Misplaced Pages

#699300

160-599: Kalemegdan Park, split in two as the Great and Little Parks, was developed in the area that once was the town field within the Belgrade Fortress . Today residents often erroneously refer to the entire fortress as the Kalemegdan Fortress or just Kalemegdan, even though the park occupies the smaller part, especially of the historical fortress, and it is some two millennia younger. The fortress, including

320-678: A "white town" or a "white fortress", was first mentioned in AD 878 by Bulgarians. The fortress kept changing its masters: Bulgaria during three centuries, and then the Byzantines and then again Bulgarians. The fortress remained a Byzantine stronghold until the 12th century when it fell in the hands of the newly emerging Serbian state. It became a border city of the Serbian Kingdom, later Empire with Hungary. The Hungarian king Béla I gave

480-516: A final decision, so it can not be overturned by the higher court. Vesić then stated that the gondola will be built, despite the "hysteria of aggressive minority". In an atypically harsh reaction by the SANU addressed specifically to Vesić this time, they responded to "hysterical minority" criticism with listing of over three dozen of national and international organizations who oppose the construction and accused Vesić of misleading, as he always talks about

640-519: A large dome. As Belgrade was generally neglected in the second half of the 14th century, the church also deteriorated a lot. When the Hungarians handed over the city to Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević, he began massive reconstruction of the fortress, including the church, which was restored and expanded. Chronicler Constantine the Philosopher described the church, including the famed icon of

800-564: A lot of people. During the course of only two weeks, just the Jesuits buried 220 people and themselves lost 3 missionaries. The extremely massive plague outbreak hit the city in October 1738. As the Austrian army retreated in front of the advancing Turks, numerous civilians fled to the fortress, many of them being contagious. Having so many people in a cramped space, triage was not possible so

960-520: A military museum, a museum of forestry and hunting, and the Monument of Gratitude to France . A pedestrian walkway along the southwest section of the fortress is called Sava Promenade ( Serbian : Савска променада / Savska promenada ). Due to the static problems, it was renovated in 1932–1933. The project was drafted by the Russian émigré architect Aleksandr Anastyevich Chelpanbaev. It connects

1120-451: A population of 3,650 in 1981, 3,392 in 1991 and 2,676 in 2002. Municipality of Stari Grad, on whose territory Kalemegdan is located, later abolished local communities. Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( Serbian Cyrillic : Београдска тврђава , romanized :  Beogradska tvrđava , Hungarian: Nándorfehérvár), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on

1280-548: A short part of what is today Knez Mihailova, called "Delijska street", actually existed as a street. Josimović successfully transformed the existing incomplete trail into the proper street which directly connected downtown Belgrade with the fortress, thus establishing a direct communication between the inner and outer neighborhoods. Josimović then proposed that Kalemegdan, as now Knez Mihailova ended at it, should be transformed into "gorgeous park", as he considered parks in general "air reservoirs". Later, architect Aleksandar Bugarski who

1440-739: Is "trimmed", the trees in the park are battered, the ancient ramparts of Singidunum crushed, all being hit by the heavy, modern artillery, from precisely measured distance and even more precisely unmeasured hatred". Heavy fighting occurred in the Lower Town in 1915, when Serbian forces, led by major Dragutin Gavrilović , persistently but ultimately unsuccessfully, fought the invading Austro-Hungarian army. Before full occupation, Austro-Hungarian army temporarily entered Belgrade, from 3 to 14 December 1914. Already on 4 December they erected gallows in fortress' Upper Town, and on several other locations around

1600-526: Is a staircase at one of the entrances into Kalemegdan Park in downtown Belgrade , Serbia . It is a representative of the park architecture and integral part of the park's promenade above the Sava river. It is part of the Belgrade Fortress complex, which is placed under the state protection as the Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance and the staircase itself is described as having both

1760-845: Is also located here. New city administration headed by mayor Aleksandar Šapić included in the city's urban plan relocation of the Belgrade Zoo out of the fortress in 2022. Šapić announced relocation to the Ada Safari section of Ada Ciganlija island in February 2023. City manager, Miroslav Čučković, explained the relocation: "Since the foundation of the new city administration...we made decisions which are connected to our dedication to spaces to which Belgraders were coming close to in all of these previous years. Those are spaces for which we think should have some new type of content and possibility to directly invest into them". Šapić then added that

SECTION 10

#1732776759700

1920-484: Is being prepared for the new object, which will have an artistic and cultural, but also a catering function. However, while the "Beogradska tvrđava", obtained a permit from the Ministry of construction, only works which will not affect the construction of the object were allowed, not a demolition. Also, at first they refused to disclose which company is the leaseholder, claiming that the investor pays for everything, though

2080-508: Is built in the massive form with shallow pilasters, as decoration. The stone was used as the main material. The staircase represents the integral part of the decoration of the Great Kalemegdan Park, resembling the city parks of European metropolis in the late 19th and early 20th century, bearing the features of the representative city park fin de siècle . The staircase is covered with the greenish granite, kersantite , from

2240-540: Is generally divided into four sections. The four sections, two of which make the fortress itself (Donji and Gornji Grad) and two make Kalemegdan park today, were divided by the Tsarigrad Road , on the location of modern pedestrian path next to the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion. Donji Grad (Доњи Град); occupies the slope towards the riversides, from the top spot (ridge where "The Victor" is). Between

2400-695: Is no set time frame for the project. Already in April 1941, professor and major Johann von Reiswitz  [ sr ] was appointed to the Referat for the Protection of the Cultural Values in Serbia. He saved numerous cultural objects in Serbia, which won him praise even from some Serbian historians after the war. On 20 October 1941 the Lower Town was fenced on his orders of keeping and protecting

2560-694: Is no set time frame for the project. An artificial pond, with small island and pedestrian bridges was formed in front of the zoo. It was destroyed during the bombing in World War II . In 1958, an amusement park ( luna park ) was open on that same location. Its main attraction, the Ferris wheel , was installed in 1964. In Serbian called "Panorama", it was produced in the United Kingdom, then transported to Italy, while it arrived in Yugoslavia in

2720-617: Is the Belgrade Planetarium . The modern church of Sveta Petka was projected by architect Momir Korunović . Construction began in the first half of the 1930s, on the location of an old chapel. It was consecrated on 27 October 1937, the feast day of Parascheva of the Balkans , called Petka in Serbian. During the tenure of mayor Dragan Đilas (2008–13), the idea of expanding the zoo to Donji Grad, which it occupied prior to

2880-541: Is the view, which widely spreads over both river and their banks". According to diplomat Kosta Hristić , the Kalemegdan was full of dogs, some feral, and was dangerous to pass through. Still, the several historical events occurred there. Ruling prince Miloš Obrenović accepted the 1859 beratlı , by which the Ottoman sultan confirmed his second accession to the throne. During the Čukur Fountain incident in 1862, as

3040-637: The Big and the Small Staircase and is location of many outdoor exhibitions. A pavilion , with an area of 77 m (830 sq ft) was built in the 1920s along the Sava Promenade on the southern edge of the fortress. In the 1990s several families squatted in it. By the 2010s, the object was out of use, derelict and half-ruined. Lease of the object was announced in May 2014, but was recalled. It

3200-727: The Goths and the Huns . Legend says that Attila 's grave lies at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube (under the fortress). In 476 Belgrade again became the border between the empires: the Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire ( Byzantine Empire ), and the Slav - Avar State in the north. The Celtic fortification was a primitive one, located on top of Terazije ridge, above

