cović Square, is one of Belgrade’s main transport junctions. Back in the 19 th century, the area of this square was covered by a pond that Belgrad- ers would visit to hunt wild ducks, then a roundabout was erected on the site after the 1940s. This place is now home to the Slavija Musical Fountain and is a great attraction for runners. From here, the mara- thon route continues along one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, Neman- jina Street. Racing down this street reveals the building of the Govern- ment of the Republic of Serbia, with the building of the former Central Railway Station and the newly erect- ed monument to King Stefan Ne- manja at the bottom of the street. Branko‘s Bridge Marathon runners are awaited by the crossing of the first bridge, which provides views of the Belgrade Fortress of Kalemegdan, the conflu- ence of the two rivers, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Betona Ha- la [Concrete Hall], one of Belgrade’s most vibrant nightlife spots. King Al- eksandar Bridge, built in 1935, stood here until it was destroyed during World War II. The new bridge, incor- porating some parts of the structure of the previous bridge, was built in the post-war period and opened to traffic in 1956. Concrete utopia The architectural brutalism of New Belgrade, based on the inter- national spirit of architecture, pro- vides a flat and stimulating running track for competitors. This “concrete utopia” is extremely interesting for marathon runners. Here rise the sky- scrapers of Ušće, while participants also run past the Palace of Serbia and the famous Hotel Yugoslavia, whose overnight guests included the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Richard Nix- on, Neil Armstrong et al... Belgrade‘s Central Park The neighbourhood of Tošin Bu- nar leads to Ada Bridge, which only became part of the marathon route a few years ago. This bridge provides views over Belgrade’s Central Park,
lished 112 years ago. Hotel Moskva is Belgrade’s top charmer, a keeper of the city’s secrets, and those who’ve spent their Belgrade days and nights here include Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Nixon, Luciano Pavarotti, Robert De Niro and In- dira Gandhi, among many others. The majority of the world’s me- tropolises have at least a couple of running societies that can help you get acquainted with that city in run- ning shoes. And Belgrade doesn’t lag behind world trends in this ar- ea, with the local Belgrade Running Club, which has its first Runners Hub located at Dorćol’s 25 th May Sports & Recreation Centre, also able to pro- vide a starting point for getting ac- quainted with Belgrade.
Ada Ciganlija, but also Košutnjak Forest, known as the lungs of Bel- grade, and the Belgrade Fairgrounds. The Narodni Front Maternity Hos- pital is an institution where many Belgraders have been, and still are, born. That’s why it’s good to know that you’ll pass it just 700 metres from the finish line and that the tra- dition here is for supporters not to shout and cheer, but rather to allow runners to pass in silence. Belgrade‘s top charmer: hotel Moskva The marathon’s finish line is situ- ated in one of the city centre’s busiest streets, on Terazije square, in front of Hotel Moskva, where the Olym- pic Committee of Serbia was estab-
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