Belgrade is the urbex capital of the western Balkans — a city where the brutalist concrete ambition of New Belgrade, the ruins of a 19th-century sugar factory, and the unresolved tragedy of a WWII concentration camp all sit within the same metropolitan area. Novi Beograd is relentlessly Modernist in style — its 70-or-so residential blocks stack in concrete cubes and towers along the sides of clean, wide boulevards, and as Ex Utopia documents, some of this architecture is now in active structural decay. The Dimitrije Tucović Sugar Factory, built from 1899 to 1901 and documented by Ex Utopia as "the oldest sugar beet processing plant in Serbia," stands six floors high on the city's outskirts — red brick, green growth, sooty windows, and "beautiful design elements that make you think of the good old times." Discover the 5 best abandoned places in Belgrade, selected from our Serbia Urbex Map — 200+ verified GPS locations across Serbia.
Why Belgrade Has the Balkans' Most Varied Urban Exploration Landscape
No other Balkan capital concentrates so many distinct urbex typologies within walking distance of the city center — a pre-WWI sugar factory, a WWII concentration camp on prime Sava riverfront real estate, brutalist housing blocks with chunks of concrete falling from their facades, the Zastava factory ruins in Palilula, and Cold War military galleries beneath the fortress. Belgrade alone justifies a dedicated urbex trip to Serbia.
1. Dimitrije Tucović Sugar Factory – Belgrade Outskirts — Built 1899–1901, Oldest Sugar Beet Plant in Serbia, Six Floors, Red Brick Ruins, Surviving Yugoslav Signage (Known Location)
Built from 1899 to 1901 as the oldest sugar beet processing plant in Serbia, the Dimitrije Tucović Sugar Factory rises six floors from an overgrown forecourt on the city's outskirts — Red walls, green growth, and broken, sooty windows, detailed with an assortment of steam funnels, drain pipes, and corrugated metal panels. Ex Utopia describes it as "a relic of a time when industry and architecture walked hand in hand; an era before function overtook form, back when factories were still built by the same architects who designed hospitals and schools." Named after Dimitrije Tucović, founder of the Serbian Social Democratic Party, the factory has a history tied to the workers' rights movement. At its peak, it was a self-contained industrial town; now it is one of the most photographed factory ruins in Belgrade.
🔗 Source: Ex Utopia – Belgrade's Abandoned Sugar Factory
2. Staro Sajmište – New Belgrade, Sava Riverbank — WWII Concentration Camp, 40,000+ Victims, Crumbling Tower, Children's Playground on Former Camp Grounds, Unresolved Memorial (Known Location)
Across the Sava river from Belgrade's Old Town, Staro Sajmište occupies what Lonely Planet calls "prime real estate" on the New Belgrade riverbank. Run by the Gestapo as Judenlager Semlin, the camp claimed the lives of over 40,000 of the 80,000 prisoners between 1941 and 1944, most of whom were Jews, Roma and Serbs. The Times of Israel documents its current state: a crumbling central tower surrounded by children's seesaws, former camp buildings converted into homes and businesses, a restaurant operating in the former morgue. Decades of attempts to build a proper memorial have stalled repeatedly. The site is one of the most sobering and historically complex locations in Belgrade — approach with complete sensitivity and respect.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Abandoned Places in Serbia →
3. New Belgrade Brutalist Blocks (Rudo Buildings) – Novi Beograd — Concrete Falling Since 2013, Yugoslav Modernist Architecture in Active Decay, Blok 23 Setting
Novi Beograd – 'New Belgrade' – is a post-war planned municipality built opposite Old Belgrade, on the west bank of the Sava River. Construction began in 1948, and by 1951 already 100,000 workers and engineers had participated in the project. Greyscape documents its current decay: "just as Brutalist Belgrade is surfing a wave of positive international attention, its concrete creations are crumbling" — with chunks of concrete up to 60kg falling from the Rudo Buildings since 2013. Even before visiting, I had seen those blocks in countless photographs — but the thing that struck me most about Novi Beograd was its colour. The combination of monumental scale, extraordinary Yugoslav design and active structural deterioration creates the most urgent urbex subject in Serbia. GPS in our Serbia Urbex Map.
