Kosančićev Venac () is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. It has been described as the most valuable and most representative veduta of Belgrade. In 1971, it was declared a spatial cultural-historical unit and placed under legal protection.
Location
Kosančićev Venac is located along the elbow-shaped street of the same name, west of downtown Belgrade (Terazije). It developed on the western edge of the ending section of the ridge of the Šumadija geological bar, which extends from Terazijska Terasa via Obilićev Venac to Kalemegdan, which is a continuation of Kosančićev Venac and overlooks the Sava port on the Sava river, the northernmost section of the neighborhood of Savamala. On its southeast side, it borders the neighborhood of Zeleni Venac.
History Antiquity
The Celtic and Roman Castrum occupied part of today's Belgrade Fortress. The civilian zone spread from the Kralja Petra Street, over both the Sava and Danube slopes until Kosančićev Venac, extending in a series of necropolises from Republic Square along the Bulevar kralja Aleksandra to Mali Mokri Lug.
The modern neighborhood is built on the location of an Singidunum's southwestern necropolis dating from the 3rd century, spreading over Zeleni Venac, Kosančićev Venac and Varoš Kapija. The remains were discovered during the construction works in the 1930s when the Brankova Street was extended to the Sava river, to make a connection to the future King Alexander Bridge. At 16 Brankova Street a Roman tomb was discovered in 1931, with ceramics and coins from the period of emperors Aurelian and Claudius Gothicus. The grave was made from the reused parts of stele. The sandstone plaque had a niche with a human bust and an inscription by Valerius Longinus for his son, veteran Valerius Maximinus. There was another tombstone, crushed into pieces, dedicated to Maximinus' wife. Several other well preserved graves were discovered in the direction of Pop Lukina and Karađorđeva streets. There are also remains of a luxurious villa, with the floor, mosaic, and walls decorated in frescoes.
18th century
During Austrian occupation of northern Serbia 1717-1739, Belgrade was divided by the governing Austrian authorities on 6 districts: Fortress, (Upper) Serbian Town (modern Kosančićev Venac), German Town (modern Dorćol), Lower Serbian Town (Savamala), Karlstadt (Palilula) and the Great Military Hospital (Terazije-Tašmajdan).
German settlers asked the Austrian emperor to allow only for the German Catholics to settle in German Town and to expel 40 Serbian families who already lived there. They also asked for the expulsion or relocation into ghettos of all Serbians, Armenians, Greeks and Jews who were present in the area before the Austrians came. Germans openly stated that local population, which lived there during the Ottoman period, moved into the largest and most beautiful Turkish houses, which Germans wanted for themselves. Emperor Charles VI granted almost the same rights to both towns, but on the pretext that they are fully separate. Statute of German Town stipulated that "Serbs, Armenians and Greeks" would only be tolerated only in separate municipalities. Non-German nationalities were completely expelled from German Town in 1726, when some estates were bought off, but the majority of people were relocated forcefully by the Austrian gendarmerie colonel Von Burg. By the end of their rule, there were massive differences between two parts of Belgrade, as the Austrians made no effort at all to cultivate Serbian Town which remained Oriental settlement, while German Town grew larger, both in area and population. New palaces, squares and streets were built, and the fortress was reconstructed.
Upper Serbian Town was centered around the Church of Saint Archistrategos Michael, where the modern Cathedral Church is located, dedicated to the same saint. The church was built from stone with a large dome, but without a cross on top of it. It was damaged during the Austrian conquest of Belgrade in 1717. Austrian authorities banned reconstructions and renovations of the damaged and demolished Serbian churches, so Metropolitan Mojsije Petrović asked the Russian emperor Peter the Great to help with Austrian officials, but to no avail. The church had to be demolished in 1728, so Petrović began to rebuild it without Austrian permission in 1725 with the addition of the Metropolis see next to it. Finished in 1730, the see was among the first buildings in Serbian Town designed after the German influence which spread from the neighboring German Town.
The new episcopal seat also administered profane issues in the city, so it became known as the "Obšči dom" ("general office"). The residence was lush, with luxurious salons and over 40 rooms. It also had a garden, fish pond, and luxurious furniture and furnaces for glazed pottery, imported from Austria. On the rocky slope above the modern Karađorđeva Street, Metropolitan Mojsije started digging a wine cellar. Expansion continued into the 20th century, creating one of the largest underground complexes in Belgrade. The above-ground complex was finished by the Mojsije's heir, metropolitan Vikentije Jovanović.
As few other "European-style" buildings were built around the church, most respectful and wealthy class Serbians moved into the area surrounding it. Germans listed numerous artisans in their part of Belgrade, but in Serbian Town they named only two, both sellers' types: merchants (those who had no shops or stalls) and (those who had [grocery] stores). They were grouped in several centers in town and variously nicknamed, generally after the Sava river (savalije) to distinguish them from the German Town merchants, which gravitated to the Danube, or more specifically after the khans where they gathered (čukurhanlije, jenihanlije). Slowly, Serbian merchants took over the export-import routes to Belgrade and a dozen of merchant families became quite wealthy in the process. They were the core of the higher class of Belgrade society, which hadn't previously existed in the Ottoman period.
