Niš — Gateway Between East and West
Niš is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans and the second largest in Serbia after Belgrade. It is the most important regional, cultural, economic and university centre of Southeast Serbia.
Niš is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans and the second largest in Serbia after Belgrade. Nestled in the Niš Valley at the confluence of the Nišava and South Morava rivers, it has been known throughout history as the "gateway between East and West" — and today it remains a vital European crossroads on Corridor X. Here the E-75 motorway forks: southward toward North Macedonia and Greece, and eastward along the Nišava Valley toward Bulgaria, Turkey and the Middle East.
Birthplace of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great — Constantine, renowned as a great visionary and champion of Christianity, was born in Niš. From the era of Emperor Constantine, the city retains the suburban villa of Mediana (4th century). By recognising Christianity as the official religion of Rome through the famous Edict of Milan in 313 AD, Constantine shaped the course of European history.
Niš holds a rich treasury of historical heritage spanning from the Neolithic to the present day: the prehistoric sites of Bubanj and Velika Humska Čuka, the ancient Naissus, the Roman Mediana, the Niš Fortress from the Ottoman period, and the chilling Skull Tower — a tower built from the skulls of Serbian rebels in 1809, today a symbol of resistance and remembrance.