Andrićev Venac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrićev Venac (Serbian Cyrillic: Андрићев Венац) is a street and the surrounding urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. As the official seat of the President of Serbia is located in it, it became synonymous for the politics of the president.
[edit] Location
Andrićev Venac is encompassing a corner of the Kralja Milana and Kneza Miloša, two main streets in downtown Belgrade while the rest is bound by the street-promenade of the same name. It is some 400 meters away from Terazije, Belgrade's downtown. It extends into the neighborhood of London in the south, into Terazije in the west, Krunski Venac in the east, "Pionirski Park" in the north and the Square of Nikola Pašić in the north-west.
[edit] Characteristics
Central area is a car-free zone, a short paved promenade which connects "Pionirski Park" and "Kralja Milana" street, named after Yugoslav Nobel laureate in literature, Ivo Andrić. Promenade has benches, artistic candelabra, lime trees (Green Crimean linden, "Tilia euchlora Koch.", which are under the state protection), an artificial, marble step-like stream originating from a fountain and a monument to Andrić. However, writers own bequest, the Ivo Andrić Foundation, is not located here but in Dorćol. The entire area has been given an artistic character as several galleries ("Galerija Ozone") and bookstores are located along the eastern side of the promenade.
The entire western side of the promenade is occupied by the building of the Presidency of Serbia, also known as Novi Dvor ("new court"), the official seat of the president of the republic. Novi Dvor was built between 1913 and 1918 on a project by Stojan Titelbah, as a new court for the king Peter I Karađorđević and it is separated just by a lawn from the old court ("Stari Dvor"), used by the previous rulers of Serbia, the Obrenović dynasty. Peter I died in 1921 and it was his son, king Alexander I of Yugoslavia who was the first tennant, from 1922. Novi Dvor was official royal court of Yugoslavia until Alexander's assassination in Marseilles in 1934 when court was moved to Beli Dvor ("white court") on Dedinje. Since 1974 building was used as a Presidency of Serbia, a collective governing body and after 1991 and introduction of the office of the President of the Republic (Andrićev Venac No 1), it gradually became synonymous for the politics of the current president in everyday communication.
