Vračar
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-->Vračar (Serbian Cyrillic: Врачар) is the smallest of 17 municipalities of Belgrade. It has 69,000 residents, area of less than 3 square kilometers and lies in between the three boulevards: Boulevard of King Aleksandar Obrenović, Boulevard of Liberation and The Southern Boulevard. It stretches between Beograđanka, one of the highest building in Belgrade, and the Architecture high school.
History
Vračar is geographical toponym which denotes the huge region from the Danube to the Topčider river around the moat of the medieval Belgrade fortress Kalemegdan, with the villages Savamala and Palilula next to it. Etymologically, the word Vračar is of Slavic origin and older than Belgrade, but its meaning is unclear. Its highest point is Vračar's plateau on Savinac and on East Vračar.
The terms Vračar and Vračar's platau were first mentioned in 1492, in Turkish documents. Other documents, from 1560, describe Vračar as Christian settlement with 17 houses.
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(XIX century Belgrade - Savski Venac Municipality since 1957)
At the beginning of the XIX century by order of Prince Miloš Obrenović, an alternative city centre with western characteristics was designed and built here while city of Belgrade was still under Turkish rule and for three quarters an oriental town with all the characteristics of Islamic architecture. On the other hand, Vračar was built with broad streets and boulevards, first parks and monuments. It was housing all Serbian public buildings and state institutions.
The Times on 17 October 1843, published a text full of exultations. "Four years have passed since the time when I was last here, and how Belgrade has changed! I have hardly recognised it. The high belfry on the church (Cathedral) now screens by its shadow the Turkish mosques; many shops are now provided with new doors and glass windows, oriental clothing is more rare and houses with several storeys, in European manner, are being built everywhere".
Many architects-baumeisters (builders) Germans, Czechs, Italians and the Serbians who appeared only at the end of the '60s of the XIX century built new Serbian Belgrade in Vračar. After 1867, when Turkish military garrisons left the Belgrade fortress Kalemegdan they extended their architectural activities on the ruins of the Turkish houses (Stambol gate, Dorćol, Palilula) and on the ruins of the Serbian huts in the Sava port, Savamala.
The center of modern Belgrade lies in West Vračar. From the crossroad of the streets Prince Miloš Obrenović's Street) ("Šetulja"-Main walking street) and Queen Natalija Obrenović street. Abadžijska-main commercial street, Narodnog Fronta, to the crossroad of the Prince Miloš Obrenović's Street and Nemanjina street (the town's main traffic arteries, especially after the completion of the railway station in 1884.) In the centre of West Vračar of that time was the Residence of the Prince Michael I of Serbia surrounded by Financial Park, the first National Parliament, Military Academy, Ministry of Finance, Ridding school, Voznesenska-Military church, etc. The monumental buildings of Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Government of Serbia and General staff were added here as well, but much later.
East Vračar (Vračar Municipality)
East Vračar started to be built since 1880 when a well-known Scottish businessman and nazarene Francis Mackenzie bought a large piece of land nearby (Englezovac), parcelled it out into lots for selling and donated a piece of land to the Serbian Orthodox Church for the construction of the Temple of Saint Sava. Later, East Vračar extended to Grantovac, an area of land belonging to the American consul Edward Maxwell Grant and Krunski Venac around Krunska street, a street starting from the Royal Park and ending with Kalenić's market. Kalenić's market is the largest open air market in Belgrade and is the commercial centre of East Vračar.
After the Second World War, Vračar was split into the municipalities of Savski Venac and Zvezdara. Nowadays, the remnants of East Vračar comprise the smallest municipality of Belgrade, thus losing any of its historical or economic importance.
Historical references
- Beograd - Izdanje opštine beogradske, 1911;
- Zapisi starog Beograđanina 2000;
- Iz starog Beograda, Živorad P. Jovanović 1964;
- Siluete starog Beograda, Milan Jovanović - Stojimirović, 1971;
- Uspon Beograda, Milivoje M.Kostić, 2000;
- Beogradske gradske pijace, JKP Beogradske pijace, 1999;
- Vračarski glasnik, 1997-2004
See also
External links
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