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Belgrade Main railway station

The Belgrade Main railway station (Serbian: Железничка станица Београд Главна, romanizedŽeleznička stanica Beograd Glavna) is a former train station in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It was built between 1882 and 1885 according to the designs of the architect Dragutin Milutinović, and it has the status of a сultural monument of great importance.[1] Until the opening of the new Belgrade Center station (Prokop) in 2016, it was the city's main station, and the busiest in the country. In order to free up the space for the Belgrade Waterfront project, the station was closed on 1 July 2018, and repurposed to become a museum.[2]

Belgrade Main Railway Station

Железничка станица Београд Главна
Station building
General information
LocationSavski trg 2, Belgrade
 Serbia
Coordinates44°48′31″N 20°27′20″E / 44.80861°N 20.45556°E / 44.80861; 20.45556
Owned bySerbian Railways
Platforms6 bay platforms
Tracks13
Connections100 m: Belgrade Bus Station
36, 46, 51, 78, 83, 91, 92, 511, 551, 552, 553, 601, A1, E1
2, 3, 7, 9, 12, 13
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingYes
History
Opened23 August 1884; 139 years ago (1884-08-23)
Closed30 June 2018; 5 years ago (2018-06-30)
Electrified31 May 1970; 53 years ago (1970-05-31)
Location
Belgrade Main Railway Station
Location within Belgrade

Passenger trains were gradually relocated to the new Prokop station during 2016 and 2017.[3] Most national railway traffic was moved to the new station in December 2017, thus leaving only international trains and two trains to Novi Sad at the old station.[4] The Main station operated until 30 June 2018, when the last train, international train 340 to Budapest, left the station at 21:40.[5] International trains were relocated to Prokop and trains to Bar relocated to the Topčider railway station.[6]

History edit

Origin edit

At the 1878 Congress of Berlin the Principality of Serbia was de jure recognized as an independent state. The great powers of the day decided that Serbia should construct a railway. Not economically developed to begin with, Serbia was additionally pauperized after the Serbian-Ottoman wars from 1876 to 1878, so it lacked the necessary funds. Prince Milan Obrenović and the government announced a request for tender and the bidding was won by a French company. According to a popular - but unproven - version of events, Prince Milan accepted a bribe of 1 million francs in gold to give the job to the French.[7]

Construction edit

The concession included the construction of the Belgrade–Niš railway, the train bridge over the Sava river and a railway that would connect Belgrade to Zemun, a border town of Austria-Hungary at the time. The location of the future station building was chosen in 1881.[8] It was a marshy bog called Ciganska bara ("Gypsy pond").[7] The bog was charted for the first time in an Austrian map from 1789. It was a marsh which covered a wide area stretching from the present-day Karađorđeva street to the mouth of the Topčiderska Reka into the Sava, across the northern tip of Ada Ciganlija. The marshy area covered the today's location of the Belgrade Main railway station and parts of the Sarajevska and Hajduk-Veljkov venac streets. Ciganska bara drained two other bogs. One was located on Slavija, which drained through the creek of Vračarski potok[9] which flew down the area of the today's Nemanjina Street. The other pond was Zeleni Venac. The eponymous Gypsies inhabiting the area used the mud from the bog to make roof tiles. They lived in small huts or caravans (called "čerge"), between the high grass and rush, with their horses and water buffalos grazing freely in the area. As most of the huts were actually stilt houses built on piles due to the marshy land, the area was gradually named Bara Venecija ("Venice pond").[10]

As such, the location was absolutely inappropriate for any construction work and the marsh had to be filled first. The remains of the demolished Stambol Gate in 1866 also finished in the bog.[8] By 1884 the bog was drained and buried under the rubble from all parts of the city but especially from Prokop,[10] Prokop is located in the eastern section of the former neighborhood of Jatagan Mala. Previously, it was a geographical reference, as the area was located in the lower valley of the now-underground stream of Mokroluški Potok. Earth and gravel were dug and used to cover and drain the swamps on the right bank of the Sava, so that the neighborhoods of Savamala and Bara Venecija could be constructed, along with the building of central railway station. After the works were completed, the area around Mokroluški Potok was left as a steep, elongated cut in the ground, thus acquiring its name (Serbian prokop, cut or dug through). Prince Milan personally suggested this area, which stretched above Đorđe Vajfert's brewery and the neighborhood of Smutekovac. Among his many reasons he cited the quality of the earth and the fact that the proximity of the construction site would reduce the transportation costs. However, that land belonged to his wife, Princess Natalie, so the prince even earned money from the station's construction. In a historical twist, Prokop is the location of Belgrade's designated present-day central railway station.[7]

When the location was chosen, it was also disconnected from Belgrade in terms of transportation. The former village of Savamala was closest, but the city could only be reached using a fiaker, and this along a bypass route leading through Spomenička Street (modern Nemanjina).[8]

The construction of the railway and station initially met with fierce opposition. The law on railway construction barely passed in the National Assembly of Serbia, while for the railway itself it was said that it was both costly and unnecessary; a "devil's snake"; a "destroyer of the people", a threat to female fertility and a conduit of infiltration by foreign powers.[11]

Opening edit

The foundation stones were laid by prince Milan: for the railway on 3 July [O.S. 21 June] 1881, for the station on 15 April [O.S. 3 April] 1883. The building of the station lagged behind the construction of the railway and the bridge, so when the time came for the first train to pass through Belgrade, the object wasn't finished. As it was obvious that the station won't be finished on time, the temporary object was built to serve the purpose instead. Even though at one point in 1884 it was recorded that 5,575 workers were employed on the building's construction, it couldn't be finished in time.[12] It had to be ceremonially open, even though it was still covered with scaffolds.[7] The first train from this station departed towards Zemun with courtly honours, on 1 September [O.S. 20 August] 1884, at 3 p.m.[13] As Serbia was declared a kingdom in 1882, the first passengers were now King Milan, Queen Natalie and the Crown Prince Alexander, on the way to Vienna. More than 200 foreign guests and couple of thousands of citizens attended the opening ceremony.[14]

 
The Main Station 1929

Military orchestra played music all the way until the train crossed the bridge. Three days later the station was again decorated with flags and flowers as the railway to Niš was open and the first, promotional composition towards Niš departed. Cannons from the Belgrade Fortress marked the occasion while the military orchestras played marches. The journal Novi beogradski dnevnik wrote: "Young and old, rich and poor, pretty and ugly, they all gathered in Bara Venecija to see the start of the first Serbian railway". The first train departed at 8:45, with 100 passengers in nine cars with three classes. Just to accommodate the huge crowds of journalists and cheering citizens, another train departed just five minutes later.[7]

The first passenger line started on 16 September [O.S. 4 September] 1884 at 8:30. It was a line to Niš, and the train had 20 cars with 200 passengers.[15] On the same day, the line to Pest was established, and at the beginning only two trains a day departed on these lines.[16] Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia, Teodosije Mraović, blessed the two first locomotives. The regular traffic was established 10 days later.[15] Until the station was finished, a small building in front of it functioned as a temporary facility (ticket booths, administration, etc.). On that spot, today is exhibited a steam locomotive, just in front of the building.[7] The fully finished station became operational on 21 September 1885.[12]

At the time, the central section of the building was occupied by the offices of the station's personnel, telephone exchange, telegraph, cashier boxes, wardrobes and police offices. The left wing of the station was adapted into the royal waiting room, while the right one was for the regular passenger. In this section there were also restaurants, while the upper floor was occupied by the living quarters for the station's employees.[15]

Later developments edit

After being completed in September 1885 and soon became the most important railway hub in this part of Europe. In 1888 it became a stop on the Orient Express route and in 1892 a ceremonial reception for Nikola Tesla was organized. The very first car in Belgrade arrived by train, via the main station, on 3 April 1903.[17][18] The first ice rink in Belgrade was built near the station in 1900.[19] The building originally had a gas lighting, which was later replaced with the electrical one. As it was a major consumer, it was decided that the building will have its own power generator. A mini electrical plant was built next to the station building in 1909 and demolished in 1929, when the building of the Post Office No. 6 was built instead.[8]

After the station was finished, the area to the east developed into the square which, due to its location close both to the railway and the port, served for the transshipment of the goods, especially the cereals and grains, so in time it was named Žitni trg ("Grains square"). It was also well connected with the roads which lead outside of the city. It was directly connected with the road which is today the Savska Street in the direction of the Mostar neighborhood. There, it was splitting in two directions, one to the east (later neighborhoods of Jatagan Mala and Prokop) in the direction of Kragujevac in central Serbia, and the other to the south (neighborhoods of Senjak, Čukarica, Žarkovo) and further to the west Serbia. The square was renamed Vilsonov trg ("Wilson's Square") after World War I, in honor of the US president Woodrow Wilson and today in named Savski trg ("Sava Square").[20]

