Niš

Its situation at the cross roads of great roads linking Serbia with the East Balkans have given to this metropolis the name of the “Gate between East and West”. With 250 000 population is an industry and University town where the French presence is active a long time. Lamartine used to stay here 1823 and has taken there from some fragments of the popular Serbian songs. French Oriental Army has been greeted here as the liberators 1918. This long tradition of the links with France explains the presence of a French cultural centre and of many associations maintaining the cultural contacts with France. The history had powerfully marked this town and had left permanent traces. The emperor Constantine was born here and used to stay here many times what had left a complete Roman place Medijana. In the heart of the town Turks have imprinted their seal with this fortress dominating Nisava and especially with the famous the “Scull Tower” celebrating the Serbian defeat by Ottomans 1809.

This metropolis linked directly to Belgrade by a modern highway used to develop an abundant activity. It has profited by its situation on the Balkan cross roads. Nis is in fact an unavoidable stage in all the traffic coming from Central Europe and going to Greece and Turkey. Numerous galleries and museums confirm the vitality of the town but stimulate longings. The inhabitants of the town still remember the bombing of NATO 1999. The air campaign cost them many dead and the destruction of the central market and one school, and one tobacco factory. Nevertheless the second Serbian ton had been governed by the opposition to Milosevic and continues with a municipality of liberal tendencies. But this does not disturb the “Nislije” at all to go on singing the delicious melodies of South Serbia we can hear in the cafes and restaurants of the town.

History

By its placement on the crossroads of South East Europe Nis had been early populated by a sedentary population and thereafter had been longed and occupied by numerous powers. A certain number of archaeological sites around the town: Hum, Bubanj, Kamenica prove since the neolith the occupation of this plane driven among the hills. At the confluent of the rivers of Nisava an Morava the site had been occupied by successive waves of peoples. In III century before our era Celts had given it the name of “Naissus” or “the town of fairies” because the legend says the fairies had slept there in the river. Naissus became later on a Roman fortress on the Byzantine road and under its walls Emperor Claudius II conquered Goths in 269. Constantine the Great came in power274, and under his reign (306-337) the town became an important administrative centre. The Roman Emperor had constructed here his summer residence of Medijana where he had stayed between two battles against Germans. Otherwise one could discover the tomb remnants and a Christian basilica in this part of the Roman Empire. Huns came here to take the town 414 and had destroyed it, but the Romanism had been maintained here until VI century under the reign of Justinian. He raised the town out of the ruins and had given it the name of “Naissopolis”.

The Serbian dynasty of Nemanjics had developed the town by its domination by Stefan Nemanja, the father of St. Sava 1183. During two centuries Nis had been the most populated town in the Serbian Empire because of its strategic position had known a commercial development. But Turks conquered it 1386 and had controlled the town until 1877. They had installed here a fortress 1723 because of the danger from the side of Austrians. But especially the Ottoman sultan succeeded in defeating the Serbian insurrection in the battle of Cegar 1809. between 1877 and 1914 Nis became the residence of the kings Milan and Aleksandar Obrenovic, and of the lyceum, the banks and here had developed the railway station. I World War had broken out, and until the defeat of October 1915 Nis had been the residence of the Government, the Assembly, and of Headquarters. The Austrians had confided the control over the town to Bulgarians and they had been proceeding the elimination of the local bourgeoisie and in the villages in the environment they began to bulgarize their names. In this context it had been understood the formidable reception of French and Serbian Allied Armies when general Trainie had liberated the town October 12th 1918. Nis had been much suffering during the II World War. In 1942 the daily bombings had been an overture to the German Concentration Camps making tens of thousands of civilians dead. In 1944 had also been touched by the American bombing. When this repeated itself 1999, this is only the returning of a sad history.

TOURIST SITES

FORTRESS - On the right bank of the Nisava and dominating the town the Turkish fortress constructed 1719 and 1723 in the place of an ancient Roman castrum and thereafter the Byzantine fortress. This polygon has been stretching over 22 hectares and had been defended by four gates and three bastions. Today the South gate-Istanbul and the West Belgrade could be visited, as well as the numerous remnants inside. The ensemble represents the most important medieval fortress of the whole Serbia-Montenegro after Kalemegdan in Belgrade.

Next to the gate of Istanbul there is an ancient arsenal from 1957. it has been constructed by sultan Abdul Madzid at the end of the Crimean War and had served as the arms and ammunition of Turkish Army. Aside one finds also the most ancient Ottoman monument, the hammam erected 1498. Finally, the mosque Bali Beg from 1521 with a library constructed in the same era. Renewed in 1970, it serves today for the exhibition of the Galley “Salon 77” where had been exposed the pictures of Ljiljana Kostadinovic. Next to these Ottoman monuments there are in the fortress the remnants of the therms of Roman villas, as well as the monument of liberators of Nis erected 1878.

MEDIJANA - The archaeological site in the road to Niska Banja that witnesses the flourishing of Roman Naissus. This summer residence of Emperor Constantine born here 274 is today not in a very good state, but it remained a few interesting remnants. Some fragments of the peristyle of the palace of Constantine, the floor mosaics, some villas, one baptistery and the thermos have been also preserved in their original splendour. The attractive museum contains some valuable objects especially with a collection of 16 statuettes which, although partially damaged, remain the true representations of Roman divinity as Asclepion, Dionysus or Hercules.

Visits: Bulevar Cara Konstantina bb, Phone: 550 433. Open from April 1st to October 31st Tuesday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

THE SKULL TOWER - The emblematical monument of the town unique in the world. On May 31st 1809 the vojvoda Stevan Sindjelic ahead of 3000 Serbian soldiers had lost the main battle against 10,000 Turks. Then, like everywhere in Serbia the insurrection against Turks had been autochthon to liberate one’s own country, Nis continued its captivity 68 years more. Under the guide of an example sultan ordered his officer of the battle to bring to Istanbul the heads of Serbian commanders, and in this place 952 skulls had been piled and distributed by the stages making a tower many meters high. In the Serbian history vojvoda Sindjelic became a hero of the resistance to Turks, and the site of Cegar where the battle had taken place had been sacralized a historical monument 1983. Lamartine, during his travel 1824 had posted a plate at the foot of the Skull Tower where can be read: “May Serbs be able to preserve this monument. It will teach the children in the future times what had been the price of liberty to their ancestors and will serve as a constant remembrance of the value of this battle”.

Visits: Kralja Petra Prvog bb (coming from Medijana toward the centre), Phone: 322 288. Open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

THE CONCENTRATION CAMP “RED CROSS” - One of the rare nazi concentration camps in the state. It witnesses in an authentic way the sufferings of the inhabitants of Nis and all South Serbia during the II World War. Everything here is as if the time stopped 1944: the grey rectangular buildings the civilians had been stuffed into, the surveillance sentry cabins, and finally the intact barbed wire. During the war 30000 persons had passed through this camp, 10000 of whom had been shot on the hill of Bubanj. At first the camp had been determined to the arrested to be under investigation, and tortured for being the enemies of the regime: communist, hostages, Jews. On February 12th1942 a riot broke out and about 100 prisoners escaped. But the repression was cruel: the 40 of them remaining had been cut into pieces with a cruelty rarely seen till then. Thereafter the camp “Red Cross” became the camp of the death.

On the hill of Bubanj a monumental sculpture representing three enormous fists in honour of the spirits of 10000 shot in this place after they had learned the prison of the “Red Cross”.

Visits: Bulevar 12 februar bb (behind the Fortress), Phone: 351 477. Open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to4 p.m. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.