3360-647: The Šumadija geological bar. The sandbank stretches at least from the city's Tašmajdan section, originating from the Miocene period, and the oldest stages of the ancient Pannonian Sea . The cliff-like ridge overlooks the Great War Island ( Serbian : Veliko ratno ostrvo ) and the confluence of the Sava river into the Danube , and makes one of the most beautiful natural lookouts in Belgrade. It borders

SECTION 20

#1732776759700

3520-412: The "Decision on protection, adaptation and maintenance of the people's park of Kalemegdan" which set the borders of the protected areas as the rivers of Danube and Sava and the streets of Tadeuša Košćuškog and Pariska . In 1962, Belgrade's Institute for the cultural monuments protection expanded the zone to several blocks across the streets. Detailed plan on Kalemegdan from 1965 provided that, despite

3680-576: The "Exhibition of the new German architecture" in the German pavilion at the Belgrade Fair . In the early 1940, March began the preparatory works, as he also planned the partial remodeling of the fortress outside of the sports complex, too. He incited archaeological survey and invited German architectural historian Daniel Krencker to study the excavations. Within the scopes of the Nazi expansion of

3840-568: The "permit on monopoly" to Ahnenerbe's Secretary General Wolfram Sievers in February 1942. Austrian prehistorian Friedrich Holste  [ de ] was selected to conduct the survey, but he was killed in May 1942 near Kharkiv , Ukraine , before reaching Belgrade. He was replaced with Wilhelm Unverzagt , director of the Berlin's Museum for Prehistory and Early History . Joined by Sievers and Herbert Jankuhn , Heinrich Himmler 's close associate, Unverzagt began targeted digging, searching for

4000-413: The "political decision was made to handle this", and, if everything goes by the plan, the relocation might be finished in three years. Public and experts' backlash against the project was massive, mostly regarding hastiness, arbitration, irrelevance, legality and selected location. Public speculated that the residents of the newly built affluent K-Distrikt residential complex across the zoo are bothered by

4160-407: The "political decision was made to handle this", and, if everything goes by the plan, the relocation might be finished in three years. Public and experts' backlash against the project was big, mostly regarding hastiness, arbitration, irrelevance, legality and selected location. Public speculated that the residents of the newly built wealthy K-Distrikt residential complex across the zoo are bothered by

4320-473: The 1739 Treaty of Belgrade stated that Austria had to demolish all the fortifications and military and civilian building it had constructed during the occupation. Many Baroque buildings were demolished within the fortress. However, Austria didn't demolish the buildings outside of the fortress walls. That way, the House at 10 Cara Dušana Street , built 1724–1727, in the neighborhood of Dorćol survived, being today

4480-478: The 21st century. Funiculars were also planned, to connect the Upper and the Lower Town. The entire Lower town was planned for demolition, with the plans including large amusement park , museums, artificial lake, zoo, and stadiums instead of the existing military barracks. Instead of everything, the railway was conducted around the foothills of the fortress, encircling it completely, and effectively cutting it off from

4640-480: The Austrians that the fortress has its values and importance, and that it can't be destroyed in a day (despite all the shelling, only 15 m (49 ft) of rampart was destroyed); or he simply did it to spite the Austrians. The shelling also disturbed the citizens of Zemun , across the Sava, which was part of Austro-Hungary at the time, and some of the grenades which missed the target hit Austro-Hungarian soil, so

4800-617: The Austrians, the Popular Observatory (since 1963) in the Despot Stefan Tower , the türbe (tomb) of Damad Ali Pasha , Mehmed Paša Sokolović's Fountain , tennis and basketball courts, etc. Also adapted for visits is the Great Austrian gunpowder magazine , built during the Austrian occupation of Belgrade 1718–39, after they destroyed the old one during the 1717 Siege of Belgrade . They directly hit

4960-620: The Battle of Kosovo, the fortress, like most parts of the Serbian state, was conquered by the Turks and remained (with short periods of the Austrian and Serbian occupation), under the rule of the Ottoman Empire until the year 1867, when the Turks withdrew from Belgrade and Serbia. During the short period of Austrian rule (1718–1738), the fortress was largely rebuilt and modernized. It witnessed

Kalemegdan Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

5120-558: The Belgrade Fortress. In April 2019 it was announced that the park will stretch for 4.7 km (2.9 mi), covering an area of 47 ha (120 acres). In August 2021, city expanded the project to 66 ha (160 acres), but only 22.8 ha (56 acres) will actually make the green corridor, while the rest will be privately owned residential buildings, commercial venues and sports fields. This caused negative comments from experts. New design would actually push people away from

5280-594: The Berlin stadium, to visit Belgrade and design objects for the games. March came to Belgrade in May 1938 and suggested the Fortress' Lower Town as the location for the Olympic complex. Without architectural design competition or bidding, Stojadinović's government accepted his idea and gave him carte blanche regarding the design. The project was finished in 1939 and the architectural model was exhibited in October 1940 at

5440-645: The Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, which also served as the cathedral church , was built sometimes in the 12th century, during the restored Byzantine rule. The church contained a miraculous icon of the Mother of God. It is recorded that the Byzantine princess and Serbian queen Simonida worshiped the icon in 1315 when she visited Belgrade. The structure itself was a large, three-nave church with

5600-842: The Great Serbian Migration in the 17th century and two Serbian Uprisings in the 19th century, during the Turkish Period. During the Austrian occupation of northern Serbia 1717–39 , several hospitals were established in Belgrade. The City hospital of Saint John was built within the fortress walls, but its exact location is not known. Emperor Charles VI signed the Belgrade City Statute in 1724 ("Proclamation on organizing German Belgrade"), which mentions city hospital, city pharmacy, medics and midwives. The German municipality had low incomes so it had to ask

5760-464: The Kalemegdan Park and not the Belgrade Fortress (which consists of the [former inner] fortress and the park), while the section where the gondola should be dug in is the core of the fortress. The statement concludes with the academy stating that Vesić's reaction "entails us to most firmly oppose to handing over the faith of the historical and cultural monuments, and identities of our cities, to

5920-601: The Kalemegdan Park. After the Third Hatt-i sharif of 1833, issued by the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II , number of Turks remaining to live in Belgrade was limited to 6,000, including women and children, and a strong Turkish garrison. Only Turks were allowed to live in the Upper Town, while both Turks and Serbs were allowed to live in the Lower Town. The gates were guarded by the Turkish sentries, except when prince Miloš

6080-507: The Kalemegdan side, the station will be dug into the hill, 1 m (3 ft 3 in) below the fortress' Sava Promenade. There is a cave 7 m (23 ft) below the projected station, so there is a possibility that the cave will be adapted for visitations and connected to the future gondola station by an elevator. On the Ušćе side, the starting point will be next to the Skate Park, across

6240-459: The Kalemegdan, represents a cultural monument of exceptional importance (from 1979), the area where various sport, cultural and arts events take place, for all generations of Belgraders and numerous visitors of the city. The name is formed from the two Turkish words: kale (meaning "fortress") and meydan (meaning "plaza, square", phonetically shifted to "megdan" in Serbian). Originally, it

