From Golubac to Kraljevo

Too bad it is still raining today, the views on Romania across the river could be even nicer under the sun.

The next stage of the trip is Nis, with its very rich history.

 

Nis Fortress is located in the core of the city, on the bank of the Nisava river. It is one of the best preserved and most beautiful medieval fortresses in central Balkans. It was pulled down and restored a number of times, by the Romans, over the Byzantines, Slavs, Bulgarians, and Serbs. Its assumed its final shape in 1723, when the Turks built it, facing the end of their reign in this area.
The Fortress covers 22 hectares, its walls are 2,100 meters long, 8 meters high, and, on average, 3 meters wide.

My last visit before I leave the city will be for the Red Cross Camp, a Nazi concentration camp used between 1941 and 1944. It was constructed to be a transit camp, close to the railway, in order to send prisoners to the main camps across Europe. Out of the 30,000 persons who were "in transit", 12,000 were executed even before boarding the trains.
As the Germans began the executions in retaliation for the resistance movement activities, the prisoners of the camp plotted to escape. The escape was delayed several times, until February 12th, 1942. On that day, a Jew which delivered the food rations notified the prisoners that another massive execution would take place the next day at 4am. There could be no more delay.
The prisoners decided to attack the German guards in the evening, at the time of their usual walk. Since they could not storm the main gate, they ran to the barbed wire fences. Group after group hurled across the wires until a gap opened, through which a certain amount of them could pass. 42 prisoners died, 105 managed to escape.
It will be remembered as the first major break through a Nazi concentration camp in Europe.
In retaliation, from February 16th to 19th, more than 800 prisoners were executed.


Let's leave Nis and head to the Studenica Monastery. from the 12th century, one of the largest and richest of the country. The fortified walls encompass two churches: the Church of the Virgin, and the Church of the King, both of which were built using white marble. The monastery is best known for its collection of 13th- and 16th century Byzantine-style fresco paintings.