Knez Mihailova Street

Knez Mihailova Street, corner with "Ruski car" restoran

Knez Mihailova Street or Prince Michael Street, properly Kneza Mihaila (Serbian: Улица Кнез Михаилова (Улица Кнеза Михаила), Ulica Knez Mihailova, (Ulica Kneza Mihaila)) is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgrade, and is protected by law as one of the oldest and most valuable landmarks of the city. Named after Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia, it features a number of buildings and mansions built during the late 1870s.

One kilometer long Knez Mihailova Street was in 1979 included on the list of Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance, and as such is protected by the Republic of Serbia.

History

Knez Mihailova Street about 1900
King Peter I after his coronation in 1904, in the Knez Mihailova street

The street follows the central grid layout of the Roman city of Singidunum. During Ottoman occupation, there were gardens, drinking-fountains and mosques along the street.

In the middle of the 19th century, the upper part of the street bordered the garden of Knez Aleksandar Karađorđević. After the implementation of the 1867