Slavija Square () is a major commercial junction between the intersections of Kralja Milana, Beogradska, Makenzijeva, Svetosavska, Bulevar oslobođenja, Deligradska and Nemanjina streets in Belgrade. The square was previously named Dimitrije Tucović Square, after the prominent Serbian socialist.Trg Slavija - City of Belgrade
Location Slavija is located less than south of Terazije (downtown Belgrade), at an altitude of .Statistical Yearbook of Belgrade 2007 - Topography, climate and environment The square itself belongs entirely to the municipality of Vračar, though the municipality of Savski Venac borders directly to the west. The Slavija neighborhood, which surrounds the neighborhoods of Cvetni Trg in the north, Grantovac and Krunski Venac in the north and north-east, and Englezovac and Savinac in the south-east, all in Vračar. The Manjež park is to the north, while West Vračar is to the west, both in Savski Venac.
History 19th century Until the 1880s, the area around Slavija was a large pool on the eastern outskirts of the city. The pond was naturally drained by the Vračarski potok, down the modern Nemanjina street, into the Gypsy Pond in the neighborhood of Savamala. The remnant of the pond is the large underground water spring, under the modern Hotel Slavija. The earth from the top of the Vračar hill, above the Slavija, was used to cover and drain the pond, in turn flattening the hill and creating the modern Vračar plateau. The formation of the square started when a well-known Scottish businessman and Nazarene Francis Mackenzie, bought a large piece of land above the present square and parcelled it for sale (the area became subsequently known as Englezovac). Soon after that, Mackenzie built a house for himself at Slavija (at the place where the old "Slavija" cinema used to be), which, in 1910 was turned into the Socialist People's Center, a gathering place of the worker's movement. The other, smaller buildings at the corner of Kralja Milana and the square, where the famous cafés "Tri seljaka" and "Rudničanin" used to be, were destroyed before and during World War II.
Today demolished, the original inn, later hotel "Slavija" was built from 1882 to 1888. The hotel's kafana became one of the best known in Belgrade. The venue had a big hall for the parties and balls, and a spacious summer, open-air garden. The hotel hosted recitals, theatrical shows and choirs performances. The large object gave name to its surroundings, and then to the entire neighborhood. Word "Slavija" itself is a generic term for land inhabited by the Slavs.
20th century
Until World War II Slavija remained an unregulated crossroad of eight streets, which crossed at different angles. Surrounding was an entangled web of small streets which, though cobblestoned in the early 20th century, were remains of the old, dirt paths dating from the Ottoman period. However, the plans in the late Interbellum included almost complete makeover of Slavija, with construction of numerous important buildings, including the Belgrade Opera House and the "Mitić Tower", the largest department store and the tallest building in the Southeast Europe. All plans, including some foundations already laid, were cut by the outbreak of World War II in 1941.
German occupational forces concluded that the traffic flow rate in Slavija was too low and that it obstructed transportation. City government, part of the Quisling administration in Serbia, was entrusted with the task of conducting construction plans for Slavija devised in Germany. Massive works, headed by engineer Maksimović, began in the fall of 1942. Apart from transforming Slavija into the proper roundabout, underground works were also conducted. A major effluent sewer (sewage collector) was built, which collected wastewater and groundwater from the hills of Vračar and Zvezdara. The sewer further conducted the water under the Nemanjina Street into the Sava river. As of 2022, the roundabout, sewer and its outlet into the river still function. In the 21st century, the massive size of the sewer and large pipes are major obstacles for the construction of the projected underground passages around Slavija.
After World War II, the new communist regime renamed the square in 1947 in honor of prominent socialist figure, Dimitrije Tucović and placed a bronze bust of Tucović at the central square plateau. The bust, work of Stevan Bodnarov, was placed in 1949. In the early 2000s it was officially changed back to Slavija.
Hotel Slavija was built in 1962, and enlarged later (complex Slavija A and Slavija B). A third addition, the ultra modern Slavija Lux was built in 1989.
