Hotel Moskva

Located on the site of the former family-owned Velika Srbija inn, the grand Hotel Moskva is one of the oldest operating hotels in Belgrade, Serbia. Opened in 1908, it was part of Rossiya Palace and is considered a landmark of the city. The Hotel has hosted over 36 million guests ranging from famous writers, actors, and inventors to the Gestapo of Nazi Germany.

Designed by Belgrade-based architect Jovan Ilkic, the Hotel employs a Secessionist style with ancient Greek elements. A daring design for its time, the Hotel’s architecture contributed to Belgrade’s turn-of-the-century transformation into a modern urban center. Most notably, its smooth and shiny facade is made of ceramic tiles.

The Rossiya Palace was the largest privately owned building in Serbia, and so significant at the time that it was personally opened by King Peter I. Not only was it daring in its design, the Palace symbolized Serbia’s support towards the Russian Empire and away from its existing Austria-Hungry relations, as it was funded and owned by a Russian insurance company. At its opening, the Palace had restaurants, offices, apartments, and contained 36 rooms.

Following World War I, the Hotel quickly became a destination in Belgrade’s literary scene, attracting writers for its well-lit rooms within the war-ravaged city. However, Serbia’s fledgling writers weren’t the only ones drawn to the Hotel. When Belgrade was invaded by the Nazis during World War II, the Gestapo turned the Hotel into their headquarters.

After World War II, the Hotel returned to being a center for the cultural elite. Celebrities, writers, musicians, and Hollywood producers have all filled its halls. Today, the Hotel Moskva is a four-star hotel and is the only one in Belgrade without a room or apartment number 13.

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