Church of Saint Sava

The Church of Saint Sava stands where an Ottoman general burned a saint's bones, and it took eighty-five years to build. On 27 April 1595 Sinan Pasha had the relics of Saint Sava brought from the Mileševa Monastery by military convoy and burned on this hill, in reprisal for a Serbian uprising. The initiative to build here began in 1894, on the three-hundredth anniversary. The exterior was finished in 2004 and the interior mosaics in 2020. Monday–Sunday 08:00–20:00. Regular closure days: none.

Fifteen thousand square metres of mosaic and about five million tesserae. The interior was finished in 2020 and it is the largest Orthodox mosaic scheme completed in modern times. The dome mosaic is the piece that stops people at the door. The building is 91 m east to west and 81 m north to south, 78.3 m high including the cross, with a dome 68.5 m externally and 30.5 m across inside. Regular closure days: none. Regular closure days: none. The operator publishes one daily schedule for the main temple; the adjoining Church of Saint Sava has separate hours of 07:00–19:00.

An hour, split between the church and the crypt. The main space is one enormous room and the mosaic is what holds people in it — twenty minutes standing still is normal. The crypt takes another twenty and is worth going down for; it is warmer, denser and more intimate than the church above and is frescoed rather than glazed. General entry is free for everyone. General entry is free for everyone. Foreign tourist groups are not charged admission, although the temple administration may charge separately for an official guided-tour service.

Midday, when there is light in the dome. The mosaic is gold-ground and the dome is 68.5 m up; it comes alive with sun through the drum windows and reads as brown at dusk. The building is heated and is a reasonable stop in winter, unlike most large Orthodox churches. Monday–Sunday 08:00–20:00. Use city bus 31 and alight at the named Karađorđev park stop (#148 or #149, depending on direction). The official route connects Student Square, Republic Square, Terazije and Slavija with Karađorđev park. The temple entrance address is Krušedolska 2a.

Entry is free. The Church of Saint Sava is a working church and does not charge admission. The crypt is also free. Donations are collected and candles are sold, which is the customary arrangement rather than a ticket. There is no tower access and no paid section. General entry is free for everyone. General entry is free for everyone. Foreign tourist groups are not charged admission, although the temple administration may charge separately for an official guided-tour service. The City of Belgrade identifies its inclusive temple tour as accessible to wheelchair users and visitors with other disabilities.

Vračar, on the plateau about twenty minutes' walk uphill from Republic Square. Buses and trolleybuses run along the Kralja Milana and Bulevar oslobođenja to the plateau. The walk up from Slavija Square takes ten minutes. The temple entrance address is Krušedolska 2a. Use city bus 31 and alight at the named Karađorđev park stop (#148 or #149, depending on direction). The official route connects Student Square, Republic Square, Terazije and Slavija with Karađorđev park. The temple entrance address is Krušedolska 2a. A tactile relief panel on the Saint Sava Plateau depicts the temple and its surroundings for blind and partially sighted visitors.

It is a working Orthodox church: shoulders and knees covered, hats off for men, and heads covered by women in some circumstances. Services take priority over visiting. The scale defeats photography and disappoints people expecting an ancient building — this is a twentieth and twenty-first century church, finished inside in 2020. The plateau is open and unshaded. Yes. The City of Belgrade identifies its inclusive temple tour as accessible to wheelchair users and visitors with other disabilities. Yes. The Serbian Orthodox Church states that nobody is charged general admission; an official guided-tour service for organized foreign groups may carry a separate charge.

The dome interior is the photograph and it needs the exposure set for the gold rather than for the floor. A phone will make it grey. From outside, the church is white marble and granite on an open plateau, which means it blows out at midday and reads best at either end of the day. The best exterior angle is from the north-west corner of the plateau, where the dome and the belfries separate rather than stacking. The main temple is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00, with no regular closure day.