Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Most Famous Squares in Belgrade

Republic Square

Republic Square is the major square of the capital. It was developed on the location where, during Roman times, was situated the gate that marked the end of the walled city. At the time of Austrians, in the 18th century, at the same place was the so-called Wuirttenberg `s gate, the most important gate in Belgrade. After recapturing the city in 1739, the Turks changed its name to the Istanbul (Stambol) Gate. The regulation of the main street, Kneza Mihaila, was undertaken in the second half of the 19th century, and emphasized the importance of the square. The construction of the National Museum and the National Theatre contributed to the architectural shaping of the square. In the last decade, Republic Square was the center of many protests, offering people a place to express their dissatisfaction with the political situation and economic troubles in the country. Republic Square is adorned with the first and only equestrian monument in Belgrade. It is the work of the Italian sculptor Enrico Pazzi, who lived in Belgrade during the1870's and 1880's, and was awarded a high badge of honor of the Serbian Prince himself for a successful completion of the work.


Republic Square, Belgrade

 The statue represents Prince Mihailo Obrenovie who was the ruler of Serbia twice, from 1839 until 1842, and from 1860 until 1868. He was the first educated and European oriented Serbian ruler, and the one who liberated Serbian cities from the Turks in 1862 and 1867. The monument glorifies the Serbian Prince as the victor, on its base showing the handing over of the keys of the 6 fortified cities the Turks surrendered and left to the Serbs. On the front and the back of the base are the coat-of-arms of the principality of Serbia.

Student's Square

Student's Square is situated near Republic Square. It is surrounded with several faculties and the building of Belgrade University's Dean. On the place of the present core of student life, during the Turkish rule was a cemetery, then an open marketplace and at last a park surrounded by a fence with lots of greenery. The buildings of the faculties face the park. The square is also known as the Academic Square and as Plato.


Rectorate of the Belgrade University, Students' square in Belgrade

Today it is the favorite meeting place for students, but also it was the place where, in recent history, many of the anti-regime student protests began. There are the ruins of the Roman Thermae (baths) on the square, near the building of the University Dean, while in the square's center is placed the monument to Petar Petrovi6 Njegog (1813-1851), the poet and ruler of Montenegro (1994, by sculptor Sreten Stojanovi6).

Terazije Square

 Terazije is a vibrant open space always bursting with people and traffic. As an elongated oval, by its shape and its spatial disposition, Terazije is not a street and also not exactly a square. The name of the square traces its origin to the Turkish word for a water reservoir. On the location of the square once stood a big water reservoir of the Mokri Lug water system, which was a major water distributor for the city. In the 1830's, Prince Mihailo made a decision to settle Serbian blacksmiths in this part of the city, and soon the place became jam-packed with numerous artisan workshops. The reconstruction of the square occurred in 1912 when it was beautified with greenery and a large fountain.


Terazije Square, Belgrade

The entire avenue changed its appearance as the tramlines, the greenery and fountain were removed on the occasion of the May 1St parade in 1948. Only the well remains to this day and can still be mu seen in front of the Hotel Moscow. 

Nikola Pasic Square

This is a spacious square that opens up broadly into one of the longest streets in Belgrade, Boulevard of Kralj Aleksandar, toward the building of the Federal Parliament, the Holocaust Museum and the Yugoslav Historical Museum, as well as towards the buildings of "Borba" and "Novosti" newspapers. The square was formed only in 1954 following the construction of the Social-Realistic piece of architecture, the Home of Syndicates, which occupies the central part of the square. But the workers' syndicates rarely gathered here. The square was first named Marx and Engels Square, but their statues, although planned to stand in the center of the square, have never been realized. In the 1990's the square took the name of Nikola Pagi6, a well-known Serbian politician and statesman whose statue stands in front of the fountain.




Trg Nikole Pašića (Nikola Pašić Square) in Belgrade. Monument of Pašić can be seen behind the fountain.

The Federal Parliament is an edifice whose construction and function is oddly related to the idea of the brotherhood between Yugoslav nations and to the establishment of the parliamentary system in the country. The building was started according to the designs by Jovan Ilkie in 1906 during the reign of King Petar I Karadjordjevie and the parliamentary democracy established by the same king. The construction was stopped when the First World War started and once more when King Aleksandar Karadjordjevi6 abandoned his father's parliamentarism and established authoritarian ruling modes. The monumental, spacious edifice with a cupola, formed under the academic influences, was finally finished in 1936/7. From that time to this day, in this building have operated the parliaments of Tito's Yugoslavia, Milogevies Republic of Yugoslavia, and in the end, the parliament of the present state Serbia and Montenegro. In front of the Parliament during the last 20 years, many public celebrations of sporting victories have been organized. On 5th October 2000, the Parliament building was the site where dissatisfied Serbian people gathered and where their non-violent revolution brought the final fall of the long-term dictatorship of Slobodan Milogevi6. In front of the main entrance to the building stand two sculptures of rearing horses (1939, Toma Rosandie), while above the entrance can be seen two angels holding an olive branch and a torch and symbolizing the peace.

Read more about Belgrade:

Things To Do In Belgrade

Things To Do In Belgrade Part Two

Things To Do And See In Serbia


MAKE MONEY ONLINE - JOIN HUBPAGES NOW!!!

Save 25 USD Go anywhere, stay for less!



No comments:

Post a Comment