to the east. The gate was built at the very beginning of the Austrian rule, between 1718 and 1720, during the works on the reconstruction of this rampart. It represented a new, monumental entrance to the Lower Town. The facades of the gate are modeled in the baroque style and are also the only originally preserved achievement of baroque architecture in the areas south of the Sava and Danube.
The outer facade of the gate was conceived as a triumphal entrance to the imperial city, which was illustrated by the monogram of Emperor Charles VI above the entrance, and there was an inscription that read: “Charles VI, Roman Emperor, Augustus, supporter of the true faith against Christian enemies, erected this door, a magnificent work, after the conquest of the glorious city of Belgrade”. At the ends were the knightly armours of glory, signs of victory and peace, and in the central axis there was an armour with flags and war drums. The inner facade, through which one exited the fortress into the town, symbolised the portal of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia. Above this portal was a cartouche with the coat of arms of Serbia as the Austrian crown land — an ornamental motif depicting a boar’s head pierced by an arrow.