In 1924 the station was connected to Požarevac, and further with eastern Serbia, while in 1928 it was connected to Obrenovac and Sarajevo. Soon after, direct connection was established with Dubrovnik and Zelenika (Herceg Novi).[18][21]

World War II and reconstruction edit

 
1941 bombardment

The building was damaged during World War II. It was hit during the bombing of Belgrade, part of the German attack on Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941. Immediately after entering Belgrade, Germans constructed an improvised stationary building next to the damaged building, on the location where the Tito's Blue Train was exhibited in 1980.[8][21] This building was constructed by the Ukrainian émigré architect Pavel Krat. The modernist building was known for the narrow corridor which allowed for the agents of the Gestapo and Nedić's special police to control passengers.[22] The station was further damaged during the heavy Easter Bombing, conducted by the Allies in 1944. The building was reconstructed after the war, being fully finished in 1953. Two side towers, one of the main architectural and visual marks of the station in the direction of the Karađorđeva Street, weren't rebuilt but were completely demolished instead.[8][21]

The post-war reconstruction was headed by the Russian contractors. The clock, placed above the main entrance immediately after the opening in 1885, was also damaged. New mechanism was placed inside and the clock was returned to its original place, but the clock's decorative lace of wrought iron wasn't restored. The door at the main entrance were replaced, but the decoration from the same material as the clock's also hasn't been restored. The glass roof was completely destroyed during the war, but the Russian opted for a built roof instead for restoring the original, glass one. Above the clock, in the tympanum there was a coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia, held by sculptured, stone winged lions (gryphons. Above this composition, the Roman numerals MDCCCLXXXIV, marking the year of 1884, were written over the architrave. New Communist authorities took down the royal coat of arms immediately after taking over after World War II. The stone lions and the cartouche, the decorative round shield around them, were removed later and disappeared after a while. The late 2010s plans for the reconstruction include the restoration of the coat of arms, but none of the other destroyed or removed parts of the building.[23]

The coat of arms composition on the tympanum (fronton) was 3.9 m (13 ft) long and 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in) tall. It was reconstructed in 2019 and made of metal core covered with clay, which is used to make the plaster cast. This cast was used for the new sculpture, which was made of the mix of concrete and three types of crushed Aranđelovac stone.[24] The coat of arms was placed on 11 February 2020.[25]

Post war development edit

In 1939, 23,298 trains departed from the station. In 1966, there were 60,119 trains with 6.4 million passengers. That same year, half of the international mail from Yugoslavia was shipped from the station.[26] The "golden age" of the station were the 1970s and 1980s, when the peak of 150 trains per day was reached.[18][21] Following Breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, abrupt demise of railway traffic in Serbia followed, consequences of which are felt also today. Meanwhile, construction of the new Belgrade railway junction was continued, and plans for dislocating main station to "Belgrade Center", colloquially called Prokop, became realistic.

A 1959 plan envisioned urban axis Belgrade Main Railway Station-SIV Building (New Belgrade) as the baseline for the future development of both old and new parts of Belgrade. The area between these two points, described as "two basal foundations", was to be spanned with nine urban blocks, spreading on both sides of the Sava. Railway station itself was to preserve its function, with additional overhaul which would make it look like the largest railways stations in Europe ("large lace made of glass and steel"). Savamala was to be populated with hotels, bus station, terminus for the airport transport, megamarkets, etc. However, disliked by the group of influential architects, in the future development the envisioned urban tissue was effectively "cut" in its Savamala section by the new projects, and almost nothing of the planned has done.[27]

According to the city's general urban plan (GUP) in the 1960s, Cvetni Trg was envisioned as the location of the future central underground subway station of Belgrade, which would also replace the main railway station. The tunnels would conduct the traffic in the north to south direction. The railroad authorities opposed the project, so the plans were abandoned.[28] In 1966, the Belgrade Bus Station was built, adjoining the station's complex on the north.[29] Starting with 1967, the Yugoslav Railways pursued an electrification programme, initially focusing on railways in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 31 May 1970, the Zagreb to Belgrade railway corridor was electrified, and it marked the first time when an electric railway (excluding trams and industrial railways) reached the Serbian soil.

On 25 September 1968, three steel-made bombs exploded in the station's cloakroom, injuring 13 people. Miljenko Hrkać, member of the Ustashe terrorist organization, planted the bombs, so as earlier that year when on 13 July a bomb exploded in the cinema "20. Oktobar", which killed one and injured 86 audience members. Hrkać was later apprehended, sentenced to death and executed in 1978.[30][31]

Closing edit

Gradual moving of trains to the new station began in the early 2016. In December 2017, all but two national trains were dislocated to "Belgrade Center".[4]

Problems arose immediately. The Prokop is still not finished, has no station building and a proper access road and public transportation connections with the rest of the city. Additionally, it has no facilities for loading and unloading cars from the auto trains, nor was ever planned to have one. Still, in January 2018 it was announced that the station will be completely closed for traffic on 1 July 2018, even though none of the projects needed for a complete removal of the railway traffic are finished. The Prokop is incomplete, a projected main goods station in Zemun is not being adapted at all while there is even no project on Belgrade railway beltway.[32]

After shut down edit

After closing, the building was removed from the possession of the state railway company and became directly administered by the state.[23]

The overhaul of the building was planned to start in the autumn of 2018 and to be finished in February 2020. The renovation includes the reconstruction of the façade and new decorative lights. The venue will then be transformed into the museum. The railway company wanted it to be the museum of the railway, but the government rejected the proposal straightaway, announcing the transformation into the Museum of Medieval Serbia or the Historical Museum.[12] In February 2020 it was confirmed that the Nikola Tesla Museum will be relocated here from Krunski Venac, instead of the previously planned location of the Old Power Plant in Dorćol.[25] A few days later, the government stated that they actually didn't decide where the museum will be relocated and that it may be some completely different location.[33] City later stated that the building will host the Museum of Nikola Tesla after all, but in September 2020 president Aleksandar Vučić said that the Museum of Medieval Serbia will be formed instead.[34]

Project Belgrade Waterfront envisioned a complete change of the square area in front of the building. The plans are to turn it into the plateau with a large monument to Stefan Nemanja in front of the former railway station, facing Nemanjina Street, named after him. The existing street routes will be turned into the semi-circular crossroad and the traffic will be relocated to the edge of the square. The existing roundabout of the public transportation and a memorial for the 1990-1999 war victims, placed in the 2000s, will be relocated. The existing buildings around the square will be kept, but some will change their purpose.[35][36]

The size and the design of the monument to Stefan Nemanja provoked public and artistic criticism. Historian Predrag J. Marković called it the continuation of almost two decades long "Arkanization of the monumental skyline" in Belgrade,[37] while rector of the University of Arts in Belgrade, Mileta Prodanović, said that the proposed project is devastating for the building of the railway station and that Belgrade is being transformed into Skopje.[38] President of the Academy of Architecture of Serbia, Bojan Kovačević called the project "irritation" and a part of the city administration's "fifth year of spite towards the public and profession" and "logorrheic phase of the spatial auto-goals". He criticized the bidding process as fake and farcical and pointed that important Belgrade architects boycotted the bidding, adding that we "used to laugh at Skopje".[39] Architect Slobodan Maldini pointed to the inadequacies of the competition, including the composition and competency of the jury and a fact that the name of the winner leaked 8 days before it was officially announced. Spanish work is formally flawed as it has no documentation needed, the monument is different in appearance, size and location from the already chosen Russian sculpture. Maldini stated that the competition is a result of the greed and incompetence and described the project as "unacceptable concreting without ideas" and the sculpture as pricey and megalomaniacal.[40]

Reconstruction of the station's façade was announced to start in September 2019. The job was given to the "Koto" company, which is involved in another controversial project of the city government, the Kalemegdan gondola lift. Though the price is much higher than 5 million dinars (€42,500; estimated to 240 million dinars, or €2,035,000), which means that public bidding is obligatory by law, the government gave the project in direct negotiations with the company, citing "hastiness due to the weather issues". Government and city institutions connected with the reconstruction remained silent on any further explanation of the illogicalities regarding the reconstruction: if the building was already left as it is for over a year, why the sudden hastiness; if the weather is a problem, why are the works pushed for the upcoming, winter season; lack of the public invitation to tender; who is really financing the works - the city, the government or the Belgrade Waterfront; if this was planned for several years, why are funds secured via budget reserves and not allocated previously. The deadline was set to February 2020, when the coat-of-arms was restored to the facade.[23][41]