6400-662: The Magnificent observed the main Islamic Friday prayer, the jumu'ah namaz , in the former church. When Suleiman resettled Belgrade Christians to Constantinople, they took with them the icon of the Mother of God and relics of Saint Petka and Saint Theophano. Part of them were settled in the Istanbul 's neighborhood today known as Belgradkapı , or Belgrade Gate, where they built the Church of Theotokos , and presumably kept

6560-580: The Middle East. Some surviving documents show that they discovered remains of Celtic and Gothic settlements, a trench from the Roman period and relics from the Austrian rule after the conquest of Eugene of Savoy. Some sources claim that after the bombing started, documentation and part of the artifacts were transported to Lebus , in Germany and are considered to be lost. Others claim that the entire material

Kalemegdan Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

6720-650: The Mother of God, relics of Saint Petka and Saint Empress Theophano (relocated to Belgrade after the fall of Bulgaria to the Ottomans), icons of the Twelve apostles (six on both sides), and the reliquary containing a hand. Despot added the choirs and the monastery complex around it. The church became the seat of the Metropolitan of Belgrade , this time of the Serbian Orthodox Church , and he

6880-631: The Ottomans left in April 1867, was to rebuild the Ružica Church . After the Ottoman withdrawal, newspapers in Austro-Hungary continuously published stories, backed by the military experts, that the fortress became strategically obsolete and that, having no value of any kind, Austrian army could destroy it in 24 hours. In the autumn of 1867 citizens were awaken by the heavy artillery fire. Ruling prince Mihailo Obrenović sent two batteries to

7040-400: The Pobednik monument". Serbian Environmental Agency drafted a study on the area and submitted it to the government in 2017. In February 2021, the government joined two previously protected area and expanded the protected area to 14.07 ha (34.8 acres), establishing a natural monument of Kalemegdan Sandbank. The area is a unique geological feature in Serbia, as the remains of the sea ridge of

7200-452: The Reich Ministry of the Interior Wilhelm Stuckart sent memo, asking for Belgrade to be transformed into the "Reich's Fortress". It was to be connected military with the copper and gold Bor mines and the Danube's Iron Gates gorge, to create the Banat area protection zone. This zone was intended to become Eugenia, or Prinz Eugen's District, where Danube Swabians were to settle and expand. The digging lasted through 1942 and 1943, when it

7360-432: The Sava river, which wasn't universally accepted among the architects and urbanists of the day. During his visit to the 1936 Berlin Olympics , Yugoslav prime minister Milan Stojadinović was fascinated by the objects built for the games, especially by the grandiose Olympic Stadium . He instigated the Yugoslav Olympic Committee to nominate Belgrade as the host of the 1948 Olympics and invited Werner March , architect of

7520-432: The Sava, connecting Singidunum with Taurunum. Rectangular castrum covered what is today the Upper Town and the Kalemegdan Park . The castrum had tall walls, built from the white Tašmajdan limestone and spread over the area of 16 ha (40 acres) to 20 ha (49 acres), being shaped as an irregular rectangle (approximately 570 by 330 m (1,870 by 1,080 ft)). The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I rebuilt

7680-405: The South Slavic lands ) wrote: "I wandered off in the Turkish part of the city...and I reached some large, green meadow. It was Kalemegdan, the open field which separates city from the fortress. The appearance of the field is quite rugged. The terrain is uneven and rocky. No tree or shrub can prosper here. The grass is dry...and bones of dead horses and cattle are scattered over it. But so much better

7840-421: The Ušće Tower. The entire route is 1 km (0.62 mi) long, of which 300 m (980 ft) will be above the Sava river itself. Estimated cost is €10 million and duration of works 18 months, but it is still not known when the construction will begin. Already existing criticism of the project continued, from the officially used name ( gondola instead of a traditional Serbian žičara ) and chosen location, to

8000-410: The World War II, resurfaced, but the experts were against it. The urban plan for the fortress from 1965 already projected the complete relocation of the zoo outside of the fortress, to some suburban locations, which in later plans included Veliko Blato , Stepin Lug or Jelezovac . The expansion of the zoo would cut the pedestrian communication between the Danube's and Sava's parts of the fortress, which

8160-444: The administrative division of Belgrade. It was called Grad , and translated in the foreign languages as "fortress". According to the censuses, it had a population of 2,219 in 1890, 2,281 in 1895, 2,777 in 1900, 2,396 in 1905 and 454 in 1910. The quarter was abolished on 24 August 1913. With the neighboring residential area, Kalemegdan formed one of the local communities ( mesna zajednica , a sub-municipal administrative unit), which had

SECTION 50

#1732776759700

8320-454: The animal smell, or that some more lucrative structures might be built instead of the zoo on such exceptional location since "direct investments" were given as one of the reasons. Šapić then retreated a bit, stating this is just a "political idea" which is not hastily made, that only now analyses and surveys will be done to check the viability, that nothing will be built instead of the zoo but the fortress will be conserved instead, and that there

8480-407: The archaeological surveys on the locations where the church may have been built, in hope that at least the foundations of the church are preserved being buried underground. Gornji Grad (Горњи Град), the upper section of fortress, turned into a park, with beautiful promenades and the statue of "The Victor" (Serbian: Pobednik ), the so-called "Roman well" (Serbian: Rimski bunar ), actually built by

8640-417: The architectural-urban and the cultural-historical values. The staircase is located in the southernmost extension of Kalemegdan's section of Great Kalemegdan Park , near the turn of the Pariska Street ( Serbian : Париска улица / Pariska ulica ), which circles around this section of the park. It connects the park's Sava Promenade , and further into the Belgrade Fortress , with the Pariska Street and

8800-458: The area of the Belgrade Fortress. The project was also opposed by the Serbian branch of the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage Europa Nostra , Serbian Archaeological Society and the History Department of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU). In its report, Europa Nostra described the project as controversial, irreversibly compromising for the fortress value, legally questionable, without clear purpose or any proper foundation of

8960-399: The banks of the Danube was the main urban center with a new built Orthodox cathedral. The upper town with its castle was defending the city from inland. Becoming a major trade and cultural center, Belgrade became a significant immigration town, with immigrants settling from other parts of Serbia, Dubrovnik, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Italy and Venetia. Population blossomed, so the lower city of

9120-449: The banning the works by the Institute for the monuments protection. Clandestine works continued in March 2019. In August 2017 the construction of the gondola lift , which would connect Kalemegdan with the neighborhood of Ušće across the Sava, was announced by the city government for 2018. Construction was confirmed in March 2018 when the idea of a pedestrian bridge was dropped after it has been described as "complicated" and "unstable". On

9280-443: The bastion on the Sava slope, the gates of King, Sava, Dark and Karađorđe, the Great Ravelin , etc. During the 2017 reconstruction of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović's Fountain , next to Defterdar's Gate in the Gornji Grad, several archaeological discoveries were made. Remnants of the Roman castrum, two urns from the Bronze Age and remains of the Neolithic object were discovered. The findings were conserved and reburied. Belgrade Fortress

9440-441: The book (biddings, planned investments, etc.) but nothing could be found in the official records. Since then, the leaseholders became known: two companies ("Cig" and "Black Rock"), which are already in the catering business, and which admitted that they planned to build a coffee shop, not to recreate an artistic of cultural pavilion. City sued all three participants, "Beogradska tvrđava", "Cig" and "Black Rock" and on 27 November 2017

