In the last ten days, and after the celebration of the city festivities – the Days of St. Emperor Constantine and Empress Helen, but also after numerous manifestations before and after that, city leadership received numerous official responses, letters and congratulations from our country and abroad. On this occasion Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovis said:” Dear fellow citizens, I am particularly pleased to convey to you, the citizens of Nis, the messages that came from Greece, from the City of Serres, our twin city, but also from Austria, Italy, Russia, Bulgaria and other countries from which hundreds of guests stayed in our Nis at the time of the traditional celebration of the days of the city’s patrons – the Holy Emperor Constantine and Empress Helen.
All those thank-you notes, all the greeting cards received from our guests, were sent to you – to the citizens of Nis – for a warm welcome, great hospitality and, as almost every letter highlights, for the unforgettable days and pleasant moments spent in our city at the traditional city festivities. I especially emphasize that I feel, and that I share with you my dear fellow citizens, extreme pleasure for receiving the official letter from the Mayor of the Russian City of Kursk, Mr. Nikolai Ivanovich Ovcharov, who, besides everything else, emphasized “he believed that by participating in the event by which we marked the traditional city festivities, the City of Kursk contributed to the preservation of the historical and cultural tradition of Nis and further strengthened the deep spiritual and inseparable connection that exists between the Serbian and Russian people. ”
Mr. Ovcharov also pointed out that “Nis was a modern city that was developing dynamically and was surely going forward, while maintaining the recognizable spirit of Orthodox culture”, especially emphasizing that “historians had the right in calling Nis the Imperial City – the place of the birth of Emperor Constantine during the reign of whom more than 1,700 years ago, Christianity has acquired the legal right to exist and further developed ” In the end, the Mayor Kursk wrote, I quote “that after the unforgettable events in Nis, he firmly believes that with the new impulses for his work and the inexhaustible energy he had the opportunity to see with the citizens of Nis, our city will develop even more quickly and become a real European metropolis “.
I express my great and sincere satisfaction and gratitude both on my own and on behalf of all of you, for this friendly and sincere message that came from Kursk, a city in Russia known at every point of the planet Earth for the legendary Kursk Battle during the Second World War in which one of the greatest victories over fascism was won, Mayor Bulatovic concluded.

June 15^th

The reception for the participants and organizers of the 5^th International Gastro-Tourism Festival was held last night at Nis City Hall. Mayor Darko Bulatovic welcomed the participants of the festival that attracted masters of cuisine and catering workers from 24 countries, to the city of Nis, which, besides its rich history and tradition, has been recognizable for hospitality and superior cuisine, which has been proven many times in cooking competitions around the world. The Mayor said that the city administration would fully support this manifestation and help technically and financially so that this festival would grow into biiger event the following year and become one of the brands not only of Nis, but of the entire southeastern Serbia. The organizer of the Festival is Association of Catering and Tourism Workers of Niš, and Zoran Mirasevic, from the Association, announced the most interesting event during the festival which was the preparation of a large 65 kg pancake and 3,000 liters of of famous dish from Leskovac. The work of the competitors would be followed by a team of judges composed of world-renowned culinary masters who would decide on the winner of the event, both team and individual winners in all categories. The reception was attended by Assistant Minister of Tourism Ms. Vera Trefald, and the Head of the Nisava District Ms. Dragana Sotirovski, who reminded that Serbian cuisine on the international culinary scene, was presented in the best way, above all thanks to the unselfish efforts of members of the Association of Catering and Tourism Workers.