‘JMy driver calls out to me, “Comrade, come on in!” from the tiny, boxiest Yugo I’ve seen. I’m setting off on a tour of Yugoslav-era Belgrade with driver Vojin Žugić from Yugoverse Tours, a business that specializes in cold-war nostalgia. With its cassette player, cube-shaped headlights and cranky gearstick, the car is a time machine. The car’s horn is a delight, and it smells of old leather and diesel. We cruise around the Serbian Capital for a half-day, admiring the communists’ most impressive bridges and sights, while honking happily at the drivers who overtaken us. They all smile and wave because the Yugo is a fond memory in this part.
Ada Bridge Hippodrome: Drive around it Under the gravity-defying arch, the experimental brutalist Genex tower, it’s easy to get caught up in Žugić’s nostalgia – even though he’s only 24. “I love the feeling of the mechanics and the simple geometry,” says he of the car. Parking at the tower, we take the elevator to the top 140 metre floor for spectacular views of the city from the spaceship-like window. In 1977, it was an architectural vision of a socialist utopia. The concrete may look a little shabby, but the tower still has a photogenic appeal. It’s just like our Yugo.
Zastava, a Yugo-manufacturer in Yugoslavia, worked with Fiat to produce the car that was almost everyone’s family vehicle in the Balkans for the second half the 20th Century. Zastava was given the Fiat 600 and 500 designs by Italy to replicate locally. Most of the cars are driven by older people who haven’t upgraded their vehicle since the factory stopped production. Yugoverse in Belgrade is a group made up of approximately 50 young enthusiasts, led by mechanic Jovana Ninković, have been giving these forgotten classics a new lease of life: collecting them, refitting them, meeting up for rallies and driving visitors around.
Žugić tells me the appeal of collecting Zastavas comes partly from “a responsibility to maintain our country’s 20th-century heritage, which is fast disappearing”. The Museum of Automobiles will close in 2024. Hotel Yugoslavia It was demolished in January to make way for a Ritz-Carlton. And the Jugosped Warehouse, once home of artists’ workshops and secret raves has been torn to pieces to be replaced with a Saudi-backed project of luxury apartments.
Then, Generation that grew up during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s want to erase the past, many young people are looking further back to more peaceful Yugoslav times to forge their identities, Žugić tells me, as we cross the soaring Gazela Bridge over the Sava. “We consider these cars to be an important part of our past. “We made them here and we must take care of them, because no one else will,” says he. The passion is growing among the gen Z Serbs. @easternblocgirl, to preserve an aging heritage and celebrate a brusque aesthetic in the Balkans.
Book a tour to explore further afield Vlajko Vladan, another young Yugo enthusiast and guide for a youth-led restoration project at Maglič Castle, which has a similar ethos to Yugoverse, chiefly to restore old broken things. We set out into the rolling hills of central Serbia, starting south of Belgrade. We pass through the town of Guca where, every August, a legendary sand race takes place. Gypsy jazz trumpet festival takes place. We are soon winding through mountains. Here our Yugo boxy white comes to its fullest, chuntering down the bendy roads with graceless but magnificent ease.
A tiny train, on its way towards the Kosovo border, runs along a river which feeds into Ibar valley. The valley is filled with small villages. Yugos are parked in various states of repair outside some houses. They look up as they are tending to their vegetables and give us a wave of solidarity.
We round a bend and the stone fortress of Maglič comes into view on a dramatic hilltop. The name is derived from the word maglaThe mist rising from the river seems to be a fitting name for the fog. Built in the 13th century to withstand Mongol invasions, the crumbling castle was left to decay until a group of young locals decided to save it – and while the state has taken over restoration, the Magličgrad guesthouseThe area just below the Castle is still community owned.
We climb the castle after crossing the river on a raft. A group of twentysomethings greets us with shots of rakia – plum brandy from this region. They take me into the wooden houses with their stoves, kilim carpets and other cosy features.
I walk from the castle up to the waterfall that is used for wild swimming. It’s here the Maglič team host barbecues and live music nights reminiscent of their grandparents’ Yugoslav era – “a slower time”, says Vladan. When I get back, there’s a hearty dinner of sausages, pickles and lentils waiting – the kind of hot meal you dream about while on a bracing hike. The next night, I slept well and was well-fed.
The Yugo had a few issues the next morning. I’m not surprised. Yugos used to be called “the worst cars in history“. In US films like Tom Hanks’ buddy cop comedy from 1987, they were the brunt of the jokes DragnetIn, Hanks’ Yugo is a last resort getaway vehicle after he has crashed all other vehicles. Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson and the rest of Die Hard 3 jumpstart a gold Yugo Screwdriver
We get back on the road after much huffing. I open the window and enjoy the view as we drive to the Suva Planina, the foothills to the Stara Planina Mountains which stretch between eastern Serbia and Bulgaria, before reaching the Black Sea. We stop at Kafana Dagi Plus, a restaurant/pub/live music venue that’s beyond kitsch but serves excellent food in the southern city of Niš. We then drive to a scenic location (nearby the restaurant). Etno dom kafanaThe Trem mountain trail is a great hike. The route was more dramatic than expected, along a narrow cloud-cutting ridge. The valley below has a lush green color and small villages.
The car’s headlights shine brightly on the dark roads as we drive back to Belgrade. We blast cassettes from the 1980s. In the summer, I hire my Yugo driver again to drive me to the Balkans and to Croatia or Montenegro. The windows are the only way to cool down the hot car. Žugić has even found a way to fix an electric engine into his Yugo so it runs totally sustainably. “That’s the thing with these timeless cars – they’re easy to refit,” he says. “Put in another engine and you get a completely new car.”
The trip was sponsored by YugoverseFrom April to September,, which offers tours of Belgrade (You can also find out more about us on our website. €65 For a half-day ride in a vintage car) Magličgrad, which has rooms and tours from €45 for two people, or €80 for up to seven people, free for volunteers at the site
