Top Things to do in Nis
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10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Nis That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Nis, Serbia including Nis Greeters, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Bubanj Memorial Park, Skull Tower, Nis Fortress, Monument to the Liberators of Nis, Red Cross Nazi Concentration Camp, Archaeological Hall, Bali-Begova Mosque, Mediana.
Restaurants in Nis
1. Nis Greeters
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 24 reviews
Nis Greeters is a local volunteer service founded in 2012 and modeled on IGA, International Greeter Association (www.internationalgreeter.org). Nis Greeter Service matches visitors with friendly and enthusiastic citizens of Nis who are happy to share the city they love with families, friends, and individuals traveling solo. A visit with a Greeter leaves a lasting impression of the city, the warmth of its people, and the energy and diversity of its neighborhoods, which each visitor carries forever and communicates to others. Nis Greeter's services are available FREE OF CHARGE, and there is a NO TIPPING POLICY. Nis Greeters are all volunteers coming from varied backgrounds welcoming all visitors without regard to race, color, creed, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.
2. Holy Trinity Cathedral
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 43 reviews
Reviewed By jovankrstic990 - Nis, Serbia
This church is newly renovated because the original temple is burned to the ground in the 2000's. The temple is from 19 century, to be precise 1878. Visit it's free of charge.
3. Bubanj Memorial Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 49 reviews
Reviewed By WITYTRAVELS
A 10 minute drive southwest of the concentration camp is Bubanj. The resistance of the prisoners at the concentration camp led to the Germans beginning executions at Bubanj. Women and children were taken to Belgrade and killed in gas chambers. Jewish men and boys over 14 were shot here. Truck loads of prisoners would be taken at a time. This location was fenced in with barbed wire and surrounded by German guards. The prisoners would dig their own graves and then be shot from 10 meters away. This monument serves as a reminder of the Serbian people's courage and defiance toward their enemies. Here, during the mass executions, an unknown prisoner raised his fist in the air in front of the shooters. This incident inspired the monuments that are here today. The verses of Nis poet Ian Vuckovic are carved on the side of the frieze monument in Bubanj: "We were shot but never killed, and never subdued. We crushed the darkness and paved a way for the sun."
4. Skull Tower
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 317 reviews
It dates from a time when Ottoman soldiers were growing increasingly tired of Serb rebellions against their rule. After quelling one such uprising in 1809, Ottoman troops decapitated 952 fallen Serbs and built the short, square tower out of the Serbs' heads. While the Ottomans intended it to serve as a warning to the local population, within a few years the Serbs had managed to rid their lands of the Ottoman occupiers, and they preserved the Skull Tower as a memorial to the sacrifice of the early Serb nationalists.
Reviewed By WITYTRAVELS
A 14 minute drive east from Bubanj is Skull Tower; one of the most haunting monuments in the world. The rule of the Ottoman empire over Serbia was not pleasant to say the least and the Serbian people were not just going to sit back and do nothing. In Belgrade, we saw the monument to Karađorđe. He was responsible for the First Serbian Uprising in 1804. This proved to be unsuccessful. In May of 1809 was the Battle of Čegar, here in Nis. Trenches were dug for Serbian soldiers to charge the Ottomans. On Čegar Hill, Vojvoda (Duke) Stevan Sindjelic (Sin ja lich), the leader of this uprising dug a trench for him and his 3,000 loyal soldiers. This trench was closest to the Turks. On May 31st, the much larger Turkish army took over the trench. Sindjelic realizing no help was coming and not wanting to give the Ottomans the satisfaction of killing his men, took out his gun and blew up the gun powder reserves which created a great explosion that blew up the remaining Serbians in the trench and many of the Ottomans as well. In this trench and the area nearby 4,000 Serbs and 10,000 Turks were killed. Even with this advantage the Serbian forces withdrew their troops. But that wasn't enough for the Ottomans. The Ottoman commander ordered his men to decapitate the dead Serbians, skill their skulls, fill them with cotton and send them to the Sultan Constantinople as a sign of their victory. With those skulls this horrific monument, skull Tower, was built. This tower stood at the entrance of the city of Nis as a warning sign of what tragedies would be in store for anyone trying to liberate themselves or defy the Ottoman rule. The foundations of the chapel began in 1894. A plaque dedicated near the chapel in 1904 reads: "To the first Serbian liberators after Kosovo." The chapel was renovated in 1937 and a bust of Sinđelić was added the following year. The Second Serbian Uprising led by Miloš Obrenović, eventually succeeded in turning Serbia as a semiautonomous state.
