Nis is a city in Nišava District, Serbia situated at 43.3° N 21.9° E, on the Nišava River. With more than 250,000 inhabitants it is the largest city of South Serbia and third-largest city in the country, after Belgrade and Novi Sad. The city covers an area of about 597 square kilometres, including the city of Niš itself, the Niška Banja spa and 68 suburbs. Niš Constantine the Great Airport is its international airport with the destination code INI. Niš is the administrative center of the Nišava District of Serbia.
Situated at crossroads of Balkan and Central European highways, connecting Asia Minor to Europe, Niš is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans, and has from ancient times been considered a gateway between the East and the West. It is home to one of Serbia's oldest Christian churches dating to the 4th century in the suburb of Mediana. Niš is also notable as the birthplace of Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman Emperor and the founder of Constantinople, as well as two other Roman emperors, Constantius III and Justin I.
Niš is a university center. There are about 30,000 university students at the University of Niš, which comprises 13 faculties. Niš is also one of the most important industrial centres in Serbia, a center of electronics industry (see Elektronska Industrija Niš), industry of mechanical engineering, textile industry and tobacco industry. In 2013 the city will host the Ecumenical Assembly of Christian Churches, in honour to 1700 years of Constantine´s Edict of Milan.
PLACE TO VISIT
Mediana (4th cent.)- Birthplace of Emperor Constantine the Great - This ancient historical site on the road Niš - Niška Banja (Spa) is a testimony of the wealth and glory of the imperial Naissus . The remains of imperial palace, together with peristyle (range of surrounding columns) have been discovered. Luxury villas with mosaic floors, sacral objects (baptistery room), farming buildings with pithos, Roman bathrooms, water tanks, fort remains etc testify about Naissus culture and wealth from the times of Emperor Constantine the Great, who was born in Nis. Constantine is best remembered in modern times for the Edict of Milan in 313, which fully legalized Christianity in the Empire, and the Council of Nicaea in 325. These actions are now considered major contributions to the spread of the Christian religion.
Skull Tower (19th cent.) - Skull Tower (Cele kula) was built by the Turks from the skulls of the Serbs killed in the battle of Cegar, near Nis, in May 1809. It is of rectangular shape, about 3 m high and was built from quicklime, sand and the skinned skulls, upon the order of Khurshid Pasha who had first sent the skulls filled with cotton to the Sultan in Istanbul. Each side of the Tower has 14 rows with 17 openings where the skulls were embedded. There were 952 skulls, but today only 58 have remained. The rest were pulled out to be buried or were lost in time. In 1892 a chapel was built around the Tower, according to the design of the Belgrade architect Dimitrie T. Leko. Europe came to know about this horrible monument of Serbian martyrdom from the work "Voyage to the East" by the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine (1790 - 1869).
Niš Fortress (18th cent.) - On the Nišava riverbank, over the remains of a Roman military camp, then Roman town called Naissus, and finally the remains of a destroyed Byzantine fortification, the Turks built a strong fortress at the beginning of 18th century. The construction of this fortress lasted from 1719 to 1723. It was built with the help of local laborers, Istanbul stonecutters and bricklayers. Beside those well saved walls and gates, numerous facilities remain from various periods, such as the armory, Turkish steam bath, Turkish post station, Bali-mosque, powderroom and prison.
Rusalia Church (11th cent.) - Church of Holy Trinity of Rusalia is located above the village of Gornji Matejevac. Rusalia is the most attractive ancient structure in Niš. The church was built after the order of a local Byzantine dignitary in the first half of 11th century.
Kazandzijsko sokace (Tinkers alley-18th cent.) - This is an old urban quarter in what is today Kopitareva Street. It was built in the first half of 18th century. It was a street full of tinkers and other craftsmen, together with their houses coming from Turkish period. Unfortunately, only some of those are preserved today and protected by the state. The street has recently become packed with cafes, a favorite site for the visitors.
Serbian Wartime Parliament Building - Birthplace of Yugoslavia - The building of the "Youth Home" Restaurant was erected in 1890. At first, the "Bulevar" restaurant was situated in the building. The Army General Staff bought the building in 1903 and turned it into an Officers' Home, which remained there until 1941. At the beginning of World War I this building was in the focus of public attention as the center of the political life of Serbia. On December 7, 1914 a war session of the National Assembly was held there. On that occasion the Assembly made the "Niš Declaration", which explicitly stated the military objectives of Serbia - to fight for the liberation and unification of the Balkan peoples. On May 6, 1915 the Yugoslav Congress was held in this building. The Congress issued the "Niš Resolution" which once again emphasized the need for national unity.
