The mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Šapić, declared the statue of the scales in Terazije as a symbol of this part of the city, although in the minds of Belgrade residents, it is the Terazije fountain. Since March 1991, it has been a symbol of protest against the government
A place becomes a symbol of a city if and only if the inhabitants accept it, not because it decides Aleksandar Šapić.
When you say Pobednik, or the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, the first and probably the only association with those places is Belgrade.
When you say Česma, the image of Terazij immediately comes to mind.
Photo: Isidora CerićSetting up the Šapić scale
Libra, some describe it as a market scale, which it is placed on Terazije on the night between Monday and Tuesday, it can only be associated with the scales of the goddess Justice with which she justly weighs arguments, with the zodiac sign, and perhaps with the High Public Prosecutor's Office, which is very present in the public. Not at all on Terazije - no.
The scales have a symbol
The part of Belgrade called Terazije has had its own symbol for a long time. It is the Terazij fountain, and neither Šapić nor anyone else can abolish it in order to inaugurate one of their own.
Even Theras themselves have nothing to do with Libra. In the 17th century, where the "Moskva" hotel is now, there was the largest water tank with a tower. The towers were used to raise the water on them with water pipes so that it would have better pressure and then distribute the water through the pipes to the households. Namely, the Belgrade of Turkish times had an organized water supply and sewage system.
One of those towers was on the spot near today's Terazija fountain.
On the website of the City of Belgrade, it is written that "such reservoirs are called terazija". Therefore, this part of the city was named after the largest water tank in the city by the Turks, and the Serbs accepted it, and the entire area from the Old and New Courts, where the seat of the city authorities and the Presidency are today, to near Stambol Gate, was called Terazije.
The fountain is also a symbol of protest.
The Terazij fountain was built in 1860 between today's "Moskva" and "Balkan" hotels, with the funds of Prince Miloš Obrenović, with the idea of celebrating his return when he came to the Serbian throne for the second time.
Photo: Wikipedia/GeologicharkaTerazija fountain
It was built at the place where the two busiest roads at the time, Smederevski and Kragujevacki, today Ulica kralja Milana, crossed, where a water tank used to be located, and Terazijska chesma was named after it. Sculptor Franz Laurent made it in the form of a tower, the one that helped the people of Belgrade get water, so that the fountain would be in the spirit of the area where it is located.
When this part of the city was reconstructed into a square according to the project of the French architect Edouard Léger, it was moved to the port of the church of Saints Peter and Paul on Topčider. There, it had only the role of a monument because it was not connected to the water supply system.
It was returned in 1975 very close to the place where Prince Miloš placed it, on the plateau in front of the "Moskva" hotel.
In the minds of the citizens of Belgrade, the Terazij fountain is also a symbol of demonstrations, since the three-day student protest in March 1991. That is why students also use it as a place of protest or gathering.
Photo: Imre SaboProtest in front of the Terazije fountain in 1991.
Šapic can't have it to his liking. The Terazija fountain is a cultural monument, it is protected. Proclaiming the scale statue as the symbol of Therasius is all he can do.
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