Roads made Niš, and they have rarely left it in peace. Set on the corridor linking central Europe to Constantinople, the city was already significant in Roman times as Naissus, birthplace of Constantine the Great, whose suburban residence at Mediana has yielded mosaic floors and marble sculpture. Later centuries brought Byzantine, Serbian and Ottoman rule, the last leaving the fortress that still defines the riverbank. The film moves between these layers and does not avoid the harder ones: the Skull Tower, raised by Ottoman forces after the battle of Čegar during the first Serbian uprising, remains one of the most unsettling monuments in the Balkans. Alongside the historical narrative, the programme captures a lively contemporary city of cafés, riverside promenades and markets. Suited to city portraits, Roman-heritage strands and Balkan history collections.
