Belgrade, MN

Belgrade is a Stearns County city at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 71 and Minnesota Highway 55, in the lake country west of St. Cloud. The village was incorporated in 1888, when the railroad tied this stretch of prairie to Minneapolis and the town's grain elevators rose above the tracks. The name is shared with places across the country, but Belgrade's local map is tied to Crow River Township, Crow Lake, and the highways that meet at its center.

The city's unforgettable landmark is the Belgrade Centennial Memorial Park, home to the world's largest black crow sculpture. Installed for the city's centennial, the crow stands above a memorial wall built with thousands of bricks carrying the names of area residents and families. The park combines local history, veterans' remembrance, flags, and a memento room, turning a roadside oddity into a record of the community. Belgrade's municipal building, water tower, grain-elevator history, and highway junction give the city a practical center, while Crow Lake and the surrounding lake country keep water and recreation in the background. Belgrade is a central Minnesota crossroads with a giant bird and a very human memory wall.