The Silent Sentinels of Belgrade New Cemetery.

The Silent Sentinels of Belgrade New Cemetery.

April 2021.

“All those people, all those lives, where are they now?
With loves and hates, and passions just like mine. 
They were born, and then they lived, and then they died.  It seems so unfair, I want to cry”.

Cemetery Gates, The Smiths, 1986.

I’ve always wanted to open an article with some Smiths lyrics. Well, now I’ve gone and done it. If only I could have followed them with the claim that “Sladja and I met at the cemetery gates”. But naturally we made the journey to Belgrade New Cemetery together. However, I can confirm that it was at least “a dreaded sunny day”, which is a solid way to make amends.

Some people hate cemeteries, considering them depressing, morbid and creepy. Certainly not places to seek out while travelling. But I have never been of this mindset and, thankfully, neither has Sladja.

In fact, wherever I go in the world I usually take the opportunity to check out a significant cemetery or graveyard. For the most part such visits are a visual and mental feast of architecture, art, history and nature. A highly meaningful experience of community, ancestry, remembrance, tribute and peaceful contemplation.

I have seen some stunning cemeteries during my world travels. And among the best of them stands the incredible 138-year-old Belgrade New Cemetery. 

Silent Sentinels at Belgrade New Cemetery.

In the early 1880s Belgrade’s main cemetery was located on a plot of land in and around the site of today’s lovely Tasmajdan Park. But by 1884 it was clear that the old joint was overflowing and no longer fit for purpose.

Thus Belgrade mayor Vladan Đorđević announced that he would begin work on a new cemetery. Moreover, he even donated a patch of his own private land to get things going at a time of severe economic crisis.

After two years of landscaping The New Cemetery (as it was imaginatively called) opened in 1886, with new burials taking place immediately.

What’s more, the mayor and his team soon began transferring notable graves from the old plot at Tasmajdan to the new cemetery. As we passed through the entrance gates that day we saw a plaque in honour of Đorđević and his role in establishing the cemetery.

From the moment we sauntered onto the first pathway we could see just how vast the cemetery is. Having rapidly grown over the years, the complex now stretches to a dizzying 74 acres. Framed by bushes, plants, cherry blossoms and a varied array of low hanging branches, it is an exceptionally pretty and peaceful place.

Exploring Belgrade.

They reckon around 700,000 people have been laid to rest in the cemetery since its inception. Of those, there are roughly 50,000 registered graves that have been actively maintained and preserved. No surprise then that in 1983 The National Assembly of Serbia declared the entire site a monument of great cultural importance.

With the majority of gravestones carved in Cyrillic, I would’ve had no idea what anything said if it were not for Sladja. Happily, she was able to translate for me as we moved between the seemingly relentless memorials.

First, we stopped to admire a towering tablet that stands in tribute to three generations of the Kažić family. “The men were mainly lawyers and solicitors” explained Sladja. Most noteworthy though is Miodrag Kažić, pictured top right. A man who died in 1943 at Belgrade’s Banjica Nazi concentration camp “in the flower of his youth”. He was 21 years old.

Another young man gone too soon was Dejan Stojanoski. Depicted on his headstone playing an accordion, the tribute simply reads: “Beautiful sweet angel, your long luck has run out. Behind you, our dear son, only eternal pain and sorrow”. 

Silent Sentinels at Belgrade New Cemetery.

It didn’t take long for us to find some of the cemetery’s stunning artwork. According to the official blurb there are over 15o0 sculptures, some of which were born from the hands of Serbia’s most celebrated artists.

In a variety of guises these silent sentinels keep watch over Belgrade New Cemetery’s sleeping residents.

With a bit of online detective work, we were able to track down some of these amazing artists. And in the process find out more about the people whose graves these guardians protect.

Take Toma Rosandić (1878-1957), for example, a Serbian artist who created this “angel and male bust” for the grave of the politician Milorad Drašković. 

In January 1921 Drašković became Yugoslavia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a staunch anti-communist who was instrumental in enacting key pieces of anti-communist legislation. But just six months into the job, a Bosnian communist assassin by the name of Alija Alijagić shot and killed Drašković as he left his office. The politician was 48 years old.

Milorad Drašković (1873-1921).

In the 1880s a number of skilled Italian sculptors arrived in Belgrade seeking their fortune. One was Giovanni Bertotto, who crafted the below tomb for a family called Sokić.

A kneeling weeping female figure speaks of Mihailo and Ljubica Sokić’s immense sorrow at the loss of their children. While no cause of death is given, the gravestone details that their son Milovan died aged 6. Their daughter Ruzica, meanwhile, was just 1 year old. Both passed away in 1928.

Giovanni Bertotto eventually became one of Belgrade’s most respected sculptors who, for several decades, had the largest stonemason’s workshop in the city. Furthermore, he ended up creating something of a family dynasty. Indeed his son and nephew also went on to become renowned sculptors.

Another Italian master was a Genoa-born chap by the name of Achille Canessa. Considered one of the all-time great funerary sculptors, he once made a garden monument for the iconic Italian general and revolutionary Garibaldi.

The Canessa sculpture we saw was at the grave of Joca Jovanović, a wealthy tobacco merchant. However, it remains unclear who the sculpted woman in a crinoline dress is. His wife? Mother? Sister? Lady friend? Whoever she represents, there’s definitely a lost story waiting to be uncovered.

Silent Sentinels at Belgrade New Cemetery.

