The citizens of Vračar were rightly concerned by the felling of two trees on the plateau in front of the Church of St. Sava, which are in the way of the future underground garage.
The underground garage is part of the reconstruction of the plateau and the park in front of the Temple, which began this May. A part of the Svetosava Plateau was fenced off right then, where, as it was officially said, work on the removal of the existing footpaths began.
According to the official assessment, the cutting of trees has stopped. There is no official information.
Then, at the beginning, it was announced that the works would be completed during the next year, and that everything would cost between seven and eight million dinars.
The investor is the Serbian Orthodox Church, but it is also assisted by the Government of Serbia. The conversation with Patriarch Porfiri about this was one of the first tasks of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević.
This work was initiated by the Serbian Orthodox Church, and at the invitation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the authors of the project are arch. and prof. Branislav Mitrović, in cooperation with his colleague arch. prof. Dejan Miljković.
It is stated in the project assignment that the current situation does not meet the needs of the Church and believers. Access paths are too narrow and dysfunctional, so when gathering a large number of believers, they wear out faster and do not cover a sufficient surface, so believers are forced to often step on grass/mud. The space looks more like a park or a fair market, especially due to the striking presence of a children's playground and sales stalls throughout the year.
The authors had in mind these problems, but also the needs of citizens for some kind of "greenery" and children's space, so they gave a solution that will try to reconcile all these demands.
The space is designed with a wide approach that extends along the National Library building and continues towards the Temple on an extended paved plateau with capacity for various gatherings and events.
The existing fountain from the approach to the Temple is removed and a new one is built without a fountain on the left side of the approach.
The future park segment of the plateau will also be located there. Over 100 trees planted in the form of a plantation represent a kind of forest whose dimensions correspond to the Library building and create a compact green area for visitors to rest and relax. It is not known how much of the existing greenery will be preserved, but a part will certainly be removed in order to form an extended plateau near the Temple.
It is not known whether the project will be implemented in stages and how its implementation is planned. It is also planned to extend the changes to the area around the Temple, and to build the building of the Patriarchal House.
Citizens have not received an answer from the City and do not know what will happen next with the Svetosava Plateau. The comic that was placed on the fence of the construction site and with which the City tells them that not a single tree will be cut down, did not reassure them.
