Ulica Knez Mihailova

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Knez Mihailova Street

Ulica Knez Mihailova (Serbian: Улица Кнез Михаилова; English: Prince Michael Street) is the main walking street in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is a pedestrian zone and shopping center, protected by law as one of the oldest and most valuable landmarks of the city. It has a large number of impressive buildings and mansions built at the end of 1870's.

1 History
- 1.1 Famous buildings
2 Today
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Knez Mihailova Street about 1900

The street follows the central grid layout of the Roman city of Singidunum. During the time of Turks, there were gardens, drinking-fountains and mosques along its lengths. In the middle of the XIX century, the upper part of the street bordered the garden of Knez Aleksandar Karađorđević. After the implementation of the regulation plan of Belgrade (1867), by Emilijan Josimović, the street soon gained its current look and architecture. Houses were built there by the most influential and wealthiest families of Belgrade society. In 1870, city authorities officially named this street - Ulica Kneza Mihaila (Prince Michael Street).

[edit] Famous buildings

The "Srpska Kruna" Hotel, Knez Mihailova 56, was built in 1869 in the style of romantism, as the most modern hotel of Belgrade then. Between 1945 and 1970 the National Library of Serbia was located in this building. Today, the Library of the City of Belgrade is located in the building

Marko Stojanović’s house, Knez Mihailova 53-55, was built in 1889 as a private home of the lawyer Marko Stojanović, in the renaissance style. The Academy of Fine Arts, established in 1937, used to be in the building but now the Gallery of the Academy is located there.

The block of urban houses, Knez Mihailova 50, 48 and 46, built in 1870's, represented the beginning of discontinuity of traditional "Balkan" architecture. All those buildings have been shaped in the same manner, a transitional style from romantism to renaissance. The block consists of three buildings:

The house of Hristina Kumandudi, No. 50, was built in 1870 as a corner building at the intersection of Kneza Mihaila and Dubrovačka streets. For a certain period, this building was the residence of the French-Serbian Bank, and later of the consulates of Belgium and Great Britain.

Kristina Mehana, No. 48, built in 1869 as an administrative-commercial building in which Krstić brothers have opened a hotel under the same name, and where the meetings of the City Assembly took place until the construction of the Assembly's building.

Veljko Savić’s house, No. 46, built in 1869 as a residential house with shops. It went under many changes from its original look.

The building of the Serbian academy of sciences and arts, Knez Mihailova 35, built in 1923-1924, by the plans of 1912 made by Dragutin Đorđević and Andra Stevanović, in style of academism with elements of secession. The building houses: the Library of the Academy, one of the richest in Belgrade; The Archive of the Academy with numerous materials about the history of Serbia; the Gallery of the Academy on the ground floor, with a special lecture hall, the bookstore and the antique shop.

Endowment of Nikola Spasić, Knez Mihailova 33, built in 1889, by the designs of the architect Konstantin Jovanović in the renaissance style, as a residential house of Belgrade merchant Nikola Spasić.

Passage of Nikola Spasić, Knez Mihailova 19, built in 1912 in recession style.

Grčka kraljica coffee shop, Knez Mihailova 51, built in 1835 in style of academism.

Russian Tzar caffe & restaurant, Knez Mihailova 51, built in 1926 in style of academism.

Hotel Russia, Knez Mihailova 38, built in 1870 and annexed in 1920. Today it houses business offices of the "Rudnap" company.

[edit] Today

Knez Mihailova Street is a common meeting point for Belgraders. The street has been named one of the most beautiful pedestrian zones in Eastern Europe and is a constant buzz with people and tourists. The street is home to Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), Instituto Cervantes, Goethe-Institut, Centre Culturel Français, British Council as well as many other leading shops and several cafes. Business Weekly magazine has named the street as one of the best shopping places in Europe^[1] . One can find international clothing brands such as Mango, Zara and Zara men, Springfield clothing, Nike men and women, Replay, Azzaro, Cortefiel, Morgan de Toi, Office Shoes, Swarovski, Cesare Paciotti, Tally Weijl, Miss Sixty and local clothing brand Todor and many more shops. There are also shopping centres Millennium and City Passage located nearby which have multiple world wide clothing brands. The closest hotel is the five star Aleksandar Palas Hotel which is a few seconds walking distance to the street. This is the most expensive street in Belgrade. Last transaction was 'Jugoexport',paid in total around 15 million Euros,or 32000 Euros per square meter.[1]