Vračar

About Vračar

By the ULTIMATE Belgrade Editorial Team

One of Belgrade’s most desirable places to live, around the Temple of Saint Sava: grand 19th and early 20th-century buildings, quiet tree-lined streets, the Kalenić market, speciality coffee and some of the city’s best restaurants, all within walking distance of the centre.

The back story

Vračar is one of the oldest names in Belgrade, first recorded in 1440, and it comes from vrač, a healer. Tradition holds that it was here in 1595 that the Ottoman grand vizier Sinan Pasha burned the relics of Saint Sava, the founder of the Serbian church, to punish a rebellious people. Three and a half centuries later, the Temple of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, was built on the spot.

In the 19th century, while the old town was still largely Ottoman, Prince Miloš Obrenović encouraged a new European-style Belgrade to grow on Vračar’s plateau, with broad streets, parks and public buildings. Between the wars its streets filled with elegant apartment houses and villas; one corner, settled by army officers in the 1920s, is still called the Quarter of the Generals.

Vračar is the smallest and most densely populated municipality in Serbia, and has the highest share of university graduates in the country.

Vračar today

Vračar is the smallest and most densely populated municipality in Serbia, and has the highest share of university graduates in the country. Its neighbourhoods, from Krunski venac and Neimar to Čubura and Kalenić, are a web of quiet, tree-lined streets, embassies, museums such as the Nikola Tesla Museum, and some of the city’s best restaurants and speciality coffee. The Kalenić market is one of the liveliest in Belgrade.

Living here

Homes are classic pre-war apartments with high ceilings, and boutique new buildings, and prices are among the highest in the city. It suits city lovers who want to walk everywhere, with Slavija, the centre and Tašmajdan Park all within reach.

Vračar at a glance

Listings, fees and opening hours change, so please contact Vračar directly before you visit.