L ike all great cities with a long tradition, Bel- grade also has places that hide secrets that we are often unable to confirm as either myth or truth with any degree of certainty. Legends serve to prove that the imagination has al- ways been alive, with the truth serving as a mere start- ing point, and we are taking this opportunity to reveal to you some of the secrets of Kalemegdan, the beautiful fortress that‘s both a symbol and guardian of Belgrade. The Roman well that isn‘t For starters, Kalemegdan‘s Roman well is neither Roman nor a well. It is actually a water cistern that was dug by Austrians between 1717 and 1731, but the people later dubbed it the Roman well, because for the people of that time everything that was old was con- sidered Roman. During their time, the Austrians didn‘t succeed in reaching the source of water even at a depth of 60 meters, so the cistern filled up with rainwater. The design of the well was based on the model of the more famous cistern in Orvieto, but it‘s unlikely that there are as many legends related to that one, which is both bigger and deeper than the Belgrade well. From the one about a tunnel that emerges on the opposite side of the Danube, in Zemun, beside the Millennium Tower, to the fantastic saga about the “fish that ate 52 people during World War II”. The re- sponsible experts from the Belgrade Fortress wonder about the need for such mystification, given that the Little secrets of the great Kalemegdan Belgrade has its own hidden mysteries that are visible only to those who seek them out, masked by myths that make them even more significant INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BELGRADE
truth is sufficiently interesting. All of that might not be important for laymen, even whether there‘s any truth to the rumours that fa- mous film director Alfred Hitchcock said in 1969 that the location would be ideal for shooting horror films. What is important is that this is one of the most im- pressive scenes for the majority of visitors. Bunker as a military secret Hidden opposite the well is the entrance to two cannon batteries that Tito had built in the late 1940s, during a time of bad relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Narrow concrete corridors that wid- en at the ends to make room for the weapons are cam- ouflaged by an artificial hill, so nothing is noticeable from the outside. The bunker was a military secret for a long time, although it was never used. Today a brief history of the two countries is presented inside, with a special emphasis on conflicts. And that‘s the part that‘s of most interest to foreigners. They‘ve already heard something about the main actors – the presidents. Gunpowder magazine of art and religion When you head from there beyond the walls of Kalemegdan, you will soon reach the Gunpowder Mag- azine that is also an Austrian construction in the Low- er Town. Nestled comfortably into the hillside, it was once the scene of explosions. Medieval Stećci tomb- stones and sarcophagi from the Roman period testify to the fact that the 4 th century inhabitants of Singi- dunum included wealthy Christians. Also testifying to this fact is a relief on one of the preserved artefacts: it portrays the Old Testament Jonah and the whale, or some similar monster that swallowed him, and Christ with a lamb around his neck, who appears brighter than the way he was represented by later artists. Veliki barutni magacin sastoji se od dve sale oslonjene na po devet stubova i od velikog prostranog hodnika The large gunpowder warehouse consists of two halls supported by nine pillars and a large, spacious corridor
Posle religijske i vojne funkcije danas barutni magacin ima kulturnu funkciju / After its religious and military function, today the Gunpowder Warehouse has a cultural function
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