Deterioration edit

In November 2020, the government decided to relocate the Historical Museum of Serbia into the building, announcing the possible interior reconstruction for late 2021.[42][43] As it was left unkept, the interior had seriously deteriorated by June 2021. The plaster on the walls was peeled off, on some places uncovering the reed, which was used for plating at the time. The basement was flooded, the roof beams were covered in mold, and the parquet flooring dried and bent. Dušica Bojić, director of the Historical Museum of Serbia which took over the building on 19 November 2020, said that the situation in the building was very bad. All communal infrastructure had been ruptured, with wastewater flooding the basement. The power grid also collapsed, causing the exterior clock to stop working.[44][45] All three exterior clocks (main entrance, side entrance, inner platform entrance) were then removed in August 2021, and their analog mechanisms were replaced with digital ones. The hands of the face clocks were replaced with lighter ones, while the GPS antenna and solar panels have been placed above the main entrance.[46][47]

The Minister for Culture, Maja Gojković, announced in February 2022 that the reconstruction of the building would start in July 2022, and would be finished in November 2023.[48] By July 2022, the inner yard where the former platforms were, was littered with garbage, resembling a dump.[49] Derelict, partially flooded, and covered in overgrowth and waste, former station was labeled the Belgrade's "greatest abomination and shame".[50] The garbage continued to pile up, including in the building itself. The smell became unbearable as dead animals were also left at the dump, too. Both the new museum administration and the Ministry of Culture claim to have pleaded with the government for months to solve the problem, but to no avail. In September 2022, city communal services cleaned the inside of the building and the area adjoining the building but left the piles of garbage on the former platforms and tracks, claiming it is on the land of Belgrade Waterfront. The authorities blamed homeless people and migrants for creating the dump.[51][52][53][54] The Belgrade Waterfront company started to remove the garbage in October 2022.[55]

Only a smaller quantity of the garbage was removed, leaving large piles. By November 2022, the interior was damaged by fires, presumably lit by the homeless and migrants, as the building is basically left to the elements. At this time, it was announced that the funding for the reconstruction was secured.[56][57]

Criticism of shut down edit

 
Belgrade Waterfront ad in front of the station

The complete removal of the railway traffic and the total shut down of the station, planned for 1 July 2018,[58] has been met with the opposition from experts and the public, especially the notion that it has been hastily done because of the controversial Belgrade Waterfront project,[15][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] while some openly doubt that the investors from the United Arab Emirates really asked for this to happen and that it is all part of a "special story".[67] As of June 2018, it was estimated that in the best case scenario Prokop would become a fully functional station, with all necessary and supporting services, only by 2021.[68]

 
Demolition of the platforms underway by 17 February 2019

Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and public transportation expert Vukan Vučić described the closing of the station and its transfer to Prokop as the "most disastrous error of the Belgrade transportation". Citing numerous disadvantages of the new station, he asserted that the old, Main station is better suited for the railway traffic and that it should be kept. Main station is interconnected through the public transportation lines with almost all parts of Belgrade, and only 6 tram lines go to 11 parts of the city. The location is much better and, as Belgrade grew around it, most urban life unfolds around it. He disputed the claim of the city administration that the railway prevents the city from being able to "come out on the river banks" as the removal only of the tracks which are not in use will do the trick. The station will be of major importance for the future Belgrade Metro and that Prokop in functional terms is not a station at all; with the closing of the Main station, central Belgrade would not have a proper railway station. Vučić concluded that the interests of investors take precedence over those of commuters. He also maintains that the isolation of the new station's location will cause a further decrease in the number of railway passengers. Another member of the Academy, transportation engineer Dušan Teodorović, also criticized the project.[69][70]

Nenad Kecman, executive manager of the Serbian Railways, stated that none of the objections or suggestions by experts from the railway transportation branch were adopted by the city administration. The new system will marginalize railway transportation, he added, claiming that the professionals are against both the closing of the station, as the entire city gravitates to it, and the planned demolition or adaptation into a pedestrian bridge of the Old Railway Bridge. Saying that such a luxurious complex like the planned Belgrade Waterfront cannot function without some kind of a railway system, especially for connecting it to the airport, the experts insisted on keeping the old station in at least a diminished capacity, but the city refused that, claiming that the investors from the United Arab Emirates, who are partners in the Belgrade Waterfront project, rejected any idea of a railway.[69]

Architect Bojan Kovačević, president of the Academy of Architecture of Serbia, labeled the hastiness in pushing the Belgrade Waterfront agenda - like the closing of the Main Railway Station even though the new railway facilities weren't finished - as the "raping" of Belgrade.[71] Smaller protests against the shut down were organized in the final period, including the day of the closing.[5]

Architecture and protection edit

 
Main entrance by night

The building is constructed in the fashion of railway stations of major European countries and is a monumental edifice.[1] The project was drafted by the Austrian architect Wilhelm von Flattich [de], while the definite elaboration of the project was done by Dragiša Milutinović. The contractors were the companies of Neischloss and Freind.[12]

At the time of the construction, the building represented one of the most monumental buildings and the symbols of royal capital of the time. It is one of the first railway stations in Serbia, whose design included a specific architectural program and contents adapted to European technical achievements. It is designed in the style of academism, as a representative edifice, with a dynamic floor plan. The central classicist projection of the main entrance with the triangular tympanum dominates over the architectural composition. With its specific solutions, the building stands as proof of the technical and architectural development of Serbia in the last decades of the 19th century.

In 1980, a Tito's Blue Train locomotive was put on open display next to the railway station entrance.

