Royal Compound

Belgrade


Commissioned between the two world wars by soon-to-be-assassinated King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, the Royal and White Palaces in Belgrade's exclusive Dedinje neighbourhood were residences of King Peter II and used by the communist regime after WWII. Today they are home to the descendants of the Karađorđević dynasty and can be visited only by guided tour. The two-hour tour (book through the Tourist Organisation of Belgrade; www.tob.rs) leaves from Nikola Pašić Square Wednesday and weekends from April through to October.

Covered in white marble, the Royal Palace was built in 1929 in the Serbian-Byzantine style. Its most impressive rooms are the Entrance Hall (decorated with copies of frescoes from Serbia’s medieval monasteries), the baroque Blue Drawing Room and the Renaissance-style Dining Room and Gold Drawing Room. The classicist White Palace – intended for the king's three sons and only completed after his assassination, in 1937 – has several rooms furnished in the style of Louis XV and Louis XVI. The basement (with a wine cellar, billiards room and cinema) is painted in the style of the Terem Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, featuring scenes from Serbian national mythology. The palaces house a large art collection from the Karađorđević family, and the complex also includes a small chapel dedicated to St Andrew.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Belgrade attractions

1. Košutnjak Hill

0.33 MILES

Once the royal hunting grounds – it’s named after košuta (doe) – this 330-hectare forested hill south of the city centre opened to the public in 1903. It…

2. Blue Train

0.82 MILES

One of the few remaining symbols of ex-Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito's Blue Train nowadays serves as a mostly inaccessible museum but can be rented for travel…

3. Residence of Prince Miloš

0.83 MILES

Built in 1831 as a residence of Prince Miloš, this Oriental-style mansion in Topčider Park is overlooked by a giant sycamore tree that's as old as the…

4. Topčider Park

0.9 MILES

The vast Topčider (named after the Turkish word for cannons, as this is where the Turks cast their cannons for the 1521 attack on Belgrade) has been a…

5. Marshal Tito's Mausoleum

1.1 MILES

A visit to Tito's mausoleum is obligatory. The big man rests in an aptly gigantic tomb in peaceful surrounds. Also on display are thousands of elaborate…

6. Museum of Yugoslavia

1.17 MILES

This must-visit museum houses an invaluable collection of more than 200,000 artefacts representing the fascinating, tumultuous history of Yugoslavia…

7. Sveti Sava Temple

2.05 MILES

Sveti Sava is the Balkans' biggest (and the world's second biggest) Orthodox church, a fact made entirely obvious when looking at the city skyline from a…

8. Ada Ciganlija

2.13 MILES

In summertime, join the hordes of sea-starved locals (up to 250,000 a day) for sun and fun at this artificial island on the Sava. Cool down with a swim,…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "serbia/belgrade/attractions/royal-compound/a/poi-sig/1548528/360674",
      "destination": "Belgrade",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Serbia",
      "city": "Belgrade",
      "position": "superzone"
    }