9600-431: The church are remains of the marble lintel with the incomplete ktetor 's inscription by despot Stefan Lazarević: В Христа Бога благоверни деспот Стеф...Београдске обнових место сие и призидах певнице и...придржеш... It was accidentally discovered in 1967. Larger remains of the Metropolitan's Seat were discovered in 1977. They include arched open walls of the former porch. In February 2021, city announced it will finance

9760-423: The church. During their massive reconstruction of the fortress, and construction of the Baroque Belgrade which ensued in 1720–1739, the Austrians never reconstructed the church. Furthermore, in order to level the terrain in the Lower Town, they completely demolished the church ruins. Today, it is not known for neither where the church was exactly located, nor what its exterior looked like. The only surviving part of

SECTION 60

#1732776759700

9920-430: The city budget. Little Kalemegdan Park ( Serbian : Мали калемегдански парк / Mali kalemegdanski park ) or simply Little Kalemegdan (Serbian: Мали Калемегдан / Mali Kalemegdan ), occupies the area in the eastern section, which borders the urban section of Belgrade. Northern section of Little Kalemegdan Park is occupied by the Belgrade Zoo , opened in 1936. The Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion, built in 1928,

10080-409: The club began playing folk music. It was closed later. As of 2013, Kalemegdan Park covered an area of 53 ha (130 acres) and had 3,424 individual trees from 80 different tree species. Most of the trees were between 20 and 60 years old. On 23 September 2020, six Chinese windmill palm trees were planted in front of the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion. Those were the first palms planted in Belgrade in

10240-429: The confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in an urban area of modern Belgrade , Serbia . Located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad , the fortress constitutes the specific historical core of the city. As one of the most important representatives of Belgrade's cultural heritage, it was originally protected right after World War II, among the first officially declared cultural monuments in Serbia. The fortress

10400-418: The confluence of the Sava into the Danube, where the fortress still stands today. Celts also lived in small, open and fortified settlements around the fort, called oppida . Since it is not known for sure where the Celtic fort was; some historians suggest that it was rather close to the necropolises in Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. Celtic settlements belonged to the La Tène culture . The original military camp

10560-405: The construction site, filing complaints and fines against city and government officials and announcing 24-hours watch on site and demolition of any structure built in the meantime. Construction of the gondola lift is prohibited by the current Belgrade's General Regulatory Plan from 2016 which stipulates that construction of the "cables for the alternative transportation and recreation" is forbidden in

10720-443: The court declared their lease contract void. Only now became known that the contract was signed already on 5 August 2016, while "Cig" and "Black Rock" formed their consortium just one day before. Also, the works were to be finished by the mid-December 2017, after 3 months. Construction inspections visited the site several times and finally ordered the closing of the site and return to the previous state. On their side, State Institute for

10880-399: The cultural monument and the physical environment " and "damage wider public interests". Deputy mayor Goran Vesić stated that city "respects the court" but that construction will continue anyway. In May 2019, both the Supervisory and the Administrative board of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia conducted investigation, concluding that the permit issued by

11040-400: The cultural monument, parts of the Lower Town, and the slope which separates it from the Upper Town are protected as a natural monument . The area was included in the first protection of the fortress in 1946. In 1968 two areas were separately protected: "Maritime Neogenic Ridge - profile under the Pobednik monument in Kalemegdan" and "Geological-geographical layers at Kalemegdan locality, at

11200-422: The early 1950s. It was exhibited in almost all parts of the country, before it permanently settled in Kalemegdan. In 2013 there were only 6 of its kind in the world. Soon, it became a symbol of the park and Belgrade's counterpart of the Vienna 's Wiener Riesenrad . When produced, it was the state of the art of its kind. It has a special mechanism which consists of a steel cable and a separate handle which allows for

11360-413: The excavation. The medieval cobblestone was uncovered, so as the old ramparts and gates. In the process, the Lower Town was made more accessible to the visitors, including the new stairway and reconstruction of the part of the medieval rampart. In the Upper Town, four large, massive pillars from the period of despot Stefan Lazarević (15th century) were discovered. They are remains of the medieval bridge which

11520-407: The execution, because they believed that the entire complex can exist only if there are already functioning subway lines, which as of 2018, are still not built. This way, the traffic problems won't be solved. Due to the price, general halt of the subway construction and constant changes in its routes, the project hasn't materialized yet. While it was inhabited, Kalemegdan formed one of the quarters in

11680-432: The fighting between Serbs and Ottomans happened in the vicinity, British and Russian consuls in Belgrade relocated to the tents in Kalemegdan, to have better insight in the situation. When the Ottomans fully withdrew from Serbia in 1867, the Turkish pasha handed over the keys to the city to the ruling prince Mihajlo Obrenović . The area was not cultivated immediately after the Turkish withdrawal. The first works on arranging

11840-417: The findings so far, it is estimated that during the rule of despot Stefan Lazarević in the first half of the 15th century, when Belgrade became capital of Serbia, the city within the fortress had 5,600 to 12,000 inhabitants. Archaeological examinations were done on the following locations: In September 1969 major discoveries were announced. The appearance of the Lower Town was almost completely changed after

12000-626: The focus of the Germans to the archaeological exploration of the fortress during the war. The fortress suffered further damage during World War II. Military Museum was damaged in the April 1941 bombing, and subsequently looted. It was immediately placed under the authority of the German Military Museums Chief, repaired, and reopened for public in July 1941. After almost two millennia of continuous sieges, battles and conquests,

12160-411: The fortress (where modern Monument of Gratitude to France is) and ordered them to fire at the fortress wall where the old wooden bridge was located. A barrage fire of 300 salvos from De Bange cannons shelled the fortress during the entire day. It remained unclear why the prince ordered this: he decided to demolish the fortress completely, as such stories spread among the citizens; he wanted to show to

12320-473: The fortress and endanger UNESCO nomination, labeling the entire project as a textbook on breaking laws, procedures, planning documents, and rejecting numerous experts' opinions. All this combined points to systemic organized corruption. Though construction didn't start by this point, 155 trees have been cut and city paid the contractor 626 million dinars (€5.3 million) in advance, with further 200.000 (€1.700) in 2023 and 420 million (€3.56 million) in 2024 planned in

12480-577: The fortress and that surrounding green area will be named the Edvard Rusjan Park. The fortress and the park were damaged during World War I . Serbian army had no proper weaponry to fight the Austro-Hungarian gunboats , so they freely fired at the city from the Sava. The city was especially damaged during the heavy bombardment in 1914–1915. Diplomat and author Radoje Janković  [ sr ] described it in 1914: "Kalemegdan

12640-567: The fortress around 535. In the following centuries the fortress suffered continuous destruction under the Avar sieges. The Slavs ( Serbs ) and Avars had their "state union" north of Belgrade with the Serbs and other Slavic tribes finally settling in the Belgrade area as well as the regions west and south of Belgrade in the beginning of the 7th century. The name Belgrade (or Beograd in Serbian), which, not just in Serbian but in most Slavic languages, means

12800-434: The fortress is today known as the Belgrade Fortress. The present name of Kalemegdan Park derives from two Turkish words, kale (fortress) and meydan (field), literally meaning "fortress field". After World War II, before skiing facilities were built on the mountains further from Belgrade, the slopes of Kalemegdan (so as of Banovo Brdo , Košutnjak and Avala ), were used by Belgraders for skiing. Also, immediately after