The building was declared a cultural monument in 1981, and a cultural monument of great importance in 1983.[12]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Železnička stanica". Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture grada Beograda.
  2. ^ Al Jazeera: Zgrada željezničke stanice u Beogradu postaje muzej
  3. ^ "Vucic opens Prokop railway station after 40 years". Tanjug. 26 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Prokop od danas glavna železnička stanica". Radio Television of Serbia. 10 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b Dejan Aleksić (1 July 2018). "Otišao poslednji voz" [The last train has left]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
  6. ^ Volf, Goran (22 May 2018). "Radovi na prugama obimniji nego prethodnih 25 godina". Politika.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Dragan Perić (27 August 2017), "Gvozdeni konji u Ciganskoj bari", Politika-Magazin, No. 1039 (in Serbian), pp. 28–29
  8. ^ a b c d e f Branka Vasiljević (16 April 2019). "Tajne Glavne železničke stanice" [Secrets of the Main Railway Station]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  9. ^ Dragana Jokić Stamenković (28 May 2011), "Beograd na dvesta sputanih voda", Politika (in Serbian)
  10. ^ a b Dragoljub Acković (December 2008), "Šest vekova Roma u Beogradu – part XV, Veselje do kasno u noć", Politika (in Serbian)
  11. ^ Darko Pejović (28 July 2019). Из приземне куће у петоспратну вилу [From ground floor house to five-floor villa]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 11.
  12. ^ a b c d e Branka Vasiljević (6 August 2019). Обнова бивше зграде Главне железничке станице [Reconstruction of the former building of the Main railway station]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  13. ^ Srpske novine, 21 August 1884
  14. ^ „Na mestu železničke stanice pre dva veka bila je bara“, 24 Sata 2016-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, 5 March 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d Dejan Aleksić (5 September 2019). "Od svečarskih topova do "A sad, adio"" [From ceremonial cannons to "And now, adio"]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  16. ^ Srpske novine, 2 September 1884
  17. ^ Goran Vesić (5 April 2019). "Први саобраћајни знак у лику Микија Мауса" [First traffic sign was shaped like Mickey Mouse]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  18. ^ a b c Dejan Aleksić (4 September 2017), "A vozovi prolaze - 133 godine", Politika (in Serbian), p. 16
  19. ^ Nikola Belić (28 November 2010), "Led kreće, klizaljke na gotovs" [Ice is coming, ice skates, ready!], Politika (in Serbian)
  20. ^ Dragan Perić (20 May 2018). "Žitni trg ispred stanice" [Grains Square in front of the station]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1077 (in Serbian). p. 29.
  21. ^ a b c d Dejan Aleksić (9 April 2018). "Poslednji Vaskrs Glavne železničke stanice" [The last Easter of the Main Railway Station]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
  22. ^ Goran Vesić (15 January 2021). Бела тачка на црвеном платну [White spot on red canvas]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 18.
  23. ^ a b c Branka Vasiljević (27 July 2019). "Ponovo kuca orijentir za vreme" [Time teller ticking again]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  24. ^ Branka Vasiljević (27 October 2019). Грб с крилатим лавовима враћа се на Железничку станицу [Coat of arms with winged lions returns to Railway station]. Politika (in Serbian).
  25. ^ a b Branka Vasiljević (12 February 2020). Краљевски грб поново на свом месту [Royal coat-of-arms on its location again]. Politika (in Serbian).
  26. ^ "Rastao je na ruševinama (reprint on 20 October 2017)" [(Belgrade) rose on the ruins], Politika (in Serbian), 20 October 1967
  27. ^ Radmila Stanković (20 June 2019). Интервју - Александар Стјепановић, архитекта: Данас нема дијалога, данас влада један човек [Interview - Aleksandar Stjepanović, architect: There is no dialogue today, today one man rules]. NIN, No. 3573 (in Serbian). pp. 18–21.
  28. ^ Arch. Đorđe Petrović (23 July 1968). "Ругло или модерна метро-станица" [Eyesore or a modern subway station]. Politika (in Serbian).
  29. ^ Maja Nikolić (20 August 2018). "Posle železničke, u Beogradu i privremena autobuska stanica" [After the railway, Belgrade is acquiring a bus station, also a temporary one] (in Serbian). N1.
  30. ^ Диверзант из биоскопа "20. Октобар" у рукама органа наших власти [Diversionist from the cinema "20. Oktobar" apprehended by our authorities]. Politika (reprint on 13 June 2019) (in Serbian). 13 June 1969.
  31. ^ Tanjug (22 August 2019). Подигнута оптужница против Миљенка Хркаћа [Charges filed against Miljenko Hrkać]. Politika (reprint from 22 August 1969) (in Serbian). p. 23.
  32. ^ Dejan Aleksić (16 January 2018). "Posle 134 godine bez vozova u Savskom amfiteatru" [No more trains in Sava amphitheater after 134 years]. Politika (in Serbian). pp. 01 & 16.
  33. ^ Dejan Aleksić, Dalibotka Mučibabić (18 February 2020). "Za novu adresu Muzeja Nikole Tesle u igri i treća lokacija" [Third location for the new address of the Nikola Tesla Museum]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  34. ^ Daliborka Mučibabić, Dejan Aleksić (25 September 2020). "Muzej srednjovekovne Srbije u bivšoj zgradi Železničke stanice" [Museum of Medieval Serbia in the building of the former railway station]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 17.
  35. ^ Daliborka Mučibabić (20 November 2018). "Traži se rešenje za novi Savski trg" [Quest for the solution for the new Sava Square]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  36. ^ Tanjug (15 December 2018). [Vučić pleads city of Belgrade to build a monument to Stefan Nemanja] (in Serbian). Politika. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  37. ^ Predrag J. Marković (9 February 2019). "Арканизација споменичког пејсажа".
  38. ^ FoNet (13 February 2019). [Prodanović about the monument: I am afraid that Belgrade will become new Skopje] (in Serbian). N1. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  39. ^ Bojan Kovaćević (15–16 February 2019). "Немања за под кулу" [Nemanja made to be under the tower]. Politika-Kulturni dodatak, year LXII, No. 45 (in Serbian). p. 3.
  40. ^ Slobodan Maldini (15 February 2019). "Flamenko i kazačok" [Flamenco and kazachok] (in Serbian). Večernje Novosti.
  41. ^ Insajder.net (4 September 2019). "Insajder: Posao restauracije Železničke stanice dodeljen bez tendera" [Insajder: Restoration of the Railway Station awarded without tender] (in Serbian). N1.
  42. ^ Историјски музеј Србије у згради Главне железничке станице [Historical Museum of Serbia in the building of the Main Railway Station]. Politika (in Serbian). 23 November 2020. p. 13.
  43. ^ Daliborka Mučibabić (24 November 2020). "Stefan Nemanja čuva nacionalno blago Srbije" [Stefan Nemanja protects national treasure of Serbia]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  44. ^ Branka Vasiljević (31 May 2021). Стао сат на некадашњој Железничкој станици [Clock on the former Railway station stopped]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  45. ^ Branka Vasiljević (7 June 2021). "Zgrada Železničke stanice čeka obnovu i prelazak u muzej" [Railway station's building awaits reconstruction and adaptation into the museum]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  46. ^ Branka Vasiljević (19 August 2021). Мења се "срце" сатова са Главне железничке станице ["Hearts" of the clocks on the Main railway station are being replaced]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  47. ^ Branka Vasiljević (25 August 2021). "Ponovo kucaju satovi na staroj Železničkoj stanici" [Old railway station clocks ticking again]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  48. ^ Daliborka Mučibabić (8 February 2021). "Priprema zdanja za Istorijski muzej Srbije od jula" [Preparations for History Museum of Serbia starts in july]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  49. ^ FoNet (6 July 2022). "Nekadašnja glavna železnička stanica u Beogradu postala – smetlište" [Former main railway station in Belgrade became a dump] (in Serbian). N1.
  50. ^ Pavle Ivković (7 July 2022). "Više nema dileme: Ovo je najveće ruglo i sramota Beograda" [No more doubt: This is the greatest abomination and shame of Belgrade]. N1 (in Serbian).
  51. ^ Branka Vasiljević (28 September 2022). "Beskućnici i migranti ostavljaju smeće u Istorijskom muzeju na Savskom trgu" [Homeless people and migrant leave garbage in the History Museum in Sava Square]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 17.
  52. ^ Tamara Urošević (27 September 2022). "Tik uz Beograd na vodi – deponija, zaraza "vreba" sa stare Železničke stanice" [Right next to Belgrade Waterfront - diseases threatening from the old Railway station] (in Serbian). N1.
  53. ^ N1 Beograd (27 September 2022). "Ministarstvo: Apelovali smo da se ogradi bivša železnička stanica i reši problem" [Ministry: We appealed to solve the problem by placing a fence around former railway station] (in Serbian). N1.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ FoNet (28 September 2022). "Očišćen prostor u Železničkoj stanici, ali ostalo smetlište u Beogradu na vodi" [Area cleaned in the Railway station building, but dump remained in Belgrade Waterfront] (in Serbian). N1.
  55. ^ Branka Vasiljević (12 October 2022). "Počelo uklanjanje otpada iza zgrade Železničke stanice" [Removal of the garbage behind the Railway station started]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
  56. ^ FoNet (9 November 2022). "U zgradi bivše glavne železničke stanice vidljivi tragovi požara" [Damage from fire visible in the building of the former main railway station] (in Serbian). N1.
  57. ^ Branka Vasiljević (28 November 2022). "Obezbeđena sredstva za obnovu nekadašnje Železničke stanice" [Secured funding for the renovation of the former railway station]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.
  58. ^ Dejan Aleksić (15 January 2018). "Bez vozova u Savskom amfiteatru posle 134 godine" [No trains anymore in the Sava amphitheater after 134 years]. Politika (in Serbian).
  59. ^ Karlo Polak (13 April 2018). "Besmisleno je ukinuti železničku stanicu" [Shutting down the railway station is meaningless]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 12.
  60. ^ Nemanja Pantović (19 March 2018). "Prokop ili kopanje groba za železnicu" [Prokop or digging the grave for the railway] (in Serbian). Regionalni portal Bilten.org.
  61. ^ DanasOnline (18 January 2018). "Gašenje Glavne stanice štetno za putnike i grad" [Closing of the Main station is harmful for the passengers and the city] (in Serbian). Danas.
  62. ^ N.Govoruša (7 January 2018). "Opusteo simbol Beograda: Glavna železnička stanica danas izgleda ovako" [Symbol of Belgrade became deserted: this is what the Belgrade Main railway station looks like today] (in Serbian). Blic.
  63. ^ Dejan Aleksić (19 June 2018). "Raštrkane stanice i slaba veza sa javnim prevozom" [Scattered station and weak connection to the public transport]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  64. ^ Aleksandra Kurteš (20 June 2018). "Čekajući voz uz teleću čorbicu" [Waiting for the train while eating beef soup]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
  65. ^ I. Nikoletić, A. Popović (19 June 2018). "Centar ostao bez vozova, kraj izgradnje "Prokopa" ni na vidiku" [Center without trains, Prokop's construction nowhere near to be finished] (in Serbian). Danas.
  66. ^ Aleksandra Pavićević (7 July 2018). "Нажалост, (пре)познајемо се" [Unfortunately, we know (recognize) us]. Politika-Kulturni dodatak, Year LXII, No. 13 (in Serbian). pp. 06–07.
  67. ^ Aleksandar Žič (July–August 2018). "Zašto je zatvorena beogradska železnička stanica - Poslednji voz za Evropu" [Why is Belgrade railway station closed - Last train to Europe] (in Serbian). Nova Ekonomija, No. 52.
  68. ^ G.Vlaović (21 June 2018). "Građani će se zbog Arapa mučiti da dođu do voza" [Because of the Arabs, citizens will have hard time reaching the train] (in Serbian). Danas.
  69. ^ a b A.Popović (18 April 2018). "Prokop najkatastrofalnija greška saobraćaja u Beogradu" [Prokop (is) the most disastrous error of the Belgrade transportation] (in Serbian). Danas.
  70. ^ Dejan Aleksić, Daliborka Mučibabić (18 April 2018). "Plan za metro u interesu putnika, a ne investitora" [Plan for the metro (should be) in the interest of the passengers, not of the investors]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  71. ^ Jelena D. Petrović (17 June 2018). "Izmeštanje Glavne železničke 6 meseci pre roka - što se žuri" [Relocation of the main railway station 6 months before deadline - what's the hurry?] (in Serbian). N1.

