Nightlife in Belgrade

The main appeals to the tourists include: generally good knowledge of foreign languages or lack of language barrier in the case of the former Yugoslavia; friendly atmosphere; abundant number of venues (bars, clubs, cafés, kafanas, restaurants); quality cuisine; relatively low prices of the alcohol, especially from the perspective of foreign visitors; lack of the nightlife regulations or the poor enforcement of the existing ones.

Though still described as having the "legacy as an intellectual hangout",[6] and including the successful artistic revitalization of quarters like Savamala or Dorćol,[12][13][14] the prevailing image of Belgrade, even officially advertised as such, is that of a city of cheap fun.

They included meals out of reach for the common people, like caviar, octopuses, salted herrings, fried pigeons, hot chocolate or imported wines.

For a long time venues remained unchanged: clothless tables, loosen chairs and benches, tinplate furnaces fired by the guests themselves, tallow candles or petroleum lamps light.

[21] Fully named "Kod Rajića junaka serbskog", it hosted the festivities after the complete withdrawal of the Ottomans from Belgrade in 1867, organized by the prince Mihailo.

Notable regular guests included Vojislav Ilić, Branislav Nušić, Antun Gustav Matoš, Stevan Sremac, Radoje Domanović, Janko Veselinović, Toša Jovanović, Đura Jakšić, and Milovan Glišić.

Members of the lower classes couldn't afford fancy venues, like hotels "Slavija" or "Imperijal", to order Wiener schnitzel or Hungarian goulash, to listen to German or French singers or to watch magicians, jugglers and other artists.

[53] On 30 December 1927, Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes banned night life after 23:00: those who loiter and sit till the late hours, and it is past eleven, will be fined two dinars.

[54] Other important, now closed kafanas from this period included: As Zemun was a border town between Austria(-Hungary) and Turkey/Serbia, from 1730 to 1871 there was Kontumac, or the quarantine hospital, on the location of the modern City Park.

Apart from the surviving "legends", new kafanas which became centers of night life in the 1950s-1960s were adjoined to the sports clubs and stadiums, like "Mladi Proleter", "Sinđelić", "Obilić" or "Stadion".

Radio Belgrade began airing non-stop, including immensely popular comedy shows which emptied the streets, like the Joyful Evening (Veselo veče).

A basement venue, it offered "artistic program" which included magicians, unicycle drivers, jugglers, fire eaters and, as the main attraction, barely dressed female dancers.

On the orders of the Serbian Royal Navy Society, it was built in 1892 in Regensburg, Germany, as the luxurious paddle steamer, and originally named Emperor Nicholas II.

[9] In the early 20the century there were 15 kafanas in Skadarlija, including: "Tri šešira", "Dva jelena", "Zlatni bokal", "Bandist", "East", "Guild", "Vuk Karadžić", "Bums Keler", "Miloš Obilić", "The Two Sergeants" and "Mala Pijaca".

By the 2010s it regained iconic status of the small, pampered oasis with the younger clientele and foreign visitors, but still was closed on 1 March 2013 as one of the last remaining "true Belgrade kafanas".

[135][136][137] Well known venues closed since the economic collapse in the late 1980s, include: Others: "Marš na Drinu" (Dorćol, known for the secretive Serbian New Year celebrations during Communism), "Beli grad" (Zeleni Venac), "Morava", "Plitvice" (Šumice), "Složna braća" (demolished to make way for the Hotel Park), "Vardar" (Cvetni trg), "Tabor" (Vračar), "Mala Astronomija", "Velika astronomija" (both in Savinac),[155] "Arilje", "Zona Zamfirova" (Cvetni trg, opened in 1937, demolished in 2011),[156] "Prešernova klet" (Dečanska Street, since 1952, first slot club, then Black Turtle pub), "Dušanov grad" (Terazije),[157] "Kragujevac", "Bosna", "Rad", "Starac Vujadin", "Stara varoš" (Zeleni venac).

It was close to the Atelje 212 theatre, so at the opening almost the entire acting troop was present, so as the dramatists, authors, painters, etc., including Mira Trailović, Jovan Ćirilov, Ivan Tabaković, Dušan Matić.

[172][169] The club introduced several other "firsts", like girls without male companions, people dancing alone or after parties when selected groups would move to the upper floor for more quiet fun.

Guests included members of the international jet-set who visited Belgrade: Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Catherine Deneuve, Judi Dench, Nina Ricci, Omar Sharif, Marisa Berenson, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale.

They also defended the club naming celebrities who were regular guests: Milena Dravić, Vera Čukić, Arsen Dedić, Branko Pleša, Biljana Nevajda.

Concerns showed to be substantiated in the beginning, as the guests were making loud noise at the entrance and unbridled youngsters, mostly of wealthy parents, were causing too much of a commotion with their cars, vespas and motorbikes.

[61][174] The club was known for promoting young musicians and some of the most important Yugoslav rock-groups performed here in their early days, like the Riblja Čorba, Poslednja Igra Leptira, Haustor or Partibrejkers.

[61] The most popular persons in the venue included DJ Mister Čupko, and the head-to-toe tattooed main bouncer, nicknamed Oumpah-pah after the comic book character.

[61] At the end of 1981, "Akademija" club, one of the most famous and influential in Belgrade, was opened at 53 Knez Mihailova Street, in the dark basement of the Gallery of the Painting Academy, hence the name.

[181] Rivaling club "Zvezda" was opposed to "Akademija" in every way, including the location: it was right across, at 51 Knez Mihailova Street, at the back entrance into the basement of the Grčka Kraljica restaurant.

However, one visitor ignored the fanciful dress code and artificial manners: legendary actor Zoran Radmilović, who lived in the vicinity, would regularly come in slippers for a coffee.

Best known were:[61] The 1980s saw the origins of the splavovi, which will experience a full expansion later in the 1990s: The 1990s in Serbia were marked with calamities: break-up of Yugoslavia, wars, economic sanctions, collapse of the standard of living.

However, the constant public conflict between the cheap fun and criminal on the barges, and the solemnity of the neighborhood given its war history as a Sajmište concentration camp, continued for decades.

The trial dragged on, with many criminals and policemen appearing, including the inspector Miroslav Bižić, who was accused of hiding the evidence and helping Vukotić to flee the country.

The club was known for its mixed clientele: businessmen, members of the diplomatic corps but also numerous gangsters, including Rade Ćaldović Ćenta and Milorad Ulemek Legija, later convicted of the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.