12960-484: The fortress on the list of 14 endangered world heritage localities in Europe, specifically because of the gondola lift project. In March 2020, the fortress was voted one of the Europe's 7 most endangered heritage sites. In January 2021, Suzana Vasiljević, media advisor to the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić , said: "President rejoice over gondola. No one can stop him. No one will stop him to finish that project. I know

13120-477: The fortress to Serbia in the 11th century as a wedding gift (his son married the Serbian princess Jelena), but it remained effectively part of Hungary, except for the period 1282–1319. After the Serbian state collapsed following the Battle of Kosovo , Belgrade was chosen as the capital of Despot Stefan Lazarević in 1402. Major work was done to the ramparts which were encircling a big thriving town. The lower town at

13280-496: The fortress' ramparts and in the Upper Town. The arranging of the main Sava alley, above the river, began in 1886. Most extensive works in the park were done from 1890. During March 1891, the pathways were cut through, and trees were planted; in 1903 the Small Staircase was built, based on the project of Jelisaveta Načić , the first woman architect in Serbia, while the Big Staircase, designed by architect Aleksandar Krstić ,

13440-453: The fortress, initially hiding and denying the disease, but the fortress Ottomans were reluctant to start military skirmish in this condition. The besieging was successful as the plague never spread to Belgrade. Four outer city gates, with the adjoining walls and ramparts were demolished from 1862 (Sava, Vidin and Varoš gates) to 1866 ( Stambol Gate ). After the Ottomans fully evacuated the inner fortress in 1867, Serbian troops took over, but as

13600-556: The fortress, which was the busiest part of the city, had to be significantly expanded. Belgrade remained in Serbian hands for almost a century. After the Despot's death in 1427, it had to be returned to Hungary. An attempt by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1456 to conquer the fortress was prevented by Janos Hunyadi ( Siege of Belgrade ), saving Hungary from Ottoman dominion for 70 years. In 1521, 132 years after

13760-685: The fortress. He also began archaeological digging. However, the right to dig in the fortress was asked from both the pseudo-scientific organization Ahnenerbe and the Main Work Group Southeast of the Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce . Pressured financially and politically, von Reiswitz felt he must side with one of them, so he arranged the participation of Ahnenerbe with organization's head Walther Wüst in October 1941. Based on this, collaborationist Minister for Education and Religion Velibor Jonić issued

13920-459: The icons and relics. Interiors and all the relics in this church were destroyed during the 1955 Istanbul pogrom . Close to the church, the Ottomans dug into the ground a large gunpowder magazine. During the Austrian attack under the Eugene of Savoy, the Austrian army directly hit the magazine on 17 August 1717 causing an explosion which demolished almost all structures in the Lower Town, including

14080-436: The idea. The detailed report, compiled by Hermann Parzinger , was delivered to the Serbian government. Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure issued the permit for preparatory works on 1 April 2019. However, on 17 April 2019, Belgrade's Administrative Court temporarily halted further works citing legality of the construction permits but also saying that gondola lift may have "irreversible repercussions for both

14240-402: The immense archaeological value that lies beneath the fortress ground, basically only what was discovered by that time can be explored, restored or protected. That caused the problem both for the expansion of the park but even more for the further exploration of the fortress' underground. Best example is the Lower Town where neither the park fully developed nor the remains of the former port, which

14400-412: The imperial government sent an official diplomatic note to Serbia, protesting the shelling and reminding the prince he is only a "caretaker" of the fortress. After the takeover of the fortress, Serbian forces kept finding parts of the gallows, chains, gibbets and impalement stakes in the dungeons, used previously by the Ottomans to torture the prisoners. Official reports by the Serbian army hold claims by

14560-491: The info board named "Beogradska tvrđava" as an investor. As the entire Kalemegdan area is protected by the law, the State Institute for the monuments protection also had to approve any works. They issued a permit, naming which parts of the object have to be preserved and which may be demolished but, nevertheless, the entire house was demolished. "Beogradska tvrđava" claimed that everything has been done transparent and by

14720-534: The institute was not valid as it was not issued following the necessary guidelines and protocols and excluding experts in the process. Though stating it will obey the court's decision, the ministry filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court of Cassation against the decision of the Administrative Court. The lawsuit was rejected as the previous ruling of the Administrative Court is a temporary one, not

14880-590: The lowest section and the Danube is Kula Nebojša ("Impregnable, Fearless, or Daredevil Tower"), which has been turned into a museum of the Greek revolutionary Rigas Feraios , who was strangled by the Turks in this tower and his corpse thrown into the Danube. Donji Grad, like the neighboring Savamala, frequently suffers from flooding, and Kula Nebojša suffered extensive damage during the major floods of 2006 . The Orthodox churches of Ružica (former Austrian gun depot) and Sveta Petka are also located in this area, as

15040-476: The magazine with a cannonball and the explosion which followed allowed the Austrians to capture the city. The object is located below the 7 m (23 ft) tall rampart. The magazine is today embellished with the artifacts from the Roman period which were discovered in or around the fortress: tombstone stelae , monuments, altars and the Sarcophagus of Jonah , which originates from the 3rd century AD. It

15200-518: The main model, neo-Baroque manner was applied. Levelling between the Sava Promenade and Pariska Street was done by constructing the bifurcated arched staircase with the ramps blending in the central platform, from which one staircase ramp prolongs towards the Sava Promenade. The facade facing Pariska Street is decorated with the drinking fountain in the shape of a lion's head placed in the arched niche decorated with shallow pilasters. The railing

15360-473: The man". In March 2021, the Administrative Court fully annulled the 2019 permit issued by the Ministry of Construction. In June 2021, during the amending of the city budget, it was obvious that city still plans to go with the project. Vesić stated that the gondola will be built, and that he didn't understand the bewilderment about it. New mayor from the same party, Aleksandar Šapić , said in September 2022 that

15520-541: The manual bringing down of the gondolas, in case of power outage. In October 2019, citizens reported increased number of scorpions in Kalemegdan. Experts explained those are Carpathian scorpions (Euscorpius carpathicus), which are small and, though they can sting, not poisonous for humans. Biologists said that there is no reason for panic, as the number of scorpions is stable and not enlarged, adding that scorpions live in this area for 50 million years, while humans settled some 3,000 years ago. On 29 February 1952 city adopted

15680-554: The material proof to confirm the German idea of transforming Belgrade into Prinzeugenstadt . He specifically searched for the monumental gate at the entry into the Lower Town, built during the Nicolas Doxat's rebuilding of Belgrade under the orders of Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 1720s and 1730s. The gate was named after the Holy Roman Emperor from that period, Charlies VI . Already on 15 July 1941, secretary in

15840-415: The megaprojects, and augmentation of the German historic role and importance in this region, Krencker praised March's project as the "artistic dream, which represents rare and major German cultural act which will contribute to the old German glory of Belgrade". Just few days after German scientists left the fortress, Germany attacked Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941 . The Olympic complex was pushed aside, shifting

16000-452: The monuments protection also banned any further construction. After the demolition, the wholes were dug in the ground, presumably for the new foundations, but in February 2018 the construction yard was abandoned and the dug out holes remained. Public reactions were negative as from the start it was suspected that a restaurant or a coffee shop will be built. Further controversies, apart from the hidden information and almost absolute ignorance of

