highlights

Zemun is a little town on the banks of Danube River. It’s about 7km away from the center of Belgrade.

You can reach Zemun by buses no. 84 or 704e from Zeleni venac or catch the train from the station near the Monument of Vuk Karadzic (Ruzveltova St., from 5am till midnight).

This area was inhabted since the neolith time but, as an organized colony, it was mentioned for the first time, in the 3rd century B.C., when it was founded by the Celtic tribe Scordisci. The name Zemun appears with the arrival of the Slavs and it was named after the dugouts built for living by the people of this place (dugout- zemunica). In 1717, Zemun becomes very important part of the Habsburg Monarchy because its fortifications played a big role as a protection from Turkish army. Thanks to its position on the boundaries, it developes rapidly.

After the WW II, with the expansion of Belgrade, Zemun becomes a district and the part of the capital.

The oldest part of Zemun is its fortress, mentioned even in the 9th century. The parts existing today date from the 15th century but the most important is the Millennium Tower (the tower of Sibinjanin Janko) from 1896. There are also some baroque churches near the fortress,for example Nikolajevska church (from 1731, with chiseled iconostasis) and the Church of the Holy Mother of God (1780). In order to feel the atmosphere of this little town, it is neccessery to take a walk on Glavna ( the Main) Street, filled with pretty, oldish houses. The most famous is Spirtina kuca (Spirta’s house), built in 1853 for the needs of the tzintzarian family of Spirta, in the neo-gothic style. The Local Museum of Zemun is now here (9 Glavna, phone: 011/ 617-752; working hours: 9-16 on the work days, 8-15 on weekends, closed on Monday), with the permanent display showing the past of Zemun from the Neolith till the present time.