External links edit

  Media related to Belgrade Main railway station at Wikimedia Commons

belgrade, main, railway, station, confused, with, belgrade, centre, railway, station, serbian, Железничка, станица, Београд, Главна, romanized, Železnička, stanica, beograd, glavna, former, train, station, belgrade, capital, serbia, built, between, 1882, 1885,. Not to be confused with Belgrade Centre railway station The Belgrade Main railway station Serbian Zheleznichka stanica Beograd Glavna romanized Zeleznicka stanica Beograd Glavna is a former train station in Belgrade the capital of Serbia It was built between 1882 and 1885 according to the designs of the architect Dragutin Milutinovic and it has the status of a sultural monument of great importance 1 Until the opening of the new Belgrade Center station Prokop in 2016 it was the city s main station and the busiest in the country In order to free up the space for the Belgrade Waterfront project the station was closed on 1 July 2018 and repurposed to become a museum 2 Belgrade Main Railway StationZheleznichka stanica Beograd GlavnaStation buildingGeneral informationLocationSavski trg 2 Belgrade SerbiaCoordinates44 48 31 N 20 27 20 E 44 80861 N 20 45556 E 44 80861 20 45556Owned bySerbian RailwaysPlatforms6 bay platformsTracks13Connections100 m Belgrade Bus Station 36 46 51 78 83 91 92 511 551 552 553 601 A1 E1 2 3 7 9 12 13ConstructionStructure typeAt gradeParkingYesHistoryOpened23 August 1884 139 years ago 1884 08 23 Closed30 June 2018 5 years ago 2018 06 30 Electrified31 May 1970 53 years ago 1970 05 31 LocationBelgrade Main Railway StationLocation within BelgradePassenger trains were gradually relocated to the new Prokop station during 2016 and 2017 3 Most national railway traffic was moved to the new station in December 2017 thus leaving only international trains and two trains to Novi Sad at the old station 4 The Main station operated until 30 June 2018 when the last train international train 340 to Budapest left the station at 21 40 5 International trains were relocated to Prokop and trains to Bar relocated to the Topcider railway station 6 Contents 1 History 1 1 Origin 1 2 Construction 1 3 Opening 1 4 Later developments 1 5 World War II and reconstruction 1 6 Post war development 1 7 Closing 1 8 After shut down 1 9 Deterioration 2 Criticism of shut down 3 Architecture and protection 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editOrigin edit At the 1878 Congress of Berlin the Principality of Serbia was de jure recognized as an independent state The great powers of the day decided that Serbia should construct a railway Not economically developed to begin with Serbia was additionally pauperized after the Serbian Ottoman wars from 1876 to 1878 so it lacked the necessary funds Prince Milan Obrenovic and the government announced a request for tender and the bidding was won by a French company According to a popular but unproven version of events Prince Milan accepted a bribe of 1 million francs in gold to give the job to the French 7 Construction edit The concession included the construction of the Belgrade Nis railway the train bridge over the Sava river and a railway that would connect Belgrade to Zemun a border town of Austria Hungary at the time The location of the future station building was chosen in 1881 8 It was a marshy bog called Ciganska bara Gypsy pond 7 The bog was charted for the first time in an Austrian map from 1789 It was a marsh which covered a wide area stretching from the present day Karađorđeva street to the mouth of the Topciderska Reka into the Sava across the northern tip of Ada Ciganlija The marshy area covered the today s location of the Belgrade Main railway station and parts of the Sarajevska and Hajduk Veljkov venac streets Ciganska bara drained two other bogs One was located on Slavija which drained through the creek of Vracarski potok 9 which flew down the area of the today s Nemanjina Street The other pond was Zeleni Venac The eponymous Gypsies inhabiting the area used the mud from the bog to make roof tiles They lived in small huts or caravans called cerge between the high grass and rush with their horses and water buffalos grazing freely in the area As most of the huts were actually stilt houses built on piles due to the marshy land the area was gradually named Bara Venecija Venice pond 10 As such the location was absolutely inappropriate for any construction work and the marsh had to be filled first The remains of the demolished Stambol Gate in 1866 also finished in the bog 8 By 1884 the bog was drained and buried under the rubble from all parts of the city but especially from Prokop 10 Prokop is located in the eastern section of the former neighborhood of Jatagan Mala Previously it was a geographical reference as the area was located in the lower valley of the now underground stream of Mokroluski Potok Earth and gravel were dug and used to cover and drain the swamps on the right bank of the Sava so that the neighborhoods of Savamala and Bara Venecija could be constructed along with the building of central railway station After the works were completed the area around Mokroluski Potok was left as a steep elongated cut in the ground thus acquiring its name Serbian prokop cut or dug through Prince Milan personally suggested this area which stretched above Đorđe Vajfert s brewery and the neighborhood of Smutekovac Among his many reasons he cited the quality of the earth and the fact that the proximity of the construction site would reduce the transportation costs However that land belonged to his wife Princess Natalie so the prince even earned money from the station s construction In a historical twist Prokop is the location of Belgrade s designated present day central railway station 7 When the location was chosen it was also disconnected from Belgrade in terms of transportation The former village of Savamala was closest but the city could only be reached using a fiaker and this along a bypass route leading through Spomenicka Street modern Nemanjina 8 The construction of the railway and station initially met with fierce opposition The law on railway construction barely passed in the National Assembly of Serbia while for the railway itself it was said that it was both costly and unnecessary a devil s snake a destroyer of the people a threat to female fertility and a conduit of infiltration by foreign powers 11 vteBeograd Main railway stationLegend nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Karađorđeva St nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Belgrade Main nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Savski trg nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 nbsp nbsp 5 nbsp nbsp 4 nbsp nbsp 3 nbsp nbsp 2 nbsp nbsp 1 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Nemanjina St nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Post office nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Mail siding nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Savska St nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Opening edit The foundation stones were laid by prince Milan for the railway on 3 July O S 21 June 1881 for the station on 15 April O S 3 April 1883 The building of the station lagged behind the construction of the railway and the bridge so when the time came for the first train to pass through Belgrade the object wasn t finished As it was obvious that the station won t be finished on time the temporary object was built to serve the purpose instead Even though at one point in 1884 it was recorded that 5 575 workers were employed on the building s construction it couldn t be finished in time 12 It had to be ceremonially open even though it was still covered with scaffolds 7 The first train from this station departed towards Zemun with courtly honours on 1 September O S 20 August 1884 at 3 p m 13 As Serbia was declared a kingdom in 1882 the first passengers were now King Milan Queen Natalie and the Crown Prince Alexander on the way to Vienna More than 200 foreign guests and couple of thousands of citizens attended the opening ceremony 14 nbsp The Main Station 1929Military orchestra played music all the way until the train crossed the bridge Three days later the station was again decorated with flags and flowers as the railway to Nis was open and the first promotional composition towards Nis departed Cannons from the Belgrade Fortress marked the occasion while the military orchestras played marches The journal Novi beogradski dnevnik wrote Young and old rich and poor pretty and ugly they all gathered in Bara Venecija to see the start of the first Serbian railway The first train departed at 8 45 with 100 passengers in nine cars with three classes Just to accommodate the huge crowds of journalists and cheering citizens another train departed just five minutes later 7 The first passenger line started on 16 September O S 4 September 1884 at 8 30 It was a line to Nis and the train had 20 cars with 200 passengers 15 On the same day the line to Pest was established and at the beginning only two trains a day departed on these lines 16 Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia Teodosije Mraovic blessed the two first locomotives The regular traffic was established 10 days later 15 Until the station was finished a small building in front of it functioned as a temporary facility ticket booths administration etc On that spot today is exhibited a steam locomotive just in front of the building 7 The fully finished station became operational on 21 September 1885 12 At the time the central section of the building was occupied by the offices of the station s personnel telephone exchange telegraph cashier boxes wardrobes and police offices The left wing of the station was adapted into the royal waiting room while the right one was for the regular passenger In this section there were also restaurants while the upper floor was occupied by the living quarters for the station s employees 15 Later developments edit After being completed in September 1885 and soon became the most important railway hub in this part of Europe