16160-810: The most representative ones: the fountain between the Novi Dvor and Stari Dvor , bordure of the Hotel Bristol , pedestal of the Play of Black Horses statues in front of the House of the National Assembly of Serbia and buildings of Belgrade Cooperative , Elementary School King Petar I , Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel and Main Post Office Building . City government announced in 2012 that it will unilaterally explore

16320-604: The neighborhood of Banjica from 1910. A field in the Donji Grad was adapted for planes in January 1911. It was situated along the bank of the Sava river, from the old Turkish bath (modern Planetarium) to the mouth of the Sava into the Danube. One of the flight pioneers, Edvard Rusjan , died in an airplane crash after taking off from this field and being hit by the gust of košava on 9 January 1911. Remains of Rusjan's plane were originally exhibited in Donji Grad and his funeral

16480-400: The neighborhoods of Dorćol (north and north-east), Stari Grad (east) and Kosančićev Venac ( Savamala ; south). It is bounded by 3 streets: Boulevard of Vojvoda Bojović , Tadeuša Košćuška , Pariska , plus the railway along the riverside. Belgrade Fortress is the core and the oldest section of the urban area of Belgrade. For centuries, the city population was concentrated only within

16640-478: The now closed Tešićev Majdan ( Serbian Cyrillic : Тошићев мајдан , "Tešić Quarry") in Ripanj , on the southern slopes of Avala . As the staircase deteriorated in time, city government in 2011 drafted a restoration project, but the problem was that the quarry is closed before 1960 and it is the only known location of kersantite in Serbia. For decades, kersantite was used for the Belgrade buildings, including some of

16800-416: The oldest house in Belgrade. The 1837 plague outbreak almost brought to the war between the ruling prince Miloš Obrenović and the Ottomans in the fortress. The outbreak began in Ottoman Empire in 1836, which had no medical protocols of any kind at the time, and prince Miloš blocked the borders immediately imposing the mandatory quarantine. A group of plague infected Ottoman nizams on the way to Belgrade

16960-570: The oldest stage in the history of the Pannonian Sea. Those include sediments originating from the middle, Badenian stage of the Miocene period. The cliffs are thought to have a historical importance also - the Slavic name of Belgrade, white town, according to one of the theories, originates from the exposed white layers of Miocene limestone on top of which the city was built. The Church of

17120-469: The original kaldrma cobblestone which was discovered beneath the asphalt. Almost perfectly preserved under the 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) of asphalt, the kaldrma was repaired and refilled. Also discovered below was a section of the original sidewalk, made of kersantite, just like the staircase itself. Although the Tešić Quarry remained nonoperational, enough stone was stored in the quarry before it

17280-616: The park are battered, the ancient ramparts of Singidunum crushed, all being hit by the heavy, modern artillery, from precisely measured distance and even more precisely unmeasured hatred". Though already by the 1900s the Kalemegdan gained the appearance of a proper park, it was especially embellished during the Interbellum . In the 1920s and 1930s, new additions within the park were Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion, Monument of Gratitude to France , sculpture-fountain "Fisherman" by Simeon Roksandić , Belgrade Zoo , busts of poets and writers along

17440-493: The pedestrian pathways, etc. Actor Nikola Popović (1907–1967) formed the Artistic Theatre in 1939, in order to preserve the tradition of the private professional theatres. As the theatre had no building of its own, they performed at the summer stage in Kalemegdan. The actors continued to perform throughout 1941, even after the German occupation in April, giving 101 performance under the occupation. A one-off motor race

17600-444: The people whose ambitions and power are in obvious disproportion to their education". Even though no proper permits have been issued and no work has been done, city already in 2018 paid 267 million dinars (€2.26 million) to the contractor, or 83.5% of the planned investment in the project for 2018, though only 42% of other planned investments were realized. In the 2020 budget, city allocated further €4 million, while Europa Nostra placed

17760-586: The permit for archaeological research on the location in December 2017, when the construction site was declared an archaeological dig. Archaeologists made three digs and discovered the artifacts from the Antiquity and the Middle Ages. A fact that the investor didn't provide the proper archaeological survey, which he had to do since it is obligatory when it comes to Kalemegdan, was one of the reasons named for

17920-543: The pit until it gets reopened and inspected it in 2013. After the political change in Belgrade in the late 2013, the motion was dropped and the Small Staircase wasn't renovated. The staircase was also damaged in 1999 during the NATO bombing of Serbia . The statics of the stairs was excluded during the previous reconstructions and they further deteriorated as the entire slope is actually a mass wasting area. As of 2017

18080-469: The plague spread quickly. There are reports of the dead lying in the streets for days as there was no one to bury them. The Austrian garrison was decimated and the corpses of the soldiers who died of plague were burned with their personal properties. After Austria lost the Austro-Turkish War of 1737–1739 , northern Serbia, including Belgrade, was returned to the Turks. One of the provisions of

18240-588: The planned Belgrade Metro , 1973–1982. A bit longer version, from the Gračanička Street to monument of Rigas Feraios in the Tadeuša Košćuškog Street, resurfaced in 2012, in conjunction with the project of connecting the Savamala port and the fortress . In March 2012 it was announced that the construction will start by the end of the year. However, the planners from the 1970s version were against

18400-448: The problem both for the expansion of the park but even more for the further exploration of the fortress' underground. Best example is the Lower Town where neither the park fully developed nor the remains of the former port, which was located there, are visible. The area of the fortress is 66 ha (160 acres). By 2000, only 5% of that area was archaeologically surveyed, and by 2010 that number rose to 12% or 8 ha (20 acres). Based on

18560-477: The project by the environmentalists, architects and urbanists, with additional cutting of over 100 trees in Ušće park across the river, this prompted popular protests. Citizens organized and as the city was cutting the trees, they were planting new seedlings. Drilling also began and it was announced that the stone wall will be partially demolished, too. Municipality of Stari Grad also organized protests, demolishing fences on

18720-415: The public green area. Authorities said that the palms will survive the weather as the Belgrade's climate is getting warmer due to the climate change. Great Kalemegdan Park ( Serbian : Велики калемегдански парк / Veliki kalemegdanski park ) or simply Great Kalemegdan (Serbian: Велики Калемегдан / Veliki Kalemegdan ), occupies the southern corner of the fortress, with geometrical promenades,

18880-671: The real estate prices. In 2022, new city administration headed by mayor Aleksandar Šapić included in the city's urban plan relocation of the Belgrade Zoo out of the fortress. In February 2023, Šapić announced relocation to the Ada Safari section of Ada Ciganlija island. City manager, Miroslav Čučković, explained the relocation: "Since the foundation of the new city administration...we made decisions which are connected to our dedication to spaces to which Belgraders were coming close to in all of these previous years. Those are spaces for which we think should have some new type of content and possibility to directly invest into them". Šapić added that

19040-491: The reporters and public inquires and refusal of the information disclosing by the "Beogradska tvrđava", were sparked when the bidding paperwork became public in the meantime. Only companies already in the foodservice activities were allowed to participate, even though it was noted that the object is not connected either to the waterworks nor the sewage system, and that there are no requirements to be connected at all. Ministry of construction confirmed that Ministry of culture issued

19200-406: The river, to walk along the present boulevard which encircles the fortress. The fortress itself will end up being additionally degraded and devalued, so architects and archaeologists suggested surveys, explorations and conservation of the fortress' foothills instead. The park project was described as a smokescreen, with the actual purpose of selling the riverbanks to the private investors and elevating

