Belgrade Fortress (Kalemegdan)

Belgrade Fortress, known to locals as Kalemegdan, stands on a ridge above the meeting of the Sava and Danube rivers in the Stari Grad municipality of Belgrade, Serbia. A Celtic settlement and then the Roman military camp of Singidunum occupied the spot, and the Byzantines, Bulgarians, Hungarians, medieval Serbian rulers, Ottomans and Austrians all rebuilt its walls in turn. The fortress changed hands dozens of times, and most of the visible masonry today dates from the 15th to 18th centuries, including Ottoman gates and the Baroque Austrian fortifications built in the 1720s and 1730s. Serbian despot Stefan Lazarevic made Belgrade his capital in the early 15th century and added the Despot Gate and towers, and the Ottoman conquest followed in 1521. The complex divides into the Upper Town, with the Clock Tower, Roman Well, Ruzica Church and the Victor monument, and the Lower Town beside the Danube, with the Nebojsa Tower and the Defterdar and Istanbul Gates. The Victor, a bronze statue of a nude warrior by Ivan Mestrovic, was raised in 1928 to mark the victory in the First World War and now faces the confluence. Inside the walls the Military Museum displays weapons and uniforms from the Roman period to the 20th century, and the Belgrade Fortress grounds also contain the Zoo area, the Pobednik terrace and dry moats. Archaeological layers show Roman masonry, medieval Serbian foundations and Ottoman cisterns, and the walls have been repeatedly restored, with work still under way on ramparts and towers. The surrounding Kalemegdan Park is the largest green space in the old city and works as a free public promenade. Walking the ramparts at sunset is among the most popular things to do in central Belgrade, and the site is listed as a cultural monument of exceptional importance to Serbia.