In 1888 it became a stop on the Orient Express route and in 1892 a ceremonial reception for Nikola Tesla was organized The very first car in Belgrade arrived by train via the main station on 3 April 1903 17 18 The first ice rink in Belgrade was built near the station in 1900 19 The building originally had a gas lighting which was later replaced with the electrical one As it was a major consumer it was decided that the building will have its own power generator A mini electrical plant was built next to the station building in 1909 and demolished in 1929 when the building of the Post Office No 6 was built instead 8 After the station was finished the area to the east developed into the square which due to its location close both to the railway and the port served for the transshipment of the goods especially the cereals and grains so in time it was named Zitni trg Grains square It was also well connected with the roads which lead outside of the city It was directly connected with the road which is today the Savska Street in the direction of the Mostar neighborhood There it was splitting in two directions one to the east later neighborhoods of Jatagan Mala and Prokop in the direction of Kragujevac in central Serbia and the other to the south neighborhoods of Senjak Cukarica Zarkovo and further to the west Serbia The square was renamed Vilsonov trg Wilson s Square after World War I in honor of the US president Woodrow Wilson and today in named Savski trg Sava Square 20 In 1924 the station was connected to Pozarevac and further with eastern Serbia while in 1928 it was connected to Obrenovac and Sarajevo Soon after direct connection was established with Dubrovnik and Zelenika Herceg Novi 18 21 World War II and reconstruction edit nbsp 1941 bombardmentThe building was damaged during World War II It was hit during the bombing of Belgrade part of the German attack on Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941 Immediately after entering Belgrade Germans constructed an improvised stationary building next to the damaged building on the location where the Tito s Blue Train was exhibited in 1980 8 21 This building was constructed by the Ukrainian emigre architect Pavel Krat The modernist building was known for the narrow corridor which allowed for the agents of the Gestapo and Nedic s special police to control passengers 22 The station was further damaged during the heavy Easter Bombing conducted by the Allies in 1944 The building was reconstructed after the war being fully finished in 1953 Two side towers one of the main architectural and visual marks of the station in the direction of the Karađorđeva Street weren t rebuilt but were completely demolished instead 8 21 The post war reconstruction was headed by the Russian contractors The clock placed above the main entrance immediately after the opening in 1885 was also damaged New mechanism was placed inside and the clock was returned to its original place but the clock s decorative lace of wrought iron wasn t restored The door at the main entrance were replaced but the decoration from the same material as the clock s also hasn t been restored The glass roof was completely destroyed during the war but the Russian opted for a built roof instead for restoring the original glass one Above the clock in the tympanum there was a coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia held by sculptured stone winged lions gryphons Above this composition the Roman numerals MDCCCLXXXIV marking the year of 1884 were written over the architrave New Communist authorities took down the royal coat of arms immediately after taking over after World War II The stone lions and the cartouche the decorative round shield around them were removed later and disappeared after a while The late 2010s plans for the reconstruction include the restoration of the coat of arms but none of the other destroyed or removed parts of the building 23 The coat of arms composition on the tympanum fronton was 3 9 m 13 ft long and 1 15 m 3 ft 9 in tall It was reconstructed in 2019 and made of metal core covered with clay which is used to make the plaster cast This cast was used for the new sculpture which was made of the mix of concrete and three types of crushed Aranđelovac stone 24 The coat of arms was placed on 11 February 2020 25 Post war development edit In 1939 23 298 trains departed from the station In 1966 there were 60 119 trains with 6 4 million passengers That same year half of the international mail from Yugoslavia was shipped from the station 26 The golden age of the station were the 1970s and 1980s when the peak of 150 trains per day was reached 18 21 Following Breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s abrupt demise of railway traffic in Serbia followed consequences of which are felt also today Meanwhile construction of the new Belgrade railway junction was continued and plans for dislocating main station to Belgrade Center colloquially called Prokop became realistic A 1959 plan envisioned urban axis Belgrade Main Railway Station SIV Building New Belgrade as the baseline for the future development of both old and new parts of Belgrade The area between these two points described as two basal foundations was to be spanned with nine urban blocks spreading on both sides of the Sava Railway station itself was to preserve its function with additional overhaul which would make it look like the largest railways stations in Europe large lace made of glass and steel Savamala was to be populated with hotels bus station terminus for the airport transport megamarkets etc However disliked by the group of influential architects in the future development the envisioned urban tissue was effectively cut in its Savamala section by the new projects and almost nothing of the planned has done 27 According to the city s general urban plan GUP in the 1960s Cvetni Trg was envisioned as the location of the future central underground subway station of Belgrade which would also replace the main railway station The tunnels would conduct the traffic in the north to south direction The railroad authorities opposed the project so the plans were abandoned 28 In 1966 the Belgrade Bus Station was built adjoining the station s complex on the north 29 Starting with 1967 the Yugoslav Railways pursued an electrification programme initially focusing on railways in Bosnia and Herzegovina On 31 May 1970 the Zagreb to Belgrade railway corridor was electrified and it marked the first time when an electric railway excluding trams and industrial railways reached the Serbian soil On 25 September 1968 three steel made bombs exploded in the station s cloakroom injuring 13 people Miljenko Hrkac member of the Ustashe terrorist organization planted the bombs so as earlier that year when on 13 July a bomb exploded in the cinema 20 Oktobar which killed one and injured 86 audience members Hrkac was later apprehended sentenced to death and executed in 1978 30 31 Closing edit Gradual moving of trains to the new station began in the early 2016 In December 2017 all but two national trains were dislocated to Belgrade Center 4 Problems arose immediately The Prokop is still not finished has no station building and a proper access road and public transportation connections with the rest of the city Additionally it has no facilities for loading and unloading cars from the auto trains nor was ever planned to have one Still in January 2018 it was announced that the station will be completely closed for traffic on 1 July 2018 even though none of the projects needed for a complete removal of the railway traffic are finished The Prokop is incomplete a projected main goods station in Zemun is not being adapted at all while there is even no project on Belgrade railway beltway 32 After shut down edit After closing the building was removed from the possession of the state railway company and became directly administered by the state 23 The overhaul of the building was planned to start in the autumn of 2018 and to be finished in February 2020 The renovation includes the reconstruction of the facade and new decorative lights The venue will then be transformed into the museum The railway company wanted it to be the museum of the railway but the government rejected the proposal straightaway announcing the transformation into the Museum of Medieval Serbia or the Historical Museum 12 In February 2020 it was confirmed that the Nikola Tesla Museum will be relocated here from Krunski Venac instead of the previously planned location of the Old Power Plant in Dorcol 25 A few days later the government stated that they actually didn t decide where the museum will be relocated and that it may be some completely different location 33 City later stated that the building will host the Museum of Nikola Tesla after all but in September 2020 president Aleksandar Vucic said that the Museum of Medieval Serbia will be formed instead 34 Project Belgrade Waterfront envisioned a complete change of the square area in front of the building The plans are to turn it into the plateau with a large monument to Stefan Nemanja in front of the former railway station facing Nemanjina Street named after him The existing street routes will be turned into the semi circular crossroad and the traffic will be relocated to the edge of the square The existing roundabout of the public transportation and a memorial for the 1990 1999 war victims placed in the 2000s will be relocated The existing buildings around the square will be kept but some will change their purpose 35 36 The size and the design of the monument to Stefan Nemanja provoked public and artistic criticism Historian Predrag J Markovic called it the continuation of almost two decades long Arkanization of the monumental skyline in Belgrade 37 while rector of the University of Arts in Belgrade Mileta Prodanovic said that the proposed project is devastating for the building of the railway station and that Belgrade is being transformed into Skopje 38 President of the Academy of Architecture of Serbia Bojan Kovacevic called the project irritation and a part of the city administration