19360-440: The rivers of Danube and Sava and the streets of Tadeuša Košćuškog and Pariska. In 1962, Belgrade's Institute for the cultural monuments protection expanded the zone to several blocks across the streets. Detailed plan on Kalemegdan from 1965 provided that, despite the immense archaeological value that lies beneath the fortress ground, basically only what was discovered by that time can be explored, restored or protected. That caused

19520-543: The route of the Pariska Street, between the streets of Gračanička and Uzun Mirkova. This would allow for the ground level to be transformed into the plateau with a fountain, which would make an extension of the pedestrian zone of Knez Mihailova and create a continuous pedestrian zone from the Republic Square and Palace Albania to the park, the fortress and the rivers. It was envisioned by the first phase of

19680-563: The route, especially the Kalemegdan station which is a collapsible locality above the cave, in the area already prone to mass wasting . Park of the Non-Aligned Countries in the neighborhood of Kosančićev Venac was proposed as the better solution. Cutting of 47 trees in the park, because of the gondola lift began in March 2019. The pine trees were 50 to 60 years old. With an enlarged price of €15 million and unified opposition to

19840-450: The smell, or that some more lucrative structures might be built instead of the zoo on such exceptional location, since "direct investments" were given as one of the reasons. Šapić then retreated a bit, stating this is just a "political idea" which is not hastily made, that only now analyses and surveys will be done to check the viability, that nothing will be built instead of the zoo but the fortress will be conserved instead, and that there

20000-428: The soldiers of the "ghoulish, headless and limbless wraiths" and other abominations roaming the fortress. The army issued an order that, despite there was no enemy anymore, all guards must keep watch "at least in pairs". Mihailo's successor, prince and later king Milan Obrenović , ordered the leveling of the terrain in the eastern sections of the fortress and planting of the greenery and trees, which in time developed into

20160-404: The staircase was in a very bad shape and the reconstruction began on 21 November 2017. The stairs were consolidated, statics improved, damaged and missing parts replaced with the original stones and the overall authentic form of the staircase was reestablished as it was partially covered with the asphalt concrete . Deadline was set for June 2018, but was extended to August because of the remains of

20320-416: The state for help and beneficence. The hospital is mentioned in the 1728 Census. It was a hospital already in 1719, later becoming the residence of Thomas Berger, the head of the hospital. After his death, his daughter continued to reside in the building. The hospital ( Stattspital ) was moved to another location, into the newly constructed building in 1724. A small church was built next to it. This new hospital

20480-410: The state was still only autonomous (full independence was achieved in 1878), Serbia was only to "manage it" and was not acknowledged as the proprietor of the fortress by the neighboring Austria-Hungary . First squad of Serbian soldiers, under the command of colonel Svetozar Garašanin, ceremonially replaced the Ottoman guardsmen on 18 April 1867. First action by the Serbian authorities, just 5 days after

20640-410: The theatrical season. The park was damaged during World War I , especially during the heavy Austro-Hungarian bombardment in 1914–1915, prior to occupation. The Serbian army had no proper ammunition to fight the Austrian gunboats , so they freely fired at the city from the Sava river. Diplomat and author Radoje Janković  [ sr ] described it in 1914: "Kalemegdan is "trimmed", the trees in

20800-595: The town field Kalemegdan started in 1869. Though not the oldest park in Belgrade, it is the one which is being continually groomed and attended the longest. The area of the town field was sort of a buffer zone between the fortress and the settlement outside of the Laudon trench, which separated the Turkish and the Serbian sections of Belgrade. The idea of turning the area into the park came from Belgrade's first trained urbanist, Emilijan Josimović , who in 1869 basically constructed modern Knez Mihailova Street. Prior to that, only

20960-411: The town, for hanging civilians. In 1928, building company "Šumadija" proposed the construction of the cable car , which they called "air tram". The project was planned to connect Zemun to Belgrade Fortress, via Great War Island. The interval of the cabins was set at 2 minutes and the entire route was supposed to last 5 minutes. The project was never realized, but the idea of the cable car was revived in

21120-476: The turn of the 2nd century AD as since the early 100s, Legio IV Flavia Felix became permanently stationed in Singidunum. At first, the fortress was set up as earthen bulwarks and wooden palisades, but soon after, it was fortified with stone as the first stone fort in Belgrade's history. The remains can be seen today near the northeastern corner of the acropolis. The legion also constructed a pontoon bridge over

21280-652: The urban tissue of Belgrade. Right across the street is a monumental building of the French Embassy . In the vicinity of the staircase are the Cathedral Church , Building of the Patriarchate and the King Petar I Elementary School . It was built in 1903 after the design of the first female architect in Serbia, Jelisaveta Načić . The object was constructed in the style of academism , and as

21440-534: The very first Serbian puppet show, Kuku, Todore . In the mid-1920s the fair was displaced to Voždovac , an eastern suburb at the time, due to the impending construction of the art pavilion. As the new location was too distant for most of the Belgraders, the fair was soon disbanded. The circuses and fairs were so popular, the National Theatre in Belgrade asked for them to be banned from the city during

21600-459: The walls of the fortress, and thus the history of the fortress, until most recent times, reflects the history of Belgrade itself (see: Timeline of Belgrade history ). The first mention of the city is when it was founded in the 3rd century BC as " Singidunum " by the Celtic tribe of Scordisci , who had defeated Thracian and Dacian tribes that previously lived in and around the fort. The city-fortress

21760-757: The war, some parts of the fortress were closed for public. In some parts the new, Yugoslav People's Army was stationed, while others were closed because of the ammunition left behind. In 2018 it was announced that the entire riverbanks section from the Branko's Bridge on the Sava, to the Pančevo Bridge on the Danube, will be transformed into the linear park , patterned after the High Line park in New York City and Zaryadye Park in Moscow . It would encircle

21920-415: The works will continue if they are "not endangering the heritage of Kalemegdan", and that project is "not expensive anyway". Government's Anti-Corruption Council in its September 2022 report asked for the project to be dropped, describing it as "against public interest, and as such harmful for Belgrade from numerous aspects". The council concluded that the gondola lift might permanently damage basic values of

22080-399: Was adopted as part of the Serbian coat-of-arms after First Serbian Uprising in 1804, it was meant to show the incorporation of Serbia into the western empire. The gate was damaged already during the heavy Allied Easter bombing in April 1944 . It is not known whether Ahnenerbe was searching for something specifically or just wanted to falsify the route by which Aryans reached Germany from

22240-521: Was already cut in 1949 but was restored in 2009 with the reconstruction and opening of the Sava Gate. Also, it would prevent the exploration of Donji Grad, which is still largely unexplored and leave the Gate of Charles VI, a masterpiece of Balthasar Neumann, within the zoo itself. As of 2017, the zoo was not relocated but the idea of expansion was dropped, too. Apart from the protection of the fortress as

22400-453: Was also a landscape architect continued to improve on the work of Josimović. King Milan ordered the levelling of the terrain in the eastern sections of the fortress and planting of the greenery and trees, which in time developed into the Kalemegdan Park. He was inspired by the parks he saw in France. First phase of the forestation lasted until 1875 and included planting of the trees beneath

22560-510: Was an empty strip of land, from the Sava to the Danube (hence the name). It was used by the Ottoman army as the training ground, ceremonial military review location and the gathering point of the army before the battles. Several meters wide strip also separated the strictly military section of the fortress from the civilian houses. As such, the field was neglected for centuries. Bohemian writer Siegfried Kapper visited Belgrade in 1850 and in his 1853 book Südslavische Wanderungen ( Roaming through

