Old Town Above the Sava River
After the Second Serbian Uprising, this part of Belgrade became the seat of the administrative
and social life of the Principality of Serbia and the nucleus around which the town of Belgrade
expanded.
Under the Saborna Crkve (the Cathedral), between the Patriarchate and the residence of Princess
Ljubica, descending towards the Save River, we enter the neighborhood of Kosancicev Venac.
There, we encounter s network of narrow cobblestone streets and alleys, creating an atmosphere
suggestive of the Old Town that was founded en the mid-16th century above the Save River,
immediately after Belgrade fell under Turkish rule in 1521.
This was the place where the Serbian population staged uprisings en 1804 and 1815. After the
Second Serbian Uprising this part of Belgrade became the seat of the administrative and social life
of the Principality of Serbia. The area today known as Kosancicev Venac was the nucleus around
which the town of Belgrade expanded.
From there to the place where the famous gate to the Upper Town once stood (known as Varos
Kapija, on Pop Lukina St.) lees the neighborhood, now protected by the state, that features s
number of Belgrade's cultural monuments.
Broadly speaking, this neighborhood also incorporates the Saborna Crkva, the residence of
Princess Ljubica, the "?" cafe and the building of the Patriarchate, which are all preserved edifices
dating from the beginning of the 19th century, providing a glimpse of what the Belgrade town center
looked like at , the time.
On this very slope rising above the Sava River, stood the edifices we remember only from stories,
drawings or photographs: the Prince's Office, the Magistrate, the Metropolitan Court, the State
Printing House, the first bookshop of Gligorije Vozarevic, the first library, school etc. At the customs
house on the Sava, known as Djumrukana, Belgrade's first theatrical performances were held.
In 1872, the neighborhood was named after Ivan Kosancic, a figure from the Serbian folk poems of
the Kosovo cycle. Although not a historical figure, voivode Ivan Kosancic is mentioned in several
poems including: The Prince's r Dinner, Kosancic Ivan Spying the Turks, The Kosovo Maiden
among others. On the facade of one particular building on Kosancicev Venac street no. 13, its first
owner, a met, chant by the name of Trajkovic, placed a bust of Ivan Kosancic donning a helmet
and knight's armor, the work of sculptor Petar Ubavkic.
Kosancicev Venac was the neighborhood where Mihailo Petrovic lived his whole life. Petrovic was
a famous Serbian mathematician, one of the pioneers of cybernetics whose work significantly
contributed to the construction of the calculator. He was also the author of new mathematical
disciplines: mathematical phenomenology and mathematical specter. During almost half a century
of lecturing at the Belgrade University, Petrovic established, together with a student his, the
Belgrade Mathematical School.
Modest in his private life, friendly and amiable in man, net, the professor was well known and
respected in Belgrade. As an enthusiastic angler he was nicknamed Mika Alas, and his travel
stories from the distant oceans and his studies on fishing make for good reading even today.
His home, no.22 Kosancicev Venac street, was designed by architect Petar Bajalovic in a spirit of
symbiosis blending secessionist floral motifs with elements of Serbo-Byzantine style. The only
condition Petrovic set for the architect was for his room to have a balcony with a view of the Sava
river. Even today this is one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, balcony in Belgrade.
The most dominant feature of the neighborhood is the so-called Painters' House built between two
world wars as the Graphic Institute of the State Printing House. Since 1946, the building has
belonged to the Serbian Association of Artists and consists of 21 ateliers. Also in the neighborhood
is the first Belgrade's Selling Gallery, founded in 1963. A large enclosed area in the center of
Kosancicev Venac marks the place where once stood the National Library of Serbia before World
War Two. The renowned Belgrade industrialist Milan Vapa built the edifice. One biographical
account about Vapa's life is particularly interesting. As a boy, Vapa earned his bread by carrying
water from the Sava to the Upper Town. He would stop to catch his breath at this place. Then and
there he promised to himself that he would construct an edifice there when he grew up. He fulfilled
his promise and today we can only imagine how big the structure had been.
Incendiary bombs struck the roof of the National Library on 6 April, 1941, and the ensuing fires
destroyed more than 300,000 printed and 1,500 medieval manuscripts, rich collections of
documents, engravings, maps, pictures, as well as the personal libraries of Vuk Karadzic, Djuro
Danicic, Lukijan Musicki and others.
It is planned for a monument to be erected in Kosanecicev Venac to stand in memory of the
tragedy that befell the National Library. History undoubtedly runs deep in this neighborhood. During
conservation works in 1978, remains of Roman ruins were uncovered in the area.
Kosancicev Venac is lent an impressive atmosphere particularly because of its location, looking
towards the Sava - to which it is connected by means of the Small and Great Stairways. Prince
Mihailo built the Big Stairs in 1862. Until then, only a narrow and steep passage led to the Sava
pier. The Belgrade Municipality had made repeated attempts to build a staircase but the Turks,
who partly owned this terrain, continually prevented such construction. In 1860, Prince Mihailo,
after accompanying his sister Perka Bajic to the pier, realized that the existing passage was almost
impassable and ordered the building of the stone stairs at his own expense. The stairway was renovated for the first time in 1904.
