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Belgrade

Capital of SerbiaBelgrade stands where the Sava river flows into the Danube, at the meeting point of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula.

Why it's the capital

In 1841, Prince Mihailo Obrenović moved the capital of the Principality of Serbia from Kragujevac to Belgrade. Later the city was the capital of Yugoslavia for the country's whole existence, from its creation to its break-up.

Fun facts

  1. Its Serbian name, Beograd, means 'White City'.
  2. Because of its strategic position, the city has been fought over in 115 wars and razed 44 times.
  3. The Church of Saint Sava stands on the spot where, it is believed, the Ottomans burned the saint's relics in 1594; building began in 1935 and the outside was finished in 2004.

Finding it on the globe

Follow the Danube downstream past Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest: Belgrade is the fourth and last capital city the river passes through.

Sources: Wikipedia: Belgrade, Wikipedia: Church of Saint Sava, Wikipedia: Danube