Terazije
Encyclopedia
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the capital of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad
Stari Grad, Belgrade
Stari Grad is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It encompasses some of the oldest sections of urban Belgrade, thus the name...
.
Location
Despite the fact that many Belgraders consider the Republic Square or KalemegdanKalemegdan
Belgrade Fortress , represent old citadel and Kalemegdan Park on the confluence of the River Sava and Danube, in an urban area of modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad...
to be the city's centerpiece areas, Terazije is Belgrade's designated center. When street numbers are assigned to the streets of Belgrade, numeration begins from the part of the street closest to Terazije. Terazije itself is also a short street, connected by the King Milan Street, the main street in Belgrade, to the Slavija
Slavija (Belgrade)
Slavija Square , officially Dimitrije Tucović Square , is one of the central town squares and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
square, by the Nikola Pašić Square
Nikola Pašic Square
Trg Nikole Pašića or Nikola Pašić Square is one of the central town squares and an urban neighborhoods of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Square is named after Nikola Pašić who served as mayor of Belgrade, prime minister of Serbia and prime minister of Yugoslavia...
to the King Alexander Boulevard
Bulevar kralja Aleksandra
Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra , with length of 7,5 kilometers, is the longest street entirely within the urban limits of Belgrade, capital of Serbia...
, the longest street in Belgrade, by Prizrenska street to the neighborhood of Zeleni Venac
Zeleni Venac
Zeleni Venac or colloquially Zelenjak is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
and further to Novi Beograd
Novi Beograd
Novi Beograd or New Belgrade is the most populous municipality that constitutes the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is a planned city, built in 1947 on the left bank of the Sava river which was previously an uninhabited area, opposite of the old Belgrade...
, and by the Kolarčeva street to the Square of the Republic.
History
Terazije started to take shape as an urban feature in the first half of the 19th century. In the 1840s, Prince Miloš ObrenovićMiloš Obrenovic I, Prince of Serbia
Miloš Obrenović was Prince of Serbia from 1815 to 1839, and again from 1858 to 1860. He participated in the First Serbian Uprising, led Serbs in the Second Serbian Uprising, and founded the House of Obrenović...
ordered Serbian craftsmen, especially blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
s and coppersmith
Coppersmith
A coppersmith, also known as a redsmith, is a person who makes artifacts from copper. The term redsmith comes from the colour of copper....
s, to move out of the old moated town where they had been mixed with the Turkish inhabitants, and build their houses and shops on the place of the present square. Also, the move was intended to prevent the fires being lit all over the town. Ilija Čarapić
Ilija Čarapić
Ilija Čarapić , was the first Mayor of Belgrade, Serbia. He was born in 1792 in Beli Potok, near Avala, and died in 1844. He was son of the Voyvode Vasa Čarapić and the brother-in-law of Karađorđe, appointed as Voyvode or Duke of Grocka when he was only 18 years old after his uncle, Voyvode...
, the president of the Belgrade Municipality 1834-35 and 1839–40, had a special task to assigning lots of land at Terazije to these craftsmen and whoever accepted to fence the lot, would have it for free.
With regard to the origin of the name Terazije, the historian and writer Milan Đ. Milićević noted that "In order to supply Belgrade with water, the Turks built towers at intervals along the water supply system which brought water in from the springs at Veliki Mokri Lug
Veliki Mokri Lug
Veliki Mokri Lug is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Zvezdara.- Location :...
. The water was piped up into the towers for the purpose of increasing the pressure, in order to carry it further." One such tower was erected on the location of the present fountain at Terazije and the square was named after the Turkish word for water tower, terazi (literally, water scales).
Up to about 1865, the buildings at Terazije were mainly single and double-storied. The water tower was removed in 1860 and replaced by the drinking fountain, Terazijska česma, which was erected in to celebrate the second rule of Prince Miloš Obrenović. During the first reconstruction of the square in 1911, the fountain was moved to Topčider
Topcider
Topčider is a forest park and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is divided between in the municipalities of Čukarica, Rakovica and Savski Venac...
and moved back again in 1976. The square went under significant changes in 1911-1912, when it was completely re-arranged. Along the central part of the square regular flower beds were placed, and they were surrounded by a low iron fence, while on the side towards today's Nušićeva street
Branislav Nušic
Branislav Nušić was a Serbian novelist of Aromanian descent, playwright, satirist, essayist and founder of modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant.- Biography :...
a large fountain was built. At the end of the XIX and beginning of the 20th century, Terazije was the centre of social life of Belgrade.
Another massive reconstruction happened in 1948, the main square in Belgrade was narrowed, flower beds and double tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
tracks from both sides were removed and a number of modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
buildings were constructed, forming a Square of Marx and Engels (present Square of Nikola Pašić) in the 1950s.