Projects For decades, architects, urbanists and city authorities can't decide how to reconstruct and adapt the square. Over the time, many public competitions were held for the best solutions, labeling it sometimes as a “haunted square”. Architects always pointed out that the traffic function is the most important and that it has to be addresses first, and then to plan the surroundings and also that Slavija was to be envisioned as a whole and not to be fixed partially, because sum of the parts does not make a whole. Some of the projects were quite over-ambitious and exotic:
1982 – Design competition for the building of the communal-business center in the Slavija-Svetozara Markovića-Nemanjina-Kralja Milana section. It resulted in the construction of the National Bank of Serbia's building, designed by Grujo Golijanin and finished only in 2006. 1992 – Projects for the construction on the location of the Mitićeva Rupa. 1993 – Project of the business center "Slavija" by Slobodan Mića Rajović, which served as the basis for the regulatory plan for the Slavija-Svetog Save-Krušedolska-Tiršova-Katićeva-Boulevard of Liberation block. Barely and partially executed. 2004 – Project envisioned a monument to the "modern Serbia" instead of the monument to Dimitrije Tucović. New monument was to be a cylindrical glass construction of the same height as the neighboring hotel "Slavija". Inside the construction a panoramic elevator was predicted which would reach the lookout at the top. Lyrics of the "Himna slobode" (Hymn to the Liberty) were planned to be written on the inside walls of the glass monument. City even provided the funds for the project, but the project was ultimately rejected, with the official explanation that the public was against it. 2005 – Architects Tamara Petrović & Miloš Komlenić; central part of the roundabout was to be the location of a sun clock. Roofed square in the section in front of the National Bank was planned with commercial area below the roof and an underground passage to the metro. It was a basis for the detailed regulatory plan for Mitićeva Rupa, envisioned as the mixed commercial-residential-public complex. Only in 2021 it was open for public consideration but was never adopted. 2006 – Energoprojekt's project envisioned Slavija as the pedestrian zone, while the traffic was to be lowered two floors underground. New symbol of Slavija was planned, a 150 meters tall tower. 2006 – Conceptual design for the Kralja Milana-Kralja Milutina-Njegoševa-Svetozara Markovića blok, by Igor Marić and Božidar Manić. Included a large business and commercial building. After developing the project with Bojan Zabukovac, Aleksandar Sudžuković and Zoran Mrvaljević, it resulted in the hotel "Hilton" which followed the original design. 2008 – Belgrade's Institute for urbanism rehashed the 2005 project, but mostly concentrated on the traffic. Instead of reconstructing the entire square, the Institute adopted a plan to do it block by block. Project also included the construction of two commercial 8-stories buildings, shopping mall and an entrance to the underground garage and a future metro station, on the location of the former cinema Slavija. In front of the National Bank a shallow pool with a sculpture in it was projected and the green zone around it. The fountain would "react" to the emotions of the pedestrians through the special sensors. 2012 – Project envisioned the transfer of the pedestrian traffic in the network of tunnels, in an effort to quicken the car traffic on the ground level. Trolleybuses and trams were to be relocated to the rim of the roundabout. Plan also has foreseen the removal of the remains of Dimitrije Tucović and construction of the large fountain instead, covering the entire island within the roundabout. Based on it, city developed a detailed regulatory plan in 2015, but without pedestrian underground passages.
2016–2018 reconstruction After the political changes in the city government in 2013, new city authorities decided to adopt the 2012 project, with some changes. They abandoned the idea of the underground pedestrian passages and instead plan to displace the existing zebra crossings 50 to 100 meters further from the roundabout. They kept the fountain on the central island of the roundabout which was to be a musical fountain with a diameter of 32 meters and the water jets 16 meters high.
Criticism from the architects was directed to the fact that transportation solutions will not speed up the traffic flow, the needlessness of the fountain on such a place, and that, in general, new city government removed from the project the best parts and kept the worst. Traffic experts pointed out that the displacement of the pedestrian crossings won't help the traffic and that it will be less safe for the pedestrians themselves. Also, as Belgrade is known for its strong winds, the water from such a high jet streams would constantly wet the pavement of the square. City government replied that the fountain will have wind sensors. Architect Dragoljub Bakić said that both the project, and the execution which followed, are of the "horribly low quality". Actually, the area of the already busy roundabout is reduced by one lane during the reconstruction.
Fountain Construction of the fountain began on 3 December 2016. As a response to the constant criticism about the fountain, including that it will be completely surrounded by some of the busiest traffic in the city, thus inaccessible to the pedestrians, and a price which is, for the Serbian economic conditions deemed way to high for such a construction (214 million dinars or some 1.75 million euros), Belgrade's city manager Goran Vesić stated that those who do not like the musical fountain don't have to listen to it. On 13 November 2016 the bust of Dimitrije Tucović was removed and on 15 December 2016 his remains were reinterred into the Alley of the Greats in Belgrade's New Cemetery. Surviving members of Tucović family weren't present, while their wishes to bury Tucović in his home village of Gostilje and to relocate the bust to the town of Užice were ignored. A smaller version of Tucović bust was placed at his tomb.
In March 2017, the city's Transportation Secretariat sent a memo in which warned that the project is not adjusted for such a major traffic section. The secretariat warned that the planned dispersion of the water will make the roads wet and slippery in summer and create ice in winter, as it is supposed to work throughout the year, thanks to the special heaters. They concluded that the fountain projected that way is not suitable for the highly frequent roundabout but rather for the parks and open green areas and that it can endanger the traffic. Ban on further construction was suggested if the inadequacies are not fixed. The solution turned out to be a changed direction of the sprinklers, 74 out of 458, within the fountain.