We spent day and night at the birthplace of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. City, located in southeastern Serbia, on the Nišava River, probably succeeded a Celtic settlement and was mentioned as an important place in the 2nd century BC by Ptolemy, in his Guide to Geography. Niš was destroyed and recovered several times, but Turkish domination lasted for 500 years, and the town became an important station on the route from Istanbul to Hungary. Heavy bomb damage from World War II and consequent postwar construction erased much of the town’s Turko-Byzantine style.
We explored the city’s fortress, downtown, and one of Serbia’s most notorious concentration camps Red Cross. It held about 30,000 Serbs, Roma, Jews, and Partisans during the German occupation of Serbia (1941–45). Harrowing displays tell their stories and those of the prisoners who attempted to flee in the biggest-ever breakout from a concentration camp. This was a transit camp, so few were killed on the premises. In the evening there are plenty of choices, where to go, famous are Irish Pub Crazy Horse, The Hub – pub and club and beer drinking place Ministarstvo.
We have used the highway for a few kilometers on the way to Niš, officially we should be category III, but it was easy to swap it to a cheaper category II (Niš Malča – Niš Sever – 90 RSD). It was also not easy to find and good parking place close to downtown, there are just two options, one next to Red Cross Nazi Camp or another big parking next to Lidl and Delta Planet shopping centers.
Red Cross Nazi Camp
Parking location – Niš: 43.323977N 21.913880E (🚻)