During the Austrian occupation, "Serbian" Belgrade grew to 5,000 inhabitants. Austrians didn't intervene and demolish the church and the Metropolis building, but after regaining Belgrade in 1739, the Ottomans demolished them both.
Modern period
Southern edge, or the modern Zeleni Venac area, was previously part of the trench which surrounded the Belgrade Fortress in the 18th century. When the trench was covered, a pond was formed. As Belgrade grew around it, the pond became a popular hunting attraction for the inhabitants of Belgrade. The pond was filled from the streams flowing down from Terazije from the springs below modern Hotel Moskva via a modern Prizrenska Street and from Varoš Kapija, future Kosančićev Venac via Gospodska, modern Brankova Street. A canal was dug in the 1830s which drained the pond in the direction of Bara Venecija. Only then the area began to properly urbanize. Apart from hunting, the area became one of the favorite excursion sites of the Belgraders, including the royals, like Princess Ljubica Obrenović. There were meyhanes on the shores so ferrymen could transport excursionists.
Kosančićev Venac is the oldest section of Belgrade outside the walls of the Kalemegdan fortress, "the oldest neighborhood in Belgrade". From this point the new Serbian town, as opposed to the old Turkish one in the fortress, began expanding from 1830 along the right bank of the Sava into Savamala. Residence of Princess Ljubica was built in 1831, Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael in 1840, Hotel "Staro zdanje", kafana ?, Hotel "Kragujevac" and Metropolitan seat. The greatest effect on the economic prosperity and architectural shaping of Kosančićev venac was the vicinity of the Sava port which was the major hub of the international trade in Serbia at the time. Đumrukana, the custom house in Savamala, was built in 1835 and the surrounding neighborhood was built as a wide plateau with open storage facilities. Hotels, inns, stores and craft shops were soon built in Đumrukana's direction.
At modern 8 Kralja Petra Street, the first post office in Serbia was open on . Called Praviteljstvena Menzulana, it dispatched mail on Wednesdays, Saturdays and twice on Sundays. The Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael donated the lot on which its auxiliary objects were built and its classrooms to the city, so in 1844 the old building of the Elementary School King Petar I was built.
In 1867 Emilijan Josimović devised the regulation plan for Belgrade which also covered this area. Kosančićev Venac was projected as the beginning and one of three sections of the urban settlement which would connect Terazije and Kalemegdan. All three sections are called venac (in this case: round, cyclic street, literally it is Serbian for wreath) and in 1872 were named after three knights and heroes of the Battle of Kosovo: Kosančićev Venac, after Ivan Kosančić, Toplički Venac, after Milan Toplica and Obilićev Venac, after Miloš Obilić. The plan included covering the street with rough cobblestone (kaldrma).
Industrialist Milan Vapa founded the first paper mill in Belgrade in 1905 at the corner of Vuka Karadžića Street and Topličin Venac. In 1907 he relocated it to Kalenića Guvno. The first children's theatre in Belgrade was established in Kosančićev Venac. Founded by Branislav Nušić and Mihailo Sretenović, it was named Little Theatre in Belgrade, and was located in the hall of the Old Seminary which was adjacent to the Cathedral Church, below modern French embassy. The first performance was held on 6 September 1905 and the performers were children from the junior high school. In the winter of 1906, it was relocated to other venue outside of the neighborhood before being closed in 1907. At the beginning of the 20th century, new Palace of the Patriarchate was constructed on the location of the old Metropolitan seat as the representative building of the French embassy. King Petar I Elementary School was built in 1907. City lights were introduced in that period and the tram grid expanded. Kaldrma was partially replaced with granite cobblestone and later, in some parts of the neighborhood, with asphalt concrete. In 1925, the National Library of Serbia relocated to Kosančićev Venac.
During World War II, Kosančičev Venac was heavily damaged, mostly by the German bombing of Belgrade on 6 April 1941. Destroyed buildings include the National Library, Đumrukana, Hotel "Kragujevac" and the newly built construction of the King Alexander Bridge.
Since the late 2010s, several new buildings in modernist style, completely deviating from the rest of the surrounding buildings both in height and style, have been built.
At the corner of Čubrina and Topličin Venac streets, a monument dedicated to architect Aleksandar Deroko was unveiled on 9 March 2022. Deroko, who lived nearby, is presented as holding a sketchbook. The two meters tall bronze figure is placed on the sidewalk level, and was sculptured by Zoran Kuzmanović.
Features
The most recognizable characteristic of the neighborhood is the cobblestone, which still covers several streets in the area, though it has been badly damaged due to the frequent communal and infrastructural repairs. Because of the cobblestone and vintage appearance, Kosančićev Venac is nicknamed the jewel, or pearl, of Belgrade.
Several important early official buildings of Belgrade are located in the neighborhood:
Residence of Princess Ljubica (built 1829-1831; officially a museum, section of the Museum of Belgrade) Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael (built 1837-1840) Elementary School King Petar I (built 1905-1907) Palace of the Patriarchate (built 1932-1935) Mika Alas's House (built 1910; house of Mihailo Petrović, popularly nicknamed Mika Alas, Serbian mathematician and inventor, who was born and died in the house)