Belgrade is a spiritual centre of the Balkans. Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the dominant faith in the region. The infiltration of Orthodox Christian thought, Byzantine culture and the Slav soul can be felt even in the smallest church, as you stare at frescoes of rulers and saints, painted down the centuries.

The Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarchate (Patrijaršija)
Kralja Petra I 5, tel. 328-2593, www.spc.yu

This was built in 1935 on the site where the Serbian Metropolitan's Palace stood from 1847 to 1849. The building that stands there today was designed by the Russian architect Viktor Lukomski. The Patriarchate is the residence of the head of the Serbian Church, and it also houses a library and a museum.

The Cathedral (Saborna crkva)
Kneza Sime Markovića bb,
www.saborna-bgd.spc.yu

The Church of the Holy Archangel Michael was erected on the site of an older church dating from 1728. The new cathedral church was built to the order of Prince Miloš Obrenović over the years from 1837 to 1840, to plans drawn up by Kvarfeld, a builder from Pančevo, in the classical style with elements of the baroque. The treasury of the church is especially valuable with its collection of old icons and sumptuously decorated gold works of art covering the period from the 17th to the 20th century. The tombs of the Serbian sovereigns Miloš and Mihailo Obrenović are housed in the church. In the churchyard are buried two giants of Serbian culture - Dositej Obradović and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić.

The Cathedral of Saint Sava (Hram Svetog Save)
Vračarski plato, www.hramsvetogsave.com

Preparations for the erection of one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world began as long ago as 1894. The Cathedral is being built on the site where according to tradition the remains of Saint Sava were brought from the Mileševo Monastery and burnt at the order of Sinan Pascha in 1594. After two tenders, in 1926 the proposal of the architects Bogdan Nestorović and Aleksandar Derok was eventually accepted. Construction was interrupted by air-raids at the beginning of World War Two and it was not until 1985 that work on the building was restarted.

The Church of the Ascension (Vaznesenjska crkva)
Admirala Geprata 19

This was built in 1863 by order of Prince Miloš Obrenović, for the army from the Great Barracks (Velika kasarna) which is close by. The bell tower contains a number of bells including the one that sounded from the Cathedral when the Princedom of Serbia was granted autonomy.

The Church of Saint Mark (Crkva Svetog Marka)
Tašmajdan Park

This was built during the years 1931 to 1940 on the site of an older church dating from 1835, and was designed by the architects Peter and Branko Krstić in the Serbian Byzantine style. The design of the church is reminiscent of the architecture of Gračanica monastery. At the southern end of the naos stands a sarcophagus containing the bones of the Serbian Emperor Dušan, which were brought from the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren which was built from money he bequeathed. The church houses one of the richest collections of 18th and 19th century icons.

The Rose Church of the Holy Mother of God (Bogorodičina crkva Ružica)
Belgrade Fortress, Upper Town

This is to be found on the lower level of the Belgrade Fortress, below the Prison Gate. Folk tradition mentions an original church of the same name which appeared in the 15th century during the time of Despot Stefan Lazarević and was destroyed during the Turkish capture of Belgrade in 1521. The church that stands there today was a gunpowder store in the 18th century, and was converted into the military chapel of the same name during the years 1867 to 1889. The church was restored in 1925. Close by the church is the Chapel of St. Petka (Kapela Sv. Petke), erected in 1867 over a "miraculous spring".

The Church of St. Aleksandar Nevski (Crkva Svetog Aleksandra Nevskog)
Cara Dušana 63

The initial idea of building a church in Dorćol was mooted in 1876-8 when the Russian Volunteer Corps under General Chernyayev were stationed in Belgrade. At that time a mobile military chapel dedicated to this Russian saint was brought to Belgrade and a larger church was erected on the site in 1928-1929, from plans drawn up by the architect Jelisaveta Načić. The marble iconostasis was a gift from King Aleksandar I Karađorđević.

Nikolajevska Church (Nikolajevska crkva)
Njegoševa 43, Zemun

This church is located in the eastern part of the old centre of Zemun, below the mediaeval fortress of Gardoš. It is first mentioned in 1573 as a small Serbian Orthodox chapel. The church that stands there today was built in the Baroque style in 1745.

The Monastery of the Presentation of the Holy Mother of God (Manastir Vavedenja presvete Bogorodice)
Vasilija Gaćeše 8

This monastery stands in Senjak. It was built during the years 1936 and 1937 by the architect Petar Popović. The monastery church was built in the traditional spirit of Serbian mediaeval construction. The chapel of St. Nicholas (kapela Svetog Nikole), with its wooden carved iconostasis and icons from the 18th, 19th and 20th century, stands within the monastery grounds.

The Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael (Manastir Svetog Arhangela Mihaila)
Patrijarha Dimitrija 34, Rakovica

Built in the 19th century in the style of the Moravian School, it is first mentioned in 16th century historical documents. It has been demolished and restored a number of times. In the narthex is the family tomb of Jevrem Obrenović, and along the southern external wall of the narthex is the tomb of General Vasa Čarapić.

The Monastery of the Holy Archangel Gabriel (Manastir Svetog Arhangela Gavrila)
Gradski park bb, Zemun

The monastery chapel was built in 1786. The iconostasis, carved in wood and gilded, was fashioned in the spirit of the Baroque, while the icons were made by the Zemun artists Dimitrije Bratoglić and his assistant Konstatin Lukić during 1830 and 1831.

Ascension Day - the City's Saint's Day

In 1403, when Despot Stefan Lazarević granted Belgrade the status of Capital, the city adopted Ascension Day - 'Spasovdan' as its Saint's Day ('slava'), in honour of the restoration and progress of the city. This ancient 'slava' symbolises the rising up, or ascension of the city from the ashes, and its irrepressible hope and faith in the future. Ascension Day is a movable feast and always falls on a Thursday, forty days after Easter, and ten days before Whitsun.