Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Nixon, Luciano Pavarotti, Ivo Andrić, Stevan Sremac, Nušić, Dučić and Crnjanski are just some of the Greats who VISITED and FELL IN LOVE with one of Belgrade’s most beautiful and unique landmarks – Hotel Moskva.
Situated on the Terazije square, at the intersection of three streets and in the very core of Belgrade, stands hotel Moskva, a proud symbol of Belgrade.
The majestic Moskva isn’t your run-of-the-mill hotel. It is one of the most recognizable and loved Belgrade landmarks and since 1968 a valuable architectural monument under governmental protection.
It started as an empty plot of land cheaply sold to a local merchant. From that point on it changed owners, names (from Velika Srbija to Palata Rossiya to Hotel Moskva) as well as appearance.
In the past 100 years Hotel Moskva had over 36 million visitors.
But the thing it’s famous for, apart from its fascinating history, is that from the moment it opened its doors Moskva has attracted and wowed many famous guests.
Only the Best for the Best
In 1908 inventor of the theory of relativity Albert Einstein and his wife, a Serbian physicist Mileva Marić, visited the Moskva. Because of their visit the presidential suite bears the name of Einstein.
Some of the greatest voices such as Luciano Pavarotti and Ray Charles chose to stay in the Moskva, among hundreds of other hotels.
Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Kirk and Michael Douglas are just a few of the acting veterans who enjoyed the splendour of Moskva.
Famous producers didn’t want to miss out on Moskva either. Even Alfred Hitchcock stayed in this Serbian hotel.
The 37th US president Richard Nixon spent a night in Moskva. Other renowned politicians such as Yasser Arafat, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Nikola Pašić, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and many others also visited Hotel Moskva.
But perhaps most importantly Hotel Moskva had been, for decades, a cultural spot where writers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Orson Welles, Maxim Gorky and many others met.
Speaking of writers, there’s a looong list of Serbian Greats who literally “lived” in Hotel Moskva.
Serbian “Celebs” Who Lived in Hotel Moskva
One of the first guests of the Velika Srbija inn was Branislav Nušić, a famous writer and a regular of Belgrade kafanas.
Stevan Sremac was another regular of this establishment. This famous Serbian realist and comedy writer reportedly stayed regularly until very late in the Velika Srbija and even modified his his work schedule in one of Belgrade’s gymnasiums where he worked as a professor so that he can sleep late in the morning.
It is the only hotel in Belgrade that has no room or apartment number 13.
In 1908 Velika Srbija kafana was turned into the luxurious Rossiya Palace, and it was so important to the country that it was personally opened by Peter I Karađorđević, the King of Serbia.
The new setting continued to attract famous people. One of them was a famous Serbian poet, writer and diplomat Jovan Dučić who spent a lot of time here.
Then there was Miloš Crnjanski, expressionist poet, writer, journalist and diplomat who established a group of artists who met here to create a new beginning in art and culture for this post-war country.
During World War II Hotel Moskva was the headquarters of the Gestapo.
Of course everybody knows which famous novelist had his own table at the Hotel Moskva restaurant. Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav Nobel laureate in literature, came here every day to drink a mild Turkish coffee with a cube of ratluk.
Similarly, the daily ritual of the Serbian poet Vasko Popa consisted of arriving every day at 3:30pm, drinking his coffee and staying until 6pm.
In 1974, the hotel restaurant introduced the “Moskva šnit” cake which became the first “sweet” brand of Belgrade. It was of course named after the hotel.
Today Hotel Moskva continues to attract and amaze not only foreign guests, but its own Belgraders too.
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