s fifth year of spite towards the public and profession and logorrheic phase of the spatial auto goals He criticized the bidding process as fake and farcical and pointed that important Belgrade architects boycotted the bidding adding that we used to laugh at Skopje 39 Architect Slobodan Maldini pointed to the inadequacies of the competition including the composition and competency of the jury and a fact that the name of the winner leaked 8 days before it was officially announced Spanish work is formally flawed as it has no documentation needed the monument is different in appearance size and location from the already chosen Russian sculpture Maldini stated that the competition is a result of the greed and incompetence and described the project as unacceptable concreting without ideas and the sculpture as pricey and megalomaniacal 40 Reconstruction of the station s facade was announced to start in September 2019 The job was given to the Koto company which is involved in another controversial project of the city government the Kalemegdan gondola lift Though the price is much higher than 5 million dinars 42 500 estimated to 240 million dinars or 2 035 000 which means that public bidding is obligatory by law the government gave the project in direct negotiations with the company citing hastiness due to the weather issues Government and city institutions connected with the reconstruction remained silent on any further explanation of the illogicalities regarding the reconstruction if the building was already left as it is for over a year why the sudden hastiness if the weather is a problem why are the works pushed for the upcoming winter season lack of the public invitation to tender who is really financing the works the city the government or the Belgrade Waterfront if this was planned for several years why are funds secured via budget reserves and not allocated previously The deadline was set to February 2020 when the coat of arms was restored to the facade 23 41 Deterioration edit In November 2020 the government decided to relocate the Historical Museum of Serbia into the building announcing the possible interior reconstruction for late 2021 42 43 As it was left unkept the interior had seriously deteriorated by June 2021 The plaster on the walls was peeled off on some places uncovering the reed which was used for plating at the time The basement was flooded the roof beams were covered in mold and the parquet flooring dried and bent Dusica Bojic director of the Historical Museum of Serbia which took over the building on 19 November 2020 said that the situation in the building was very bad All communal infrastructure had been ruptured with wastewater flooding the basement The power grid also collapsed causing the exterior clock to stop working 44 45 All three exterior clocks main entrance side entrance inner platform entrance were then removed in August 2021 and their analog mechanisms were replaced with digital ones The hands of the face clocks were replaced with lighter ones while the GPS antenna and solar panels have been placed above the main entrance 46 47 The Minister for Culture Maja Gojkovic announced in February 2022 that the reconstruction of the building would start in July 2022 and would be finished in November 2023 48 By July 2022 the inner yard where the former platforms were was littered with garbage resembling a dump 49 Derelict partially flooded and covered in overgrowth and waste former station was labeled the Belgrade s greatest abomination and shame 50 The garbage continued to pile up including in the building itself The smell became unbearable as dead animals were also left at the dump too Both the new museum administration and the Ministry of Culture claim to have pleaded with the government for months to solve the problem but to no avail In September 2022 city communal services cleaned the inside of the building and the area adjoining the building but left the piles of garbage on the former platforms and tracks claiming it is on the land of Belgrade Waterfront The authorities blamed homeless people and migrants for creating the dump 51 52 53 54 The Belgrade Waterfront company started to remove the garbage in October 2022 55 Only a smaller quantity of the garbage was removed leaving large piles By November 2022 the interior was damaged by fires presumably lit by the homeless and migrants as the building is basically left to the elements At this time it was announced that the funding for the reconstruction was secured 56 57 Criticism of shut down edit nbsp Belgrade Waterfront ad in front of the stationThe complete removal of the railway traffic and the total shut down of the station planned for 1 July 2018 58 has been met with the opposition from experts and the public especially the notion that it has been hastily done because of the controversial Belgrade Waterfront project 15 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 while some openly doubt that the investors from the United Arab Emirates really asked for this to happen and that it is all part of a special story 67 As of June 2018 it was estimated that in the best case scenario Prokop would become a fully functional station with all necessary and supporting services only by 2021 68 nbsp Demolition of the platforms underway by 17 February 2019Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and public transportation expert Vukan Vucic described the closing of the station and its transfer to Prokop as the most disastrous error of the Belgrade transportation Citing numerous disadvantages of the new station he asserted that the old Main station is better suited for the railway traffic and that it should be kept Main station is interconnected through the public transportation lines with almost all parts of Belgrade and only 6 tram lines go to 11 parts of the city The location is much better and as Belgrade grew around it most urban life unfolds around it He disputed the claim of the city administration that the railway prevents the city from being able to come out on the river banks as the removal only of the tracks which are not in use will do the trick The station will be of major importance for the future Belgrade Metro and that Prokop in functional terms is not a station at all with the closing of the Main station central Belgrade would not have a proper railway station Vucic concluded that the interests of investors take precedence over those of commuters He also maintains that the isolation of the new station s location will cause a further decrease in the number of railway passengers Another member of the Academy transportation engineer Dusan Teodorovic also criticized the project 69 70 Nenad Kecman executive manager of the Serbian Railways stated that none of the objections or suggestions by experts from the railway transportation branch were adopted by the city administration The new system will marginalize railway transportation he added claiming that the professionals are against both the closing of the station as the entire city gravitates to it and the planned demolition or adaptation into a pedestrian bridge of the Old Railway Bridge Saying that such a luxurious complex like the planned Belgrade Waterfront cannot function without some kind of a railway system especially for connecting it to the airport the experts insisted on keeping the old station in at least a diminished capacity but the city refused that claiming that the investors from the United Arab Emirates who are partners in the Belgrade Waterfront project rejected any idea of a railway 69 Architect Bojan Kovacevic president of the Academy of Architecture of Serbia labeled the hastiness in pushing the Belgrade Waterfront agenda like the closing of the Main Railway Station even though the new railway facilities weren t finished as the raping of Belgrade 71 Smaller protests against the shut down were organized in the final period including the day of the closing 5 Architecture and protection edit nbsp Main entrance by nightThe building is constructed in the fashion of railway stations of major European countries and is a monumental edifice 1 The project was drafted by the Austrian architect Wilhelm von Flattich de while the definite elaboration of the project was done by Dragisa Milutinovic The contractors were the companies of Neischloss and Freind 12 At the time of the construction the building represented one of the most monumental buildings and the symbols of royal capital of the time It is one of the first railway stations in Serbia whose design included a specific architectural program and contents adapted to European technical achievements It is designed in the style of academism as a representative edifice with a dynamic floor plan The central classicist projection of the main entrance with the triangular tympanum dominates over the architectural composition With its specific solutions the building stands as proof of the technical and architectural development of Serbia in the last decades of the 19th century In 1980 a Tito s Blue Train locomotive was put on open display next to the railway station entrance The building was declared a cultural monument in 1981 and a cultural monument of great importance in 1983 12 See also editBelgrade railway junctionReferences edit a b Zeleznicka stanica Zavod za zastitu spomenika kulture grada Beograda Al Jazeera Zgrada zeljeznicke stanice u Beogradu postaje muzej Vucic opens Prokop railway station after 40 years Tanjug 26 January 2016 a b Prokop od danas glavna zeleznicka stanica Radio Television of Serbia 10 December 2017 a b Dejan Aleksic 1 July 2018 Otisao poslednji voz The last train has left Politika in Serbian p 16 Volf Goran 22 May 2018 Radovi na prugama obimniji nego prethodnih 25 godina Politika a b c d e f Dragan Peric 27 August 2017 Gvozdeni konji u Ciganskoj bari Politika Magazin No 1039 in Serbian pp 28 29 a b c d e f Branka Vasiljevic 16 April 2019 Tajne Glavne zeleznicke stanice Secrets of the Main Railway Station Politika in Serbian p 14 Dragana Jokic Stamenkovic 28 May 2011 Beograd na dvesta sputanih voda Politika in Serbian a b Dragoljub