Landmarks & Views
The Avala Tower
Avala · Belgrade
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Landmarks & Views
- COUNTRY
- Serbia
- REGION
- Avala · Belgrade
- DURATION
- Half to 1 day
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
The Avala Tower is Belgrade’s vertical signature: a slender concrete tripod carrying a basket-work observation deck at 122 metres and an antenna to 205. The original, by architects Uglješa Bogunović and Slobodan Janjić, opened in 1965 and was for decades one of the tallest structures in the Balkans — a structural tour de force of three tapering legs. NATO destroyed it with missiles on 29 April 1999, precisely because it was a symbol; its reconstruction, funded by public donations and reopened in 2010, became the city’s own statement. The lift runs to the terrace; the view holds the Sava–Danube confluence, the whole of Belgrade, Vojvodina’s flat horizon and the distant Carpathians.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
Built 1961–65, the tower was the first structure in Yugoslavia designed by computer structural analysis; its three legs were cast in sliding formwork without a single crane. Destroyed 29 April 1999 in the NATO bombing’s third night. The rebuild (2006–10) raised it by 4 metres and added the current lift and terrace public access.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The 122-metre observation terrace — the definitive Belgrade panorama.
The tower’s three tapering legs — a structural ballet worth studying from below.
The memorial plaque at the base to the 1999 destruction.
GOOD TO KNOW
Facts & Curiosities
205 metres tall — the tallest structure in Serbia and among the tallest in the Balkans.
The original 1965 tower was the first Yugoslav structure designed with computer structural analysis.
It was deliberately destroyed in the 1999 NATO bombing and rebuilt entirely from public donations — a city rebuilding its own symbol.
The terrace sits at 122 metres; on clear days the view runs to the Romanian Carpathians.
MAP & LOCATION
The Avala Tower
The Avala Tower, Avala, Belgrade, Serbia
44.6980, 20.5120
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Avala
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
The mountain hotel terrace — grill and coffee above the oaks
Picnic — the meadows are made for it; bring from the city
Pinosava village kaldrma kafanas on the drive back
ITINERARIES
Day-by-day routes
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
INTERESTS
Explore by what you love
PART OF
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