Belgrade is home to the Church of Saint Sava, one of the world’s largest Orthodox churches.
The monumental church stands on Vračar Plateau, where Serbian tradition says Ottoman forces burned the relics of Saint Sava in 1595. Saint Sava founded the Serbian Orthodox Church in the medieval period and is one of Serbia’s most important religious and cultural figures.
The church’s design is based on the Byzantine tradition, especially the style associated with Hagia Sophia. Construction began in 1935, was interrupted by World War II and later political and financial difficulties, and resumed in the late twentieth century. The building was formally opened for worship in 2000, although interior work continued afterward.
Its huge dome and white stone exterior dominate the Belgrade skyline. Visitors often focus on the underground crypt, whose mosaics were completed in the twenty-first century. The church is distinct from Belgrade Fortress, the older military complex at the meeting point of the Sava and Danube rivers.