BELGRADE (Serbian Beograd, i.e., "White Castle"), the capital of Yugoslavia. Pop. (1931) 241,542. Belgrade occupies a triangular foreland at the confluence of Sava and Danube; at the base stands Ayala hill, the last outpost of the Rudnik mountains, and at the apex a cliff 2ooft. high, crowned by the cita del, once white, but now maroon with age, used as prison and barracks. Behind the citadel are the beautiful gardens of Kal megdan, with a famous river view, and behind them the city of white houses. It was formerly divided into the old town, the Russian town (Sava Makjiala or Sava district); and the Turkish town (Dorcol or cross-road). Changes in the 19th century made the old divisions less clear and there grew the Tirazia, a suburb along the aqueduct or Tirazi. A few old plaster Turkish houses, with red-tiled roofs, are left among the insanitary riverside dis tricts, but after 1869 Belgrade was rapidly transformed into a modern European town, with wide streets, electric tramways, electric lighting, telegraphs and telephones ; while in the beginning of the 2oth century, wireless was installed. Belgrade is the seat of the metropolitan of Serbia, with a cathedral. In addition to the university (with four faculties), educational facilities are afforded by a military academy, a theological seminary, a com mercial academy and several secondary schools. The court of caseation sits at Belgrade, and also a court of appeal and a com mercial tribunal.
There is a fine monument of Prince Michael (186o-68) ; a royal palace, much enlarged in 1925; an interesting national museum; a national library with a wealth of old Serbian mss. ; a national theatre; a botanical garden, rich in Balkan flora; while a new parliament house is being constructed. Commercial institutions include a chamber of commerce and many trade associations, and a national bank, privileged to issue notes.
The bulk of the foreign trade of Serbia finds its way through Belgrade, and the town itself is engaged in brewing, iron-founding, and the manufacture of cloth, woollen goods, boots, glue, sugar, soap, pottery, preserved meat, and confectionery. Belgrade is near good coal supplies, and in the neighbourhood are lead mines and quarries with excellent building stone and beautiful marbles. The main railway line of Yugoslavia runs north to meet the Hungarian line to Budapest, and south through Nish and Skoplje, to join the Greek line to Salonica. It has many branches and is connected with the Adriatic ports Split and Sibenik. The only high roads are one going north to Smederevo, and one south to Cattaro, all the others being merely country roads. South of the town is the park of Topchider, with an old Turkish kiosk built for Prince Milosh (1818-39). In the adjoining forest of lime trees, called Koslinutyak or the "deer park," Prince Michael was assassinated in 1868. Opposite the citadel, across the Danube, lies the town of Lemun (Semlin) which was Hungarian until 1918. For administrative purposes Belgrade forms a separate depart ment of the kingdom.
The first fortification was made by Celts in the 3rd century B.C., with the name Singidunum, by which it was known until the 7th century A.D. The Romans took it from the Celts and replaced their fort by a regular Roman castrum. Between the 4th and 6th centuries A.D. it often changed masters (Huns, Sarmatians, Goths, Gepids) ; then the emperor Justinian made it Roman once more. Towards the end of the 8th century it was taken by the Franks of Charlemagne ; in the 9th century by the Bulgarians, who held it till the beginning of the i ith century, when the Byzantine emperor Basil II. reconquered it for the Greek empire. The Hungarians, under King Stephen, took it from the Greeks in 1 1 24. From that time it was again constantly changing hands—Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians replacing each other in turn. The city was considered to be the key of Hungary and of Serbia also, besides giving command of the traffic between the Upper and Lower Danube. It has, in consequence, seen more battles under its walls than most fortresses in Europe. The Turks used to call it Darol-i-Jehad, the home of wars of the faith. Dur ing the i4th century it was in the hands of the Serbian kings, and was made the capital of Serbia in 1403 by Stephen, grandson of Prince Lazar. His successor, George Brankovich, ceded it to the Hungarians in 1427. From 1521 to 1688 it was in Turkish hands and again from 1739 to 1789 when the Austrians carried it by assault, and lost it again in 1792. In 1807 the Serbians having risen for their independence, took the town and held it until the end of Sept. 1813.
Up to 1862 the fortress and the Danubian slope of the town were inhabited by Turks, living under a special Turkish administration, while the modern part of the town (the plateau of the ridge and the western slope) was inhabited by Serbians living under their own authorities. This dual government was a constant cause of friction between the Serbians and the Turks, and on the occasion of one conflict between the two parties the Turkish commander of the fortress bombarded the Serbian part of the town (June 1862), which indirectly led, in 1866, to the withdrawal of the Turkish garrison from the citadel and its delivery to the Serbians. In 1878, by the treaty of Berlin, Belgrade became the capital of a Serbia freed at last from the Turkish suzerainty. The World War began with the bombardment of Belgrade by the Austrians on July 29, 1914. In November it was taken by the Austro Germans, but the Serbs made a brilliant return, and in December King Peter made a triumphant entry into his capital. Large num bers of prisoners were taken, but they and their captors fell victims to a terrible plague of typhus. In Sept. 1915 a general attack was made by Austrians and Germans on the river frontier, and on Oct. 9 the town fell. It remained in the enemy's hands until the end of the war, when the kingdom of Yugoslavia came into existence.