Nis, one of the oldest towns in the Balkans, on the crossroads connecting Europe with the Middle East, has been called the gate of the East and the West from time immemorial.

The town was named after the Nisava river, on the bank of which it was built. The oldest preserved artifacts which can point to the time of its exact origin date from 4000 BC and are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Nis. Historians call it the town of emperors, as it was the birthplace of Constantine the Great, perhaps the greatest Roman emperor, who, by the Edict of Milan in 313 proclaimed Christianity as the official religion in the Roman Empire. The 1,700 anniversary of this event will be marked with a big celebration in Nis in 2013. At the time of Constantine the Great, Nis, the then Naissus, had a luxurious suburb called Mediana, to which the remnants of villas, baths, sculptures and mosaics testify. It is one of the stops on the Roman Emperor Trail, a tourist tour through Serbia featuring birthplaces of 17 Roman emperors.


For years, the town of Nis was under the Turkish rule and it is from that period that the Nis Fortress, built in 1723, traced its descent. That fortress is ranked among the most beautiful and preserved Ottoman edifices in the Balkans. Today, it houses an Art Pavilion, galleries and a research centre, but the most prominent feature there is the Summer Theatre, hosting film and music festivals. The Royal Palace, a comfortable residence of Muslim estate owners, also dates from that period. One of the most famous sights of Nis is the Cele Kula tower, which the Turks made of skulls of Serbia heroes after the battle on the Cegar hill, on 31 May 1809, during the First Serbian Uprising.



Today, Nis is the administrative centre of the Nisava district and the regional centre of southeastern Serbia. It is also the industrial and tourist centre of national significance. Being a junction of European roads and railways and having an airport, it is easily accessible from all directions. It is a modern university town and is also an educational, social, economic, health, cultural and sports centre of southeastern Serbia.

Greetings from me, from Nis... Tijana ))
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