Kosančićev Venac, the oldest urban part of Belgrade, fans out across the Sava slope from the Belgrade Fortress to Brankos Bridge and includes the area around Cathedral Church, the plateau of Kosančićev Venac, Karađorđeva Street and the riverside.
The settlement was founded by Serbs who built their town around the church dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
|
The quarter served as a counterbalance to the Turkish čaršija (downtown) located on the Danube slope. Turkish and Austrian remnants and influences are still visible today, primarily in the shapes of streets, the bastion's pathways and their subsequent tranformation into curved streets.
Today's Kosančićev Venac dates to the period after 1867, when the Turks withdrew from the city and handed Belgrade back to the Serbs. The Cathedral Church dates from that period; it was built in 1841 on the site of the old Cathedral Church. Today's Patriarchate, next to the Cathedral, was in those days the residence of the Metropolitan and the seminary building. A reading room was located on the site of today's elementary school King Peter the First, and across the street is the oldest café in Belgrade - Question Mark. |
 |
From the same period are the Princess Ljubica Residence and the building of housing today's Academy - High School of Art, actually the First Belgrade Grammar School, which was built as an auxiliary building to serve the Residence.
 |
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, Kosančićev Venac, with the Sava pier and the đumrukana-customs house, was the most important part of Belgrade. Hotel Kragujevac was built near the customs house, as was the building housing the Red Cross, although somewhat later. That period was one of general transformation, as wealthy merchants began building what are today the representative buildings in Kosančićev Venac. Among these, the most distinguished was the house of Dimitrije Krsmanović - today's Austrian Embassy.
After Word War One - when Belgrade became the capital of the newly formed state of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - construction flourished across the city. The house of Mihailo Petrović, built in the then-modern Secession style, dates from this period. |
In the 1940s, the National Library was temporarily moved into the building belonging to industrialist Milan Vapa, also in Kosančićev Venac.
Emilijan Josimović made the first city plan for this part of Belgrade at the end of the 19th century. Today's King Peter Street was designed at that time. Plans from 1928 foresee, among other things, an elevator that would run from Mika Alas's home to the Sava riverbank - this project, unfortunately, was never realised.
This neighbourhood, neglected for many years due to complex reasons, will finally receive the attention it deserves.
|
A new regulation plan for Kosančićev Venac, presented in mid-January to professionals and the general public, is expected to be adopted soon by the Belgrade City Assembly. After many years and numerous attempts, this plan finally provides a definite form for the historical centre of the city. Work on the Draft Plan for Kosančićev Venac lasted for many years because this is, in fact, where Belgrade begins. Aside from city planners headed by architect Vera Mihaljević, experts from the Institute of the Protection of Cultural Monuments are also involved in this project. The Draft foresees new elements for Kosančićev Venac, but its cultural identity, authenticity and recognisable features will be preserved. According to city architect Ðorđe Bobić, new buildings will be compatible in dimensions and form with the existing structures in Kosančićev Venac.
|
 |
This plan actually foresees the possibility of making the area more spacious: the area presently includes about 100,000 square meters of residential and business space. After replacing old and dilapidated structures, the area will cover 77,000 square meters. Planners in the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade point out the importance of not extending the size and shape of this space, and of protecting the urban matrix - which was one of the key stipulations of the Plan.
On the site of the former National Library, a Memorial Center will be designed to serve as the focus of cultural and commercial activity, not only for Kosančićev Venac, but for the Old City and Belgrade in general. It is conceived as a piazza with a structure accessible to the public. An open international architectural competition will be announced for this project.
Previous ideas and plans for the revitalization of Kosančićev Venac have agreed that the space needs a representative structure that will not only be in the service of culture, but will also give a new look to this part of Belgrade and to Karađorđeva Street.
 |
A belvedere envisioned long ago will be included within a monumental structure that will extend from Karađorđeva Street to Kosančićev Venac.
City planners agree that this structure should include a stairway that links Pariska and Karađorđeva Streets, so as to provide a pedestrian link from downtown to the river, via the belvedere. This is part of a larger plan to link Belgrade to its rivers by providing scenic access routes.
The central and motivating idea behind the city plan is the importance of the city's riverbanks to the city as a whole; the riverbanks presently include structures that are inappropriate to their location. An established river terminal will be extended so as to enable docking of large ships and yachts.
|
The now neglected store space known as Concrete Hall will be transformed into a vibrant centre of culture and business, along with other functions. Above Concrete Hall will be a large parking lot that will be able to accommodate tourist buses.
City planners believe that Karađorđeva Street has the highest potential for future projects, which may attract foreign investments. At the same time Karađorđeva Street needs to be reconstructed with wider sidewalks and to allow tram tracks to run in the middle of the street.
| The name Kosančićev Venac dates from 1872, after Ivan Kosančić, a hero from Serbian folk songs. Legend has it that Ivan Kosančić was killed in 1389 in the Battle of Kosovo. On the façade of building no. 3 in the street bearing the hero's name, he is shown in a suit of armor and a helmet; the bust is the work of sculptor Petar Ubavkić. The bust was placed on the family home of merchant Trajković, which was built in 1895. | | 