5. Nis Fortress
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 534 reviews
Reviewed By nikolabozanovic86 - Nis, Serbia
Niš Fortress (Serbian: Нишка тврђава / Niška tvrđava) is a fortress in the city of Niš, Serbia. It is a complex and important cultural and historical monument. It rises on the right bank of the Nišava River, overlooking the area inhabited for longer than two millennia. It was protected by law in May 1948 as it was declared a cultural site of great significance. The current condition of the fortress lists it as one of the best preserved fortifications of this kind in Serbia as well as on the Balkan Peninsula. The existing fortification is of Ottoman Turkish origin, dating from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–1723). It is well known as one of the most significant and best preserved monuments of this kind in the mid-Balkans. The Fortress was erected on the site of earlier fortifications – the ancient Roman, Byzantine, and later yet Medieval forts. During World War I it was occupied by Bulgarians who turned it into a prison where Serbian patriots were imprisoned. Inside of the Fortress is excellent restaurant for everyone taste. Best time for visiting is spring and summer, since there are a lot of happenings inside Fortress. Film festival, Choir competition, Jazz festival Nisville and many others.
6. Monument to the Liberators of Nis
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 127 reviews
Reviewed By X5564XMjimh - Chisinau, Moldova
The monument is located in King Milan Square- the main center square. The monument is a symbol of liberation during the time of the Ottoman rule and World War I. It's regarded as one of the most important works of art of the Yugoslavian sculpture art period. The horse rider with a flag symbolizes the arrival of freedom.
7. Red Cross Nazi Concentration Camp
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 207 reviews
Reviewed By WITYTRAVELS
During World War II, soon after the Axis force occupation of Nis in 1941, an unused military storage building was repurposed. The German Gestapo, or police, turned this building into a Concentration Camp to accept imprisoned Jews, Romanis and Serbian resistance fighters. It was named after the neighboring Red Cross train station. It was used to detain around 35,000 people from 1941 until 1944. Here people were beaten, starved and tortured. This building is filled with pictures, stories, and items from its time as a concentration camp. In the autumn of 1942 the Germans began to build their kitchen, dining room, sleeping rooms, and One of the methods of torture, solidary confinement. In the attic there were 20 solitary confinement cells. The cells had barbed wire on the ground to take away the ability for the prisoners to even peacefully lay down. During the first phase in June 1941, the local administration was ordered to report all of the Nis Jewish population and Jewish shops. All that were not registered were shot. The order required all Jewish and Romani People to not leave their homes without yellow armbands, introduced forced labor and curfew, and limited their access to food. German soldiers then went through the Romani quarter and forcibly shaved the heads of all Romanis in Niš under the pretext that they had lice. The prisoners stept on stray and experienced unsanitary conditions. Before shooting them, the Germans ordered the detainees to take off their clothes and they gave them to grave diggers and to the Nis Roma people. One of the people donated the bowties to the National Museum. They belonged to unidentified Jews from this camp who were killed at Mount Bubanj during the mass shootings in February 1942. During the second phase in December 1941, the German authorities ordered that all adult Jews come to the "Park" hotel for orders. They were arrested there and taken to this concentration camp. The third phase was for the complete destruction of the Jews in Nis. At this point entire families were brought to this camp. This camp had guard towers high above ground to keep watch on the prisoners. This camp is most known for the brave escape that happened on February 12th, 1942. While the guards were taking their usual evening walks around the grounds, the prisoners decided to attack them and then attempt to escape. Since they could not storm the main gate, they ran toward the two rows of barbed wire fencing. They hurled themselves onto the fence until a gap was created that was big enough for a certain amount to pass. 42 of the prisoners died, however 105 were able to escape. This is the first recorded mass escape from a Nazi concentration camp. On September 14th 1944 the camp officially ceased to exist and the Gestapo left the city.
