Nebojsa Tower - The oldest and darkest symbol of Belgrade

It was a very cold day in Belgrade, but I couldn't refuse my son's invitation to walk downtown. We went to a place where he traded his stickers for the Fifa World Cup album. 😊 And then we walked to the nearby Belgrade Fortress and park - Kalemegdan. Within the fortress there is one tower that is quite far from other parts of the fortress. It is the Nebojsa tower, built around 1460.

It is a cannon tower, a well-preserved medieval construction.

I'm not proud of the fact that I've never entered this tower before, but it's never too late to get to know your city better, so I did it now for the first time. I have passed by this tower many times, but now I have finally peeked inside.

The Nebojsa Tower was part of the defense system of Belgrade and was built to defend the town from the Turks. When you find yourself in front of it, you are overcome by a strange feeling, as if you have returned to the past and that at any moment cannons will fire. At least that's how I felt. I didn't feel comfortable and that's probably why I never wanted to go inside before. But now I was with my curious son who could hardly wait with great enthusiasm for us to climb to the top of the tower.

Cannons from the 15th century are displayed at the very entrance to the tower.

In that place it is written that Nebojsa Tower is a symbol of the struggle of Balkan Christians for liberation from Ottoman rule. In the 18th century, it was turned into a dungeon where many people were killed.

On the ground floor, there is an exhibition dedicated to the dungeon. As you approach the entrance to the dungeon, you get an eerie feeling.

It is dark and kind of sad when you think that you are entering a place of suffering and torture.

But I have to admit that I liked the electronic display of the dungeon that honored the victims.

There is also a screen where you can read about the history of this place and see illustrations.

We started to climb the stairs.

The first floor is dedicated to Riga of Fera, a Greek poet and revolutionary who was very important for the Greek people because he fought for freedom. Unfortunately, he was killed in this tower, as were many of his like-minded people who were considered infidels by the Turks.

We moved on, to the second floor.

The second floor is dedicated to the creation of the modern Serbian state at the beginning of the 19th century.

The war operations of the Serbian army were presented.

There are windows on all sides of the tower.

The windows are small and each one has a fantastic view.

And finally, we climbed to the last floor.

There, the process of transforming Belgrade from an oriental to a European town was presented in electronic form.

When we left the tower, we walked a bit.

Across the road is the archaeological institute, also a very old building.

And in the distance you can see the walls of the Belgrade Fortress, worth a visit.

In this part of Belgrade, the surroundings make you feel like you've gone back in time, and that's always a very exciting experience.

Thank you very much for reading.

The images and writing are original and mine.

Greetings!

Jelena