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Kalemegdan, the most beautiful and largest of Belgrade's parks is also the most important historical location, dominated as it is by the Belgrade Fortress which towers over the Sava and Danube confluence. The name of Kalemegdan relates to the wide plateau around the Fortress which was converted into a park in the 1880's. While the Fortress was the main military stronghold of Belgrade, the plateau was used to observe and ambush the enemy. Consequently its name derives from the Turkish words 'kale' meaning 'fort' and 'meydan' meaning 'field'. The Turks use to call Kalemegdan Fikir-bayır which means "hill for contemplation". The landscaping of the park was begun on the order of Prince Mihailo Obrenović after the surrender of the Fortress to the Serbs in 1867. The initial sketches for the layout of Kalemegdan were drawn up by the first Belgrade town planner Emilijan Josimović, and planting took place between 1873 and 1875.
The Kalemegdan park is approached from Knez Mihailova street (Entrance to Great Kalemegdan - Veliki Kalemegdan) and from Uzun-Mirkova street (entrance to Little Kalemegdan - Mali Kalemegdan). Kalemegdan contains the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion, the Music Pavilion, and the Great Steps (Veliko stepenište), the Zoo, children's fun fair, and a number of monuments, sculptures, sports and catering facilities.  The Monument of Gratitude to France
The landscaping of the park was begun on the order of Prince Mihailo Obrenović after the surrender of the Fortress to the Serbs in 1867. The initial sketches for the layout of Kalemegdan were drawn up by the first Belgrade town planner Emilijan Josimović, and planting took place between 1873 and 1875.
The Kalemegdan park is approached from Knez Mihailova street (Entrance to Great Kalemegdan - Veliki Kalemegdan) and from Uzun-Mirkova street (entrance to Little Kalemegdan - Mali Kalemegdan). Kalemegdan contains the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion, the Music Pavilion, and the Great Steps (Veliko stepenište), the Zoo, children's fun fair, and a number of monuments, sculptures, sports and catering facilities. This work by Ivan Meštrović was erected in 1930 as a gesture of gratitude to France for her support of the Serbian army in the First World War. A bronze figure of a woman with a sword on the top of the monument represents France. On the reverse side of the pedestal is the inscription "We love France as she loved us in 1914-18". The flower beds around the monument are modelled on French parks.
The Keys of the Belgrade Fortress Memorial This is located on the site where the Sultan's edict ('firman') handing the Fortress over to the control of Prince Mihailo Obrenović and the Serbian army was read out on 19th April 1867. It is the work of Mihailo Paunović and was opened on the 100th anniversary of the event in 1967.
The Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion This was erected in 1928 from donations raised by the Cvijeta Zuzorić Association of Friends of Art at the instigation of Branislav Nušić and designed by the architect Branislav Kojić. It was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Belgrade. Exhibitions of fine arts, concerts and other cultural events are held in the Pavilion and it also houses the headquarters of the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia (ULUS). Cvijeta Zuzorić (1552-1648) was a poet, aristocrat and the most beautiful woman in Dubrovnik.
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Belgrade 
