Niš through the Ages

Introduction to sunny South-East Niš

Niš is a university city situated in the south east of Serbia. For all of you who don't know about Serbia or have never been there, it is a country of extreme contrasts, starting from temperatures, -20 ºC in the winter to 45 ºC in the summer, with flat lands in the north and highlands in the south, has two very different yet very similar cities, Niš and Novi Sad.

Niš and Novi Sad, in numbers, population, universities and faculties could be the same, but on the plans, maps, history, culture, they become distinct. In this blog I will try to bring closer to you the beauties and mesmerizing temperament of the people from Niš. I am an architect so please don't find it odd that I often refer to maps and city plans, its is only natural for me when describing a city.

To get to know Niš you need a little introduction to Serbia, and to do so I will try in this first entry to tell you a little bit more about it, and I am sure that it will help you get a clearer picture of both Serbia and Niš.

The main difference between Novi Sad and Niš, the North and the South of Serbia, is in their history and geography. Novi Sad was under Austro-Hungarian rule, while Niš was part of the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, I think this is enough explanation for any historians reading this.

Niš is situated in the hilly South-East. Constituted by its rich slopes full of vineyards overlooking the south, protected with the top of the Suva Planina Mountain standing tall as a guardian of the city alongside the Trem mountain, which borders the Sićevo Gorge, resulting in an enchanting gate to this city that developed at AMSL 194 m.

On the other hand we have Novi Sad, which is located on the Pannonia plain with AMSL 80m. The only hill-like point is the Petrovaradin Fortress and the only proper hill in the region is Furska Gora with AMSL 532 m, to this you must add having the Danube slowly meandering through the city, making this city the perfect postcard of calm and ease.

Even though both cities share the same language, how they speak it makes a difference between both populations. In relaxed Novi Sad, people tend to speak slowly, by the time they end greeting you on the street in early morning, the day has already went by. While Niš' rushed southerners will tell you their whole life in 5 minutes, that is assuming you are capable of understanding their chopped way of eating all the extra syllables and shortening every word with an added extra speed.

These dominant historic and geographical features were not just influential in the cities’ development and urban planning, but they shaped it in a deeper level. The people and different militant occupiers tried to impose their own culture upon the local Serbian population. It is evident that the city of Niš developed in a way that follows the destructive path of the past, as for every battle or conquest in Niš, got followed by the development of that particular part of the city.

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Niš being one of the oldest cities in the Balkans and Europe has from ancient times been considered a gateway between the East and the West. That is why the proverb says there was never a generation that lived there in peace...

Stay tuned for more on Constantine the Great's mythical Niš... every Sunday!

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