T ourists who visit Belgrade usually spend their time on one side of the river, touring the city centre and inevitable historic spots like Kale- megdan Fortress or the bohemian quarter of Skadarlija. That’s because the other side of the Sava, at rst glance, o ers only huge concrete residential blocks. But that’s on- ly how it appears, because New Belgrade is slowly but surely herding tourists from the centre who head to the other side of the river, where each building is inscribed with the history of Yugoslavia and social- ist architecture. You can dive into this treasure from the second half of the 20 th century with the team that’s been presenting the key spots to vis- itors since 2015, within the scope of what they’ve called their “Yugotour”. “The idea originated with Dutchman Ralf Van Der Zijden, who - inspired by the Trabant Tour of Berlin - wanted to organise something similar in Belgrade. The Yugot- our today has six cars in its eet - Stojadins (Zastava 101), mostly dating back to the sec- ond half of the ‘70s, and for the purposes of authenticity they are mostly in pristine
pearance attracting attention and greeting everyone entering Belgrade from the west, which is why it was nicknamed the Western Gate. Now it is the second tallest building, with rst place having been taken over by the Ušće Tower. The left column of Geneks Tower was conceived as a residential block, with the right column occupied by compa- nies whose employees lived in the left wing. The idea was that workers wouldn’t have to move beyond the building, given that the two towers were connected by a tunnel at the top. The left tower remains a residential building today, while the right tower is prac- tically empty, given that all the companies from that time have long since collapsed. As we make our way through the mass of modern cars in our old-timer, Vojin tells us that interest among foreigners is grow- ing year on year, most notably for their two
factory condition,” says Vojin Munćan, the manager of this organisation, as he opens the door of one of the Stojadins in the eet. As we settle into the old-timer, a sti - ened, yellowed newspaper falls into view. It is a copy of Politika, the edition of 5 th May 1980, the day that Comrade Tito died. This, along with a couple of confectionery prod- ucts from Yugoslavia that have remained with us, is shared by Vojin and his guides among their guests. In the car boot are two YNA helmets, a famous red passport and a few other little items from history. The idea is for every car in the eet to have a mi- ni history of Yugoslavia, expressed in little things from the everyday lives of Yugoslavs, by next summer. The journey leads us to Geneks, which was the tallest building in Belgrade for a long time, with the idea of its impressive ap-
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