Originating in a neolithic settlement at the confluence of Danube and Sava rivers, Belgrade was first know as the Celtic city of Singidunum, the name Romans kept during their rule. When the Slavs arrived in the 7th century, they called it the White City – Beograd. In the following centuries it changed hands between the Byzantine, and then Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, until it became the part of the Kingdom of Serbia in the 19th century. Belgrade was the capital of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1918, and of Tito’s Socialist Yugoslavia after 1945. It is currently the capital of the Republic of Serbia with population of 2.5 million. Belgrade has been a crossroad where Central European, Mediterranean and Turkish influences converge and flow together. Off the beaten tourist track in Europe, Belgrade has more recently gained the reputation for lively Summer nightlife, excellent food, and art happenings.

Serbia