Top Things to do in Nis
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What to do and see in Nis, Central Serbia: The Best Historic Sites
Discover the best top things to do in Nis, Serbia including Stambolija House, Nis Fortress, Tinkers Alley, Banovina, Red Cross Nazi Concentration Camp, Christogram Monument, Officers Club, The Octagon Palace, Lapidarium.
Restaurants in Nis
1. Stambolija House
2. 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.
3. Tinkers Alley
4. Banovina
5. 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.
