General information
| Destination |
|---|
| Belgrade, Serbia |
Program details
Enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the central Serbian province, Šumadija, or “Serbian Tuscany.” Learn about the turbulent history of Serbia in the XIX and XX centuries and the fearless struggle for freedom and progress. You’ll get free entry to all the museums you visit, including the magnificent St. George’s Church and King Peter’s House. Finally, enjoy a wine tasting at the Royal Winery.
Our tour starts at your accommodation. We are heading towards Topola, We are heading towards a small town in the central Serbian province of Šumadija. An hour and a half of drive we’ll spend enjoying the beautiful landscapes and hear stories about the Serbian struggle for independence from the Ottomans at the beginning of the 19th century and the history of the royal dynasty of Karadjordjević.
After only 20 minutes, our first stop will be Mount Avala, Belgrade green mountain. Situated less than 20km south of the city center, it is one of Belgrade’s most popular green areas, a perfect spot for recreation, picnic, or just enjoying nature. Entirely covered with wood, it serves as home to many birds and animal species. We drive through green forests until we reach the highest spot of Avala. In the 1930’s Aleksandar I, King of Yugoslavia decided to destroy a medieval fortress of Žrnov that was situated here to build the largest monument in the kingdom – Monument to the Unknown Hero. For this job, he engaged his court artist, world-renowned sculptor Ivan Mestrovic who indeed created a majestic structure, made of black marble with colossal sculptures, to resemble Antique tombs. We’ll hear some exciting stories about how it was constructed and the symbolism of the monument.
After that, we go down to the second largest hilltop of Avala 440m high, where Avala tower is situated. Built-in the 1960s as a TV tower, it was the largest concrete structure and the tallest structure in the entire Balkans. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the tower was bombed and destroyed. It was reconstructed according to the same plans and reopened for visitors. The two elevators take us up to 123m with a viewpoint from which you stay breathless: you can see the Central Serbian province of Sumadija and the entire Belgrade, including the two rivers’ confluence in the region of Vojvodina behind. After a short break, we get back into the vehicle, and we continue with our trip.
We reach Topola, where we will visit the Karadjordje’s Konak and the old church, a place where Djordje Petrović -Karadjordje, one of the most important characters in Serbian history, lived and from where he started the First Serbian Uprising, a war against the Ottoman invaders. We are climbing to the Oplenac hill, a beautiful green area covered with wood, where on the highest point a Royal endowment the St. George church is situated.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the church was built as a house of prayer and a mausoleum – a resting place for all the members of the Serbian (later Yugoslav) Royal family of Karadjordjevic. A tall and elegant, Byzantine style five dome church is completely covered with white marble from Venčac, a mine in the vicinity of Topola.
But, what leaves you breathless is not the church's appearance but its interior. A spectacle of colors and light, lavishly decorated marble floors and colored glass mosaics with gold plates on the walls. A surface of 3 500m2 is covered with more than 40 million peace of tiles, in more than 15 000 shades of different colors representing the most extensive gallery of copies of Serbian medieval fresco paintings in one place. In the left and the right wing of the church, two of the most prominent members of the Royal family are buried: Karadjordje himself, as a founder of the family and King Petar I, the first crowned ruler.
Under the church, in a crypt decorated in the same manner, 40 tombs of the members of the Royal dynasty of Karadjordjevic are situated.
Next, we will visit the small museum next to the church; which shows an invaluable collection of the Royal regalias and personal belongings of the members of the Royal family. After free time for walking in the wood and park around the church, we’ll visit the Royal vineyards and old cellar, where we shall see how the production of the vine used to look, and we’ll have a chance to see some of the old equipment utilized in that process.
After our eyes and souls have been fed with beauty, we are heading back to Belgrade.
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