4. Zastava Industrial Complex – Palilula, Belgrade — Yugo Car Factory, Two Hectares, Fire-Damaged 2012, Vintage Yugoslav Signage Intact, Atlas Obscura Listed (Exclusively on Our Map)
Standing in the Palilula district, the Zastava industrial complex is two hectares of ruins from the company behind the legendary Yugo car — burned in 2012, years after abandonment. Atlas Obscura calls it "a harrowing vision of the country's past" and documents the extraordinary survival of the "amazing vintage sign-posts" and "beautiful design elements that make you think of the good old times." Originally described as "a fairly hidden venue, with not much local attention" despite its proximity to the city center. The fire-blackened walls, surviving Yugoslav graphic design, and the sheer scale of the complex create the most atmospheric single factory ruin in Belgrade. GPS in our Serbia Urbex Map.
5. Genex Tower (Western City Gate) Derelict Zones – New Belgrade — Designed 1977–80 by Mihajlo Mitrović, Rotating Restaurant Never Installed, Upper Floors in Decay (Off the Radar — Our Map Only)
Rising from Block 33 of New Belgrade, the Western City Gate — built from 1977 to 1980 — became the ultimate icon of Yugoslav economic progress. Designed by architect Mihajlo Mitrović, it consists of two conjoined skyscrapers. A concrete rotunda, situated above the bridge connecting the towers and supported on one of the office building's service shafts, was designed for a rotating restaurant; but the rotating mechanism was never installed, so the restaurant never turned. The upper commercial tower floors and the rotunda are progressively deteriorating — the Yugoslav promise of a rotating restaurant above New Belgrade, never fulfilled, now decaying above the city that built it. GPS in our Serbia Urbex Map.
Safety Tips
- Falling concrete: New Belgrade's brutalist blocks have active structural deterioration — never stand beneath overhanging facade elements on the Rudo Buildings or similar structures
- Staro Sajmište: approach as a Holocaust memorial site, not a conventional urbex location — complete historical sensitivity is required
- Asbestos: endemic in all Yugoslav-era industrial and residential buildings — FFP2 mask mandatory in any enclosed space at the sugar factory, Zastava ruins or Genex Tower derelict zones
- Never explore alone — Belgrade's urbex community (Urbano Istraživanje Beograd) is active and local contacts are invaluable for navigating less-documented sites
The urbex code: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned place in Belgrade?
The Dimitrije Tucović Sugar Factory — built 1899–1901, the oldest sugar beet processing plant in Serbia, now six floors of red brick ruins with surviving pre-WWI industrial architecture documented by Ex Utopia as one of the most extraordinary factory urbex sites in the Balkans. For architectural scale, New Belgrade's brutalist Rudo Buildings in active concrete decay are the most urgent subject.
Is Belgrade safe for urban exploration?
Belgrade is generally safe for general travel. The specific urbex risks in Belgrade are structural — brutalist concrete with decades of deferred maintenance, fire-damaged factory buildings and six-floor sugar factory ruins — plus asbestos in virtually all Yugoslav-era structures. Standard precautions (FFP2 mask, head torch, never alone) apply to all Belgrade sites.
Is Staro Sajmište open to the public?
Staro Sajmište is on the Sava riverbank in New Belgrade and the site is accessible. However, it is not a conventional tourist attraction — former camp buildings are now homes and businesses, the memorial status is unresolved and the crumbling tower at the centre of the site has no formal heritage protection. Visit with complete historical sensitivity as a Holocaust memorial site.
🎯 Summary
Belgrade's best abandoned places range from the pre-WWI sugar factory on the city's periphery to the WWII concentration camp on prime Sava riverfront, the brutalist blocks of New Belgrade shedding concrete since 2013 and the Zastava factory ruins with Yugoslav signage intact. No other Balkan capital offers so much in so walkable an area. Find them all in our Serbia Urbex Map.
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