Belgrade’s gritty exuberance makes it one of the most happening cities in Europe. While it hurtles towards a brighter future, its chaotic past unfolds before your eyes: socialist blocks are squeezed between art nouveau masterpieces, and remnants of the Habsburg legacy contrast with Ottoman relics. It is here where the Sava River meets the Danube (Dunav), contemplative parkland nudges hectic urban sprawl, and old-world culture gives way to new-world nightlife. Grandiose coffee houses, quirky sidewalk ice-creameries and smoky dens all find rightful place along Knez Mihailova, a lively pedestrian boulevard flanked by historical buildings all the way to the ancient Kalemegdan Citadel, crown of the city. Deeper in Belgrade’s bowels are museums guarding the cultural, religious and military heritage of the country. Josip Broz Tito and other ghosts of the past have been laid to rest here.

‘Belgrade’ literally translates as ‘White City’, but Serbia’s colourful capital is red hot.

Smederevo Fortress is the last great creation of the Serbian military construction, and one of the largest fortifications in the south-east Europe. It was built with great efforts in order to replace already lost Belgrade, which in 1427, after the death of Despot Stefan Lazarević it was handed over to the Hungarians. As a new centre of Serbia and a Despot Ðurađ Branković’s court, an uninhabited place on the confluence of the Jezava and the Danube rivers was chosen, which conditioned a triangular shape of the fortress ground plan. Unlike Belgrade, the new Smederevo Fortress covers a somewhat smaller defence area, with a simpler interior arrangement. The Smederevo town is one of the largest fortifications in the south-east Europe. As a defence system, it is an extraordinary example of a cold weapons defence fortification and the best creation in the mediaeval military architecture. Its special feature is reflected in a choice of this particular location. Unlike the steep, inaccessible land areas, which found its use in the Middle Ages, here a flat plateau along the river bank was chosen, so today, Smederevo is a synonym for a “flatland fortress” type.

The fort of Ram is on a right bank of the Danube. Turkish sultan Bayezid II built it in 15th century, on the remains of an older Byzantine fort. The fortress offers a fantastic view of the Danube at the widest point of its whole course.

Srebrno jezero (Silver Lake), is 3km far from Veliko Gradiste town, and due to its vicinity to other cities around the region it has become a very popular destination for tourists and fishermen. Srebrno jezero was made by closingone of the Danube’s backwaters, with well-arranged beaches and water being filtrated through sandy dunes.

It belongs to a group of lakes that positions Serbia among inevitable destinations of travelers who can recognize a genuine, warm and live tradition. It is 14 km long, average width is about 300 m.

It is rich with fish and usually called “paradise for fishermen”, and it also offers good opportunities for numerous water sports. It is rich with catfish, pike-perch, carp and amur and it is mentioned in the Guiness Book of Records since the biggest carp was caught in this lake weighing about 44 kg.

Viminacium is one of the most important Roman towns and military encampments from the period from the 1st to the 6th century. The civilian settlement next to the encampment during the rule of Hadrian (117-138) gained the status of a municipium, a town with a high degree of autonomy. During the reign of Gordian III (239) the town was accorded the status of a Roman citizen colony and the right to mint local currency. Such a status was the highest that could be attained by a town in the Roman Empire. Viminacium was often chosen as a mustering point for troops and a starting point in many a military campaign.

The economy of Viminacium developed quickly thanks to its location on the Danube. The exceptional finds made in the necropoles around the town (more than 14,000 graves have been found so far) confirm the belief that its citizens were very wealthy, and frescoes found in the crypts represent the peak of late classical period art. The town was devastated on several occasions, in invasions by the Goths, Huns and finally the Avars. In and around the town there have been discoveries of an amphitheatre, monumental buildings, lavish thermae (baths) and the remains of a highly-developed infrastructure, first and foremost streets, aqueducts and a sewage system. The discoveries made so far have very much affirmed the special significance of Viminacium as the leading Roman Metropolis on this part of the Danube Limes.

Most likely built in the 14th century, the Golubac Fortress sits high on cliffs overlooking the Danube at an area known as the Iron Gate. This fortress was a key in the defense of the medieval Serbian state and later passed into the hands of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires.

The fortress has irregularly shaped foundation and is surrounded by walls which follow the configuration of the terrain. Within these walls, the city is divided into a few units, and nine massive towers are all connected and situated in such a way so the city can be defended from the land as well as from the river.

The National Park Djerdap stretches along the right bank of Danube, for about 100 km, from Golubacki grad fortress to Karatas near Kladovo, thus being one of the longest gorges in Europe. The part of the river Danube which belongs to Serbia accounts for about 9% of surface of the National Park. Therefore the National park Djerdap is also a river national park. The Park is typical river valley park, with Djerdap gorge, the principal natural phenomenon, with cultural and historical monuments, natural scenery, preserved original ecosystems and age-old plant and animal life of remarkable value and rarity. The most beautiful gorge of the Djerdap is Veliki Kazan. In this part of its course, the mighty Danube is seized between steep, often vertical cliffs that rise even up to several hundred meters above the river, which is not wider than 170 m. Exactly at this point the Danube is the deepest. The depth of 90 m, measured in one of the huge hollows that are present in the Danube riverbed, represents one of the greatest river depth on Earth. It is only here where it can be seen in a striking manner how Djerdap (Iron Gate) got its name. The area of Derdap gorge was declared a national park in 1974.

The National Park Djerdap is distinguished from other parks for its unique and exceptionally significant monumental heritage. This primarily refers to the archaeological find Lepenski Vir. During the systematic archaeological activities that preceded the construction of the first Iron Gate dam and formation of the reservoir, remains of a previously unknown prehistoric culture were found on the Danube terrace Lepenski Vir on the right riverbank. This finding was a true sensation in archaeological circles.The settlement with sacral buildings of specific construction and shape and sculptures made of huge round pebbles, representing fantastic fish-like creatures, belong to the one of the most complex prehistoric cultures from the period between 7,000 and 6,000 B.C. In the narrow valley in the form of an amphitheatre, complex social and economic relationships were developed, with the most ancient urban structure, sacral architecture, and monumental sculptures on the European continent to date.

The Iron Gate Dam was built during the 1960s as the basis for a large hydro-electric power plant which supplies Serbia with a significant proportion of its electricity. The basic activity of this hydro power plant is not only electric power production, but also operation of water locks in the “Djerdap I” and “Djerdap II” systems.

“Djerdap I” has two-level water locks (ships enter the chamber and then they are “led” into the end water level of the Danube at the chamber end). In terms of chamber dimensions, these water locks are among the largest ones in the world.