Photo: Center for Urban PlanningAccording to the decision of the City Secretariat for Urbanism, new buildings on Slavija are obliged to preserve "to the maximum possible extent" four buildings that are part of Belgrade's historical and architectural heritage. However, this does not apply to Dejan Stanković's company
Tonight, during the demolition of Slavia, the sculpture of the god Mercury was turned into a pile of rubble, together with the rest of the facade at Svetozar Marković 43. The sculpture of Mercury is a work of art by Stevan Tobolar, a Czech engineer, according to whose project the building was built for the Civil Savings Bank in 1929. and the facade should not have been demolished.
Namely, according to the decision of the Secretariat for Urban Planning of the City of Belgrade, published in the "Official Gazette" number 19 of 2022, the facade of that building, and the facades of buildings at numbers 41, 47 and 49 also in Svetozara Markovića Street, should have been preserved.
This city decision is the result of the Initiative launched immediately after it was announced that the unique cultural-historical and architectural entity will be turned into a residential-commercial complex "King's Circle Residences". At the end of 2021, it was launched by the Center for Urban Development, Evropa Nostra Serbia, the Czech Association - Czech Beseda Belgrade, the Association of Citizens "Topolska", and the Society for the Arrangement and Beautification of the Crown Wreath.
The initiative was supported by the SANU Art Department in December 2021, and by the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in February of the following year.
In the aforementioned "Official Gazette" it is written that "in the process of developing conceptual solutions for new buildings in Svetozara Markovića Street, it is necessary to consider that the existing buildings or their parts are integrated to the maximum extent possible into the newly built fabric (e.g. by retaining the visual appeal of the existing buildings, applying facade or its parts, by placing information boards, etc.). In cases where it is expedient, apply the principle of remodeling existing facilities into completely new facilities."
Rade Milić from the Center for Urban Development says that at the public hearing that was organized regarding the conceptual solution, they received "verbal confirmation from the investor that their objections regarding the facades will be incorporated into the new building."
However, "based on the project of the investor 'Maison Royale' which was adopted by the Planning Commission and according to which the complex will be built, it is clear that this decision of the City Secretariat for Urban Planning was not adopted."
"The Center for Urban Development and other signatories of the Initiative are now trying to comply with that decision." Although the valuable houses were demolished, not everything was lost: there are photos, documents, plans, based on which it is possible to build replicas of the facades and incorporate them into new buildings," says Rade Milić.
It is reminiscent of the new building of the Yugoslav Drama Theater, where the distinctive facade of the previous one, which burned down in a fire, was preserved under glass, and the American Embassy building, which incorporated the facades of the houses that stood in its place into the new one.
He also notes that "four buildings were under the protection of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade, and then that protection expired." Given that we are talking about significant buildings and architectural works, we asked the Institute, through the media, to return them under the previous protection due to the threat of demolition, but it did not. The institute has the power to prevent demolition. If, for example, he had made a decision yesterday to extend the protection of the Civic Savings Bank building, it would not have been demolished tonight. "
He says that according to the new Law on Culture it is possible, and that everything therefore depends on the City Institute.
Of the four valuable buildings, only Svetozara Markovića 49, which houses the "Manjež" tavern, has been preserved.
By the way, Milić describes the "King's Circle Residences" complex as "Skorojević architecture".
As is known, the majority owner of the investor "Maison Royale" is the former famous football player Dejan Stanković. Colleagues from the "Luftika" portal told him "Deki, share, Belgrade that loved you is not falling".
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The buildings to be removed are located in the streets of Kralja Milan and Svetozar Marković, and one building was the former building of an old savings bank.