Mausoleum of Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky - lover of Anna Karenina (19th cent.) - The Holy Trinity Church in Gornji Adrovac (municipality of Aleksinac) near Nis was built in commemoration of the death of Nikolai Rayevsky. Rayevsky was celebrated as Count Vronsky in Tolstoy's famous novel Anna Karenina.
Niška Banja or "Niš Spa" is located a couple of kilometers to the southeast. There is a large park and some restaurants to accompany the nice view out over the valley. The spa is famous for its mildly radioactive hot water springs which help treat rheumatic disorders. Heart conditions are also successfully treated in the vicinity. 5km away from the spa, one reaches Sicevacka and Jelasnicka Gorges, state-protected natural reserves with intact scenery, ancient monasteries, and endemic species.
Villa of the "ill" Prince George - In 1926, the heir to the Serbian throne, Prince George Karadjordjevic, was committed to the mental hospital on grounds of insanity by his younger brother, Alexander, who was then crowned king. The prince was kept in the spacious villa locked within the mental hospital in Gornja Toponica near Nis for 15 years. After World War Two his family were declared state enemies by the communist regime but George was allowed to retire in Belgrade as the only member of the Royal family in the country.
Red Cross Concentration Camp - The first Nazi concentration camp in the former Yugoslavia, constructed in 1941. One of the few fully preserved concentration camps in Europe, almost intact since 1944, 'Lager Nis' was the venue of the dramatic escape in February 1942 when about 100 prisoners managed to flee . It is located in the city center, close to the central bus station.
Holocaust memorial on Bubanj hill - On the hill of Bubanj, south of the city center, a monumental sculpture representing three enormous fists was erected in honor of 10,000 people, mostly Serbs and Romanies, but also about 1,100 Jews, executed in this place during World War Two. The monument is the work of sculptor Ivan Sabolic and was erected in 1963.
WHAT TO DO
Niš is the venue of a number of national and international festivals.
Nisville international jazz festival is held every August on the Summer Stage of the Fortress. With numerous international participants, it has been the trademark of the city for two decades, and has become especially prominent in recent years. (http://www.nisville.com/)
Nisomnia popular music international festival is also organized in August, a younger sister of the famous Novi Sad EXIT festival.
Nis Choral Festival is an international festival of choral music, held on the Summer Stage biennially (in July).
Nis Acting Festival is an international festival of film acting, once the biggest film festival in the former Yugoslavia (along with the Pula festival, now Croatia), today with a growing international reputation. It is traditionally organized in the last week of August, every year. (http://www.fsnis.org.yu/ - in Serbian)
Nimus is the classical music festival held in late autumn (October-November). Nis is also a centre of classical music in this part of Serbia, with the growing Academy of Arts and the second-by-size Philharmonic Orchestra in the country. The classical music festival includes performances in the Symphony Orchestra building and the National Theater building, with concerts, chamber, symphonic music, and opera. (http://www.nimusfest.com/, in Serbian)
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Niš has an international airport named after Constantine the Great (international code: INI). Unfortunately, airplane service is very limited. There are flights from some European cities including Frankfurt, Zurich, Vienna, London, Podgorica, and a few others (mostly seasonal). Air companies operating from Niš airport are JAT and Montenegro Airlines (TUI operate charter flights to London in the winter months). Additional service is expected soon.
The airport is 5km away from the city center (much closer to the town than in most European cities, but still not suitable for walking to your hotel). Buses and taxis take passengers from the airport to the city on regular basis (every 15 minutes from early morning till midnight on workdays).
By train - Railway links include international trains from Thessaloniki, Greece to Ljubljana, Slovenia, via Skopje, Niš, Belgrade and Zagreb, as well as Istanbul, Turkey - Vienna, Austria via Sofia, Niš, Belgrade and Budapest. Another important railway link is the one to Bar, Montenegro, which connects Niš with the Adriatic sea. The trains are slow, not very clean, and still in the seventies style, but tickets are cheap, the scenery is sometimes beautiful, and sleeping cars are usually an option.
By bus - Almost all buses traveling from the northwest into Bulgaria or further southeast to Turkey will stop in Niš. All buses traveling between Belgrade and Greece or Macedonia will stop in Niš. An average bus ride from Belgrade will take three hours, but make sure you opt for a 'direct' bus from Belgrade central bus station, as some buses will stop in a dozen towns on the way, sometimes getting out of the highway, and prolong the ride considerably.
By car - The European motorway E75 routes through Niš. From the north, you may use any highway from the Hungarian border over Novi Sad and Belgrade to Niš. From the northwest, you can travel over Austria, via Slovenia and Croatia to Belgrade and then to Niš. These are all modern highways, including the section Belgrade-Niš. It is a fast road with six lanes and 120km/h speed limit, which locals seldom observe as the road is in a pretty good shape. Beware of the police, though. At this speed, travel time from Belgrade is usually two hours.
