Mt. Avala

 

Mountain Avala is only 511 m high and lies just 18 km to the south of the center of Belgrade. It is covered by evergreen and deciduous forest. The Mt. Avala nature has been placed under protection way back in 1859. In the Middle Ages the top of the mountain was dominated by the town Žrnov, which played an important role in controlling the access roads to Belgrade. approach to Belgrade was controlled. The Turks seized the city in 15th century and remodeled it to meet their purposes.

At the top of Mt. Avala stands the Unknown Soldier Monument dedicated to Serbian heroes fallen in World War I. The designed by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović monument was erected in 1938. In the vicinity of the mausoleum there's another monument, dedicated to the Soviet war veterans who died in an airplane accident on October 19th 1964 as they were flying in to attend the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade. At the foot of the mountain on the road to Belgrade, in the village of Jajinci stands the Memorial Park dedicated to the 80.000 victims executed there by the Nazi's World War II.

Mt. Avala was once distinguished by the 195 meters high TV tower, built in 1965, and bombed down in the 1999 NATO air-campaign. On the slopes of Mt. Avala there are several facilities: "Avala" Hotel, "Mitrovićev dom" mountain lodge, and the "Čarapićev brest" students' rest home. At the foot of the mountain one finds: "1000 Roses" Motel, "Beograd" Pension, the restaurants "and "Lovački sastanak" etc.