22720-457: Was arranged and opened for visitors in 2014. One of the Roman marble monuments, exhibited since 2012, was the so-called Herkulanka (after Herculaneum , where first such sculptures were discovered in the 18th century). They were usually honorary representations of important women. Estimated to be work of some local sculptor to represent one of the more important female residents of Singidunum, it

22880-757: Was built in 1928. Area at the top of the Little Kalemegdan, which is occupied by the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion today, was an open fairground for a long time. The very first recorded circus in Belgrade settled here in 1845. Sources from the period claim this was the first time the Belgraders saw an elephant. In 1869, a Tunisian circus with 18 acts, performed at Kalemegdan. Later, the fairground became permanent. Tents were placed, with numerous attractions: panoptikum or collections of curios, okular ("funny" ocular lenses), magicians, fortune tellers, illusionists, etc. Ilija Božić performed here

23040-507: Was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and is protected by the Republic of Serbia. It is the most visited tourist attraction in Belgrade, with Skadarlija being the second. Since the admission is free, it is estimated that the total number of visitors (foreign, domestic, citizens of Belgrade) is over 2 million yearly. Belgrade Fortress is located on top of the 125.5 metres (412 ft) high ending ridge of

23200-498: Was halted at the border in Aleksinac and placed in the quarantine, but majority of them fled and continued to Belgrade, spreading the plague on its path ( Ražanj , Paraćin , Jagodina , Ćićevac ) and ultimately reaching the fortress in the spring of 1837. The prince ordered full and strong siege of the fortress by the Serbian guardsmen, cutting the fortress off completely for six weeks. The pasha complained and threatened from inside

23360-589: Was held on the roads surrounding the parks in September 1939, the Belgrade Grand Prix of which the Belgrade City Race was the feature race. It is additionally notable as the last Grand Prix to be held in Europe for many years as fighting in what would become World War II had started just days earlier to the north in Poland . In the mid-1980s, open-air disco "Crveni Podijum" (Red Podium)

23520-430: Was inhabited, the fortress formed one of the quarters in the administrative division of Belgrade. It was called Grad ("city") for administrative purposes and continued to be translated in the foreign languages as "fortress". According to the censuses, it had a population of 2,219 in 1890, 2,281 in 1895, 2,777 in 1900, 2,396 in 1905 and 454 in 1910. Kalemegdan was the location of the second airport in Serbia, after one in

23680-526: Was later conquered by the Romans, was known as Singidunum and became a part of "the military frontier", where the Roman Empire bordered "barbarian Central Europe". Singidunum was defended by the Roman legion IV Flaviae, which built a fortified camp on a hill at the confluence of the Danube and the Sava rivers. In the period between 378 AD and 441 the Roman camp was repeatedly destroyed in the invasions by

23840-415: Was located in front of the main entry into the inner fort of the city. The fort was surrounded by the deep trench. It was previously known that an inner, bascule bridge existed within the fortress, which survived until the 17th century, but its exact location and type of construction were unknown. The explored sections after 2000 include the access downhill path to the Small Staircase in Kalemegdan Park ,

24000-585: Was located there, are visible. When Emilijan Josimović drafted the first official urban plan for Belgrade in 1867, he envisioned a tunnel below the modern park area. This way, he planned to connect the Sava Port, in Savamala, and the Danube Port, in Dorćol. In the 20th century, a 200 m (660 ft) long tunnel have been proposed along the eastern section of the park for decades. It would actually follow

24160-720: Was made in c.300 and was found close to the Military Museum. The represented woman is rich, in heavily draped chiton , with the himation mantle wrapped over the arm and head. In May 2020, there was a break in the magazine's lapidarium , and the Herkulanka was vandalized and broken. Small Staircase in Kalemegdan Park The Small Staircase in Kalemegdan Park ( Serbian : Мало степениште у Калемегданском парку , romanized :  Malo stepenište u Kalemegdanskom parku )

24320-399: Was one of the largest recorded in Belgrade. Surviving rib of this airplane became the first exhibit in the predecessor of the modern Aeronautical Museum Belgrade . Today, the area is used by the parachutists and paragliders and as the location of the air shows for sports and ultra-light aviation. In June 2021 it was announced that the memorial bench dedicated to Rusjan will be placed below

24480-471: Was organized in Kalemegdan. It was called the "largest open-air disco in the Balkans " and was known to attract up to 10,000 visitors on some nights. In the 1990s, a club "Underground" was opened in the cave below the park. It was known for the specific type of music: acid jazz, funk, drum and house. The club enjoyed cult status for years but after the change of proprietors, the choice of music also changed and

24640-483: Was probably occupied by the soldiers from the Legio VIII Augusta from 46 AD to 69. Early Singidunum reached its height with the arrival of Legio IV Flavia Felix which was transferred to the city in 86 AD and remained there until the mid 5th century. The presence of Legio IV prompted the construction of a square-shaped castrum (fort), which occupied Upper Town of today's fortress. Construction began at

24800-507: Was proclaimed the " exarch of all Serbian lands". Over two decades later, when Belgrade was returned to the Hungarians, the building of the Metropolitan's Seat was built next to it. On the very day the Ottomans conquered Belgrade, 29 August 1521, they turned the church into the mosque. The cross was removed from the top of the roof, the icons were painted over and the church bells were remelted. Already tomorrow, Ottoman sultan Suleiman

24960-521: Was quite small, with only 2 rooms, a kitchen and a basement, so it way not be the same city hospital. Lazaret or a quarantine hospital is not mentioned in the documents, but it is safe to presume that it had to be formed during the viral outbreaks, as was usual in the time. The procedure in case of outbreaks was probably analog to the existing procedure in Buda , the capital of Hungary . Today unidentified disease ravaged Belgrade in 1730. Viral epidemic killed

25120-409: Was repeated in July 2016. On 13 September 2017, without any announcements, the object was demolished. An info table was placed later, saying that the works on the reconstruction began on 15 September, two days after the object was completely razed to the ground. After public and media protests, the city owned communal company which administers the fortress, "Beogradska tvrđava", announced that the terrain

25280-502: Was stopped after the Allied bombing of Belgrade began. By 1943, the Germans completely rebuilt the Gate of Charles VI, in greatest detail. Reconstruction included the cartouche with the initials of the emperor on the capital from the outer side, and the supposed coat-of-arms of never-existing Tribalia , on the inner side (boar with an arrow pierced through the head). As the motif of this coat-of-arms appeared in medieval Serbian seals and

25440-480: Was stored in the Belgrade City Museum. What is known for sure is that during the "terrain cleaning" in 1941–1942, the Germans completely destroyed the foundations of the Austrian artillery barrack built in the 1723-1736 period. On 29 February 1952 the city adopted the "Decision on protection, adaptation and maintenance of the people's park of Kalemegdan" which set the borders of the protected areas as

25600-490: Was visiting the Lower Town, when they were replaced with Serbian policemen. There were two administrators, one Turkish and one Serbian. The Turkish administrator had jurisdiction only over the Turkish population, but in the Turkish-Serbian matters, Serbian judge was presiding. In the mid-1830s there were 3,000 houses in the Lower Town of which 2,500 were owned by the Turks who rented them to the Serbs. Later, while it

#699300