Next we came upon the grave of Živojin Mišić, the most decorated military officer in Serbian history. The sculptor Đorđe Jovanović crafted his bust along with the lady who watches over him. In one hand she holds an olive branch, which she drapes over his shoulder. In the other she grips a torn flag from the battleground.

Rising to the rank of field marshal, Mišić enjoyed a formidable combat record. He fought in and survived the Serbo-Turkish War, the Serbo-Bulgarian War and the First and Second Balkan Wars in addition to World War I. Finally though, having survived decades of unthinkable danger, it was lung cancer that got him at the age of 65.

Speaking of soldiers, both Sladja and I literally stopped in our tracks when we saw these fierce sculptures in honour of a brother and sister who lost their lives during World War II. Saša and Tamara Žuržul joined the Partisan resistance movement in Belgrade in 1942.

Tamara was executed by Chetnik soldiers in 1944 aged 17. Her brother meanwhile perished aged 20 in a battle against German forces in northern Serbia in 1945. Earlier in the war, he had succeeded in escaping from Banjica concentration camp. Both siblings subsequently became icons of Titoism.

Saša and Tamara Žuržul.

We could have spent more than just a few hours admiring all the cemetery’s magnificent sculptures. But there was still so much more to see, hence we set off on a leafy trail that would lead us to the compound’s Neo-Byzantine church.

Along the way, we came upon a number of family chapels. Apparently there are 37 scattered across the cemetery. All of which belong to well-to-do, moneyed Belgrade families. In most cases they are locked, so you can’t view the tombs that lie within.

This one holds the remains of Dimitrije Stevanović and his extended family. There are not many details about their lives, just a note that Dimitrije was a manager of some description who oversaw Belgrade’s water supply service.

We also stopped to take a look at the gorgeous Russian Chapel. A group of Russian immigrants erected it in 1931 shortly after fleeing their homeland for Serbia following The October Revolution.

The structure was modelled on the Iveron Chapel located on Moscow’s Red Square. Take a look at the original church and the resemblance is striking.

Compared to the Russian chapel, the main church turned out to be fairly standard. Built in 1893, the Church of Saint Nicholas has nevertheless held funeral services for some of the most significant figures in Serbian history.

Silent Sentinels at Belgrade New Cemetery.

Popping our heads inside, we took a moment to sit down, enjoy the peacefulness and take in the handsome iconostasis by the famed Serbian painter Stevan Todorović and his wife Poleksija.

After consulting our cemetery map, we left the church and headed to the first of two grandiose monuments. There’s certainly no missing the Memorial Ossuary to the Defenders of Belgrade 1914-1918. Completed in 1931, it stands in tribute to the soldiers who died defending the Serbian capital throughout The Balkan Wars and World War I. 

At the top of the monument stands a statue of a Serbian soldier, rifle in hand, ready to defend his country. Out of sight, beneath the structure, is an ossuary where 4600 soldiers lie in eternal sleep.

But the most dramatic element is the giant black bronze eagle that has fallen on its back wounded, wings spread out. Its terrifying front talons turned up as it screeches in pain.

The eagle represents Serbia’s enemies, evil forces that tried but failed to enslave the country and its people.

Monument to the Defenders of Belgrade 1914-1918.

Curiously, the cemetery also features a Russian Ossuary, also known as the Monument to Russian Glory. Unveiled in 1935, it became the world’s first monument dedicated to Russian WWI soldiers situated outside Russia itself.

The monument features two figures. A wounded Russian soldier positioned just above the entrance doors, and a statue of Archangel Michael (commander of the heavenly army) on top. The ossuary beneath holds the remains of 387 Russian soldiers who lost their lives in the Balkans.

Despite hours of exploring we had still yet to investigate the cemetery’s most visited section. So at last we headed off to the Alley of the Greats, which houses the tombs and urns of Serbia’s most celebrated icons.

Here lie famous Serbians from every profession you can think of, including journalists, politicians, architects, singers, soldiers, painters, philosophers and writers.

Many of the memorial stones bind people together by their various professions. Like the one below that honours successful sportsmen. Among the names are Borivoj Vukov, a world champion wrestler, and the Olympic gold winning water polo player Uroš Marović.

Silent Sentinels at Belgrade New Cemetery.

This is definitely an amazing part of the cemetery. However, visually I found it a touch disappointing. Because, unlike the rest of the compound, here there were no images on the headstones. Nor were there any sculptures or accompanying artwork to distinguish the mostly identical gravestones and wall plaques.

Nevertheless, we were delighted to track down the graves of Serbia’s most beloved movie star couple, Milena Dravić and Dragan Nikolić. The Serbian Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, if you will. I’m gonna write more about these guys in an upcoming article. 

It was time for us to head home. Joining a path towards the nearest exit gates, there was so much more to absorb on the way. Not least in the form of numerous military cemeteries. This is the British Commonwealth World War II graveyard. It is home to British and Commonwealth casualties brought in from more than sixty burial grounds across former Yugoslavia.

We also passed a French Cemetery, where 375 graves honour French soldiers from World War I.

There’s a huge Italian Cemetery too, also dating back to World War I, where 796 soldiers are buried.

And of course we passed hundreds more headstones, a cluster of grand tombs and more wonderful funerary art. What an incredible place Belgrade New Cemetery is, I hope you enjoyed joining our tour.

Silent Sentinels at Belgrade New Cemetery.

Like this? Check out my many articles from across Belgrade.

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