First and Second World War – Officers Club, Banovina, The Fortress, Concentration Camp February 12th, Memorial Park “Bubanj”
Officers Club – At the beginning of the First World War, Officers Club became the seat of the parliamentary and political life of Serbia. One of the buildings in which the sessions of the Government of the Kingdom of Serbia were held was the Officers Club. The building was erected in 1890 near the park next to Nišava.
Banovina – Banovina is located on the right bank of the Nišava, near the main entrance to The Fortress. It was built in 1889, according to the project of a Viennese architect. Its historical significance is related to July 28, 1914, when a telegram was handed to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia in this building, by which Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
The Fortress – Niš Fortress is one of the most beautiful and best preserved medieval fortresses in the Central Balkans. It visually dominates the city center and occupies an area of 22 hectares. The mighty, stone ramparts are 2100 meters long, 8 meters high and 3 meters wide. It was built by the Romans, Byzantines and Serbs, demolished and rebuilt several times, to be given its final appearance by the Ottomans in 1730. Apart from the well-preserved massive stone walls and gates, numerous remains of the turbulent history of Niš can be seen in The Fortress.
Concentration Camp from the WW2 – The Concentration Camp in Niš is one of the few preserved fascist camps in Europe, which still today authentically testifies to the suffering of communists, partisans, Serbs, Roma and Jews during the German occupation of Niš and Serbia (1941-1944). The camp complex covers an area of 7 hectares and is surrounded by a high wall and barbed wire. It houses the main camp building, two auxiliary ground-floor buildings, two towers, two observation posts, guards and fountains. In the main camp building, which has been turned into a museum complex, visitors can see solitary confinement, rooms where groups of prisoners stayed, their shocking messages on the walls, as well as personal items such as documents, letters and photographs.
Memorial Park “Bubanj” – Bubanj hill, 3 km from the city center, was the site of mass shootings of prisoners from the Concentration Camp in Niš during World War II. After the liberation, a monument in the shape of three compressed fists was erected on the execution site, symbolizing a man, a woman and a child, as well as their resistance to crime. The fists are 13, 14 and 16 meters high and with their monumentality they leave an impressive impression on all visitors to the memorial park.
Guided tour with a licensed tour guide (Association of Tour Guides of Serbia, Niš) – 60 EUR
Contact: nistourguides@gmail.com, +381652665544, +381605069366
* Possibility of transport organization
Ticket for the objects of the National Museum – 200 RSD for one object, 300 RSD combined.