Municipality
For a short period after the World War II when Belgrade was administratively reorganized from districts (rejon) to the municipalities in 1952, Terazije had its own municipality. However, already on January 1, 1957 the municipality was dissolved and divided between the municipalities of Vračar and Stari Grad. Population of the modern local community (mesna zajednica) of Terazije was 3,338 in 2002, with several smaller communities which make the neighborhood 11,104.Notable buildings at Terazije throughout history
The most important hotels, restaurants and shops are and were located here. Of the important buildings, which used to be or still are at Terazije:
- Hotel Paris (built during the 1870s at the spot where Bezistan shopping area is located today. Hotel was demolished during the reconstruction of the square in 1948).
- Kod zlatnog krsta kafanaKafanaKafana , kafeana , kavana are terms used in the former Yugoslav countries for a distinct type of local bistro which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee , and which sometimes also has a live band.The concept of a social gathering place for men to drink...
(Serbian for 'By the Golden Cross'; where the first film was shown by the Lumière brothers on June 6, 1896, used to be at the spot where Dušanov grad is located today). - The old Hotel Kasina (built around 1860, next to Hotel Paris. At this hotel, in 1918 the National Assembly of SerbiaNational Assembly of SerbiaThe National Assembly of Serbia is the unicameral parliament of Serbia. It is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies elected in general elections by secret ballot, on 4 years term. The National Assembly elects the President of the National Assembly who presides over the sessions...
held its meetings for a while. The plays of the National Theatre in BelgradeNational Theatre in BelgradeThe National Theatre was founded in the latter half of the 19th century. It is located on Republic Square, in Belgrade, Serbia.The National Theatre was declared a Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1983, and it is protected by the Republic of Serbia....
have been performed here until 1920. The present Hotel Kasina was built at the same place in 1922) . - Takovo restaurant and cinema.
- The original shape and still voted as one of the most beautiful buildings in Belgrade Hotel MoskvaHotel Moskva (Belgrade)Hotel Moskva , is one of the oldest currently operating hotels in Belgrade and Serbia. Apart from being a hotel, Hotel Moskva is one of the most recognizable landmarks of Belgrade, a valuable architectural monument and as such, it was placed under governmental protection.- Location :Hotel Moskva is...
stands, built in 1906, with its famous façadeFacadeA facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
made of ceramicCeramicA ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tiles. - The biggest McDonalds restaurant in the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. - Palace AlbaniaPalace AlbaniaPalace Albanija is a highrise building in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the first skyscraper built in Southeast Europe....
, built in 1937, the first high rise in Belgrade and the highest building in the Balkans before World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - Theatre on Terazije, the Serbian equivalent to Broadway staging numerous musical productions and adaptations from around the world. The theatre is one of the most modern in Belgrade being reconstructed in 2005.
Terazijska Terasa
Terazijska Terasa (SerbianSerbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
Cyrillic: Теразијска тераса) or Terazije Terrace is a slope coming down from the 117 meters high Terazije Ridge (on top of which Terazije is built) to the right bank of the Sava river. Differently called throughout history (Zapadni Vračar, Savamala
Savamala
Savamala is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipalities of Savski Venac and Stari Grad.- Location :...
), it is notorious as an active mass wasting
Mass wasting
Mass wasting, also known as slope movement or mass movement, is the geomorphic process by which soil, regolith, and rock move downslope under the force of gravity. Types of mass wasting include creep, slides, flows, topples, and falls, each with its own characteristic features, and taking place...
area. It begins from the Kalemegdan ridge, Terazije and King Milan's street and parts of its slope comprise the small park between the Balkanska and Prizrenska streets so as the neighborhoods of Zeleni Venac, Savamala and Bara Venecija
Bara Venecija
Bara Venecija is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Savski Venac.-Location:...
. Itself, it is a part of the larger, 300 meters long Sava Ridge.
The top of the area is an excellent natural lookout
Lookout
A lookout or look-out is a person on a ship in charge of the observation of the sea for hazards, other ships, land, etc. Lookouts report anything they see and or hear. When reporting contacts, lookouts give information such as, bearing of the object, which way the object is headed, target angles...
point to the Sava river valley, Novi Beograd and further into the Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
region. The future of the terrace is a subject of public and academic debate ever since the 19th century. First general plan for it is from 1912 by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
architect Alban Chamond which envisioned it as the cascades of trapezoid
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
piazzetas with flowers and fountains, leaving the panoramic view intact. In 1923 a project for constructing a terrace-observation point was made. In 1929, Serbian architect Nikola Dobrović's plan was accepted. He projected two tall business buildings on the both ends of the ridge and a plateau between with several small business and leisure objects, while the slope itself would be a succession of horizontal gardens, pools and fountains. In the 1990s Dobrović's plan was reactivated, but the temporary park remained. In 2006 a new tender for architectural solution for Terazije Terrace was organized, but it is still not decided how exactly it will look like. However, one of the business buildings on the sides, a large intelligent building business complex, in the Balkanska street, is under construction.