Ackovic December 2008 Sest vekova Roma u Beogradu part XV Veselje do kasno u noc Politika in Serbian Darko Pejovic 28 July 2019 Iz prizemne kuћe u petospratnu vilu From ground floor house to five floor villa Politika in Serbian p 11 a b c d e Branka Vasiljevic 6 August 2019 Obnova bivshe zgrade Glavne zheleznichke stanice Reconstruction of the former building of the Main railway station Politika in Serbian p 14 Srpske novine 21 August 1884 Na mestu zeleznicke stanice pre dva veka bila je bara 24 Sata Archived 2016 10 13 at the Wayback Machine 5 March 2012 a b c d Dejan Aleksic 5 September 2019 Od svecarskih topova do A sad adio From ceremonial cannons to And now adio Politika in Serbian p 14 Srpske novine 2 September 1884 Goran Vesic 5 April 2019 Prvi saobraћaјni znak u liku Mikiјa Mausa First traffic sign was shaped like Mickey Mouse Politika in Serbian p 14 a b c Dejan Aleksic 4 September 2017 A vozovi prolaze 133 godine Politika in Serbian p 16 Nikola Belic 28 November 2010 Led krece klizaljke na gotovs Ice is coming ice skates ready Politika in Serbian Dragan Peric 20 May 2018 Zitni trg ispred stanice Grains Square in front of the station Politika Magazin No 1077 in Serbian p 29 a b c d Dejan Aleksic 9 April 2018 Poslednji Vaskrs Glavne zeleznicke stanice The last Easter of the Main Railway Station Politika in Serbian p 16 Goran Vesic 15 January 2021 Bela tachka na crvenom platnu White spot on red canvas Politika in Serbian p 18 a b c Branka Vasiljevic 27 July 2019 Ponovo kuca orijentir za vreme Time teller ticking again Politika in Serbian p 15 Branka Vasiljevic 27 October 2019 Grb s krilatim lavovima vraћa se na Zheleznichku stanicu Coat of arms with winged lions returns to Railway station Politika in Serbian a b Branka Vasiljevic 12 February 2020 Kraљevski grb ponovo na svom mestu Royal coat of arms on its location again Politika in Serbian Rastao je na rusevinama reprint on 20 October 2017 Belgrade rose on the ruins Politika in Serbian 20 October 1967 Radmila Stankovic 20 June 2019 Intervјu Aleksandar Stјepanoviћ arhitekta Danas nema diјaloga danas vlada јedan chovek Interview Aleksandar Stjepanovic architect There is no dialogue today today one man rules NIN No 3573 in Serbian pp 18 21 Arch Đorđe Petrovic 23 July 1968 Ruglo ili moderna metro stanica Eyesore or a modern subway station Politika in Serbian Maja Nikolic 20 August 2018 Posle zeleznicke u Beogradu i privremena autobuska stanica After the railway Belgrade is acquiring a bus station also a temporary one in Serbian N1 Diverzant iz bioskopa 20 Oktobar u rukama organa nashih vlasti Diversionist from the cinema 20 Oktobar apprehended by our authorities Politika reprint on 13 June 2019 in Serbian 13 June 1969 Tanjug 22 August 2019 Podignuta optuzhnica protiv Miљenka Hrkaћa Charges filed against Miljenko Hrkac Politika reprint from 22 August 1969 in Serbian p 23 Dejan Aleksic 16 January 2018 Posle 134 godine bez vozova u Savskom amfiteatru No more trains in Sava amphitheater after 134 years Politika in Serbian pp 01 amp 16 Dejan Aleksic Dalibotka Mucibabic 18 February 2020 Za novu adresu Muzeja Nikole Tesle u igri i treca lokacija Third location for the new address of the Nikola Tesla Museum Politika in Serbian p 15 Daliborka Mucibabic Dejan Aleksic 25 September 2020 Muzej srednjovekovne Srbije u bivsoj zgradi Zeleznicke stanice Museum of Medieval Serbia in the building of the former railway station Politika in Serbian p 17 Daliborka Mucibabic 20 November 2018 Trazi se resenje za novi Savski trg Quest for the solution for the new Sava Square Politika in Serbian p 14 Tanjug 15 December 2018 Vucic moli Beograd da podigne spomenik Stefanu Nemanji Vucic pleads city of Belgrade to build a monument to Stefan Nemanja in Serbian Politika Archived from the original on 25 November 2018 Retrieved 9 August 2019 Predrag J Markovic 9 February 2019 Arkanizaciјa spomenichkog peјsazha FoNet 13 February 2019 Prodanovic o spomeniku Bojim se da ce Beograd postati novo Skoplje Prodanovic about the monument I am afraid that Belgrade will become new Skopje in Serbian N1 Archived from the original on 9 August 2019 Retrieved 9 August 2019 Bojan Kovacevic 15 16 February 2019 Nemaњa za pod kulu Nemanja made to be under the tower Politika Kulturni dodatak year LXII No 45 in Serbian p 3 Slobodan Maldini 15 February 2019 Flamenko i kazacok Flamenco and kazachok in Serbian Vecernje Novosti Insajder net 4 September 2019 Insajder Posao restauracije Zeleznicke stanice dodeljen bez tendera Insajder Restoration of the Railway Station awarded without tender in Serbian N1 Istoriјski muzeј Srbiјe u zgradi Glavne zheleznichke stanice Historical Museum of Serbia in the building of the Main Railway Station Politika in Serbian 23 November 2020 p 13 Daliborka Mucibabic 24 November 2020 Stefan Nemanja cuva nacionalno blago Srbije Stefan Nemanja protects national treasure of Serbia Politika in Serbian p 15 Branka Vasiljevic 31 May 2021 Stao sat na nekadashњoј Zheleznichkoј stanici Clock on the former Railway station stopped Politika in Serbian p 15 Branka Vasiljevic 7 June 2021 Zgrada Zeleznicke stanice ceka obnovu i prelazak u muzej Railway station s building awaits reconstruction and adaptation into the museum Politika in Serbian p 15 Branka Vasiljevic 19 August 2021 Meњa se srce satova sa Glavne zheleznichke stanice Hearts of the clocks on the Main railway station are being replaced Politika in Serbian p 14 Branka Vasiljevic 25 August 2021 Ponovo kucaju satovi na staroj Zeleznickoj stanici Old railway station clocks ticking again Politika in Serbian p 14 Daliborka Mucibabic 8 February 2021 Priprema zdanja za Istorijski muzej Srbije od jula Preparations for History Museum of Serbia starts in july Politika in Serbian p 15 FoNet 6 July 2022 Nekadasnja glavna zeleznicka stanica u Beogradu postala smetliste Former main railway station in Belgrade became a dump in Serbian N1 Pavle Ivkovic 7 July 2022 Vise nema dileme Ovo je najvece ruglo i sramota Beograda No more doubt This is the greatest abomination and shame of Belgrade N1 in Serbian Branka Vasiljevic 28 September 2022 Beskucnici i migranti ostavljaju smece u Istorijskom muzeju na Savskom trgu Homeless people and migrant leave garbage in the History Museum in Sava Square Politika in Serbian p 17 Tamara Urosevic 27 September 2022 Tik uz Beograd na vodi deponija zaraza vreba sa stare Zeleznicke stanice Right next to Belgrade Waterfront diseases threatening from the old Railway station in Serbian N1 N1 Beograd 27 September 2022 Ministarstvo Apelovali smo da se ogradi bivsa zeleznicka stanica i resi problem Ministry We appealed to solve the problem by placing a fence around former railway station in Serbian N1 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link FoNet 28 September 2022 Ociscen prostor u Zeleznickoj stanici ali ostalo smetliste u Beogradu na vodi Area cleaned in the Railway station building but dump remained in Belgrade Waterfront in Serbian N1 Branka Vasiljevic 12 October 2022 Pocelo uklanjanje otpada iza zgrade Zeleznicke stanice Removal of the garbage behind the Railway station started Politika in Serbian p 16 FoNet 9 November 2022 U zgradi bivse glavne zeleznicke stanice vidljivi tragovi pozara Damage from fire visible in the building of the former main railway station in Serbian N1 Branka Vasiljevic 28 November 2022 Obezbeđena sredstva za obnovu nekadasnje Zeleznicke stanice Secured funding for the renovation of the former railway station Politika in Serbian p 15 Dejan Aleksic 15 January 2018 Bez vozova u Savskom amfiteatru posle 134 godine No trains anymore in the Sava amphitheater after 134 years Politika in Serbian Karlo Polak 13 April 2018 Besmisleno je ukinuti zeleznicku stanicu Shutting down the railway station is meaningless Politika in Serbian p 12 Nemanja Pantovic 19 March 2018 Prokop ili kopanje groba za zeleznicu Prokop or digging the grave for the railway in Serbian Regionalni portal Bilten org DanasOnline 18 January 2018 Gasenje Glavne stanice stetno za putnike i grad Closing of the Main station is harmful for the passengers and the city in Serbian Danas N Govorusa 7 January 2018 Opusteo simbol Beograda Glavna zeleznicka stanica danas izgleda ovako Symbol of Belgrade became deserted this is what the Belgrade Main railway station looks like today in Serbian Blic Dejan Aleksic 19 June 2018 Rastrkane stanice i slaba veza sa javnim prevozom Scattered station and weak connection to the public transport Politika in Serbian p 14 Aleksandra Kurtes 20 June 2018 Cekajuci voz uz telecu corbicu Waiting for the train while eating beef soup Politika in Serbian p 16 I Nikoletic A Popovic 19 June 2018 Centar ostao bez vozova kraj izgradnje Prokopa ni na vidiku Center without trains Prokop s construction nowhere near to be finished in Serbian Danas Aleksandra Pavicevic 7 July 2018 Nazhalost pre poznaјemo se Unfortunately we know recognize us Politika Kulturni dodatak Year LXII No 13 in Serbian pp 06 07 Aleksandar Zic July August 2018 Zasto je zatvorena beogradska zeleznicka stanica Poslednji voz za Evropu Why is Belgrade railway station closed Last train to Europe in Serbian Nova Ekonomija No 52 G Vlaovic 21 June 2018 Građani ce se zbog Arapa muciti da dođu do voza Because of the Arabs citizens will have hard time reaching the train in Serbian Danas a b A Popovic 18 April 2018 Prokop najkatastrofalnija greska saobracaja u Beogradu Prokop is the most disastrous error of the Belgrade transportation in Serbian Danas Dejan Aleksic Daliborka Mucibabic 18 April 2018 Plan za metro u interesu putnika a ne investitora Plan for the metro should be in the interest of the passengers not of the investors Politika in Serbian p 14 Jelena D Petrovic 17 June 2018 Izmestanje Glavne zeleznicke 6 meseci pre roka sto se zuri Relocation of the main railway station 6 months before deadline what s the hurry in Serbian N1 External links edit nbsp Media related to Belgrade Main railway station at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Belgrade Main railway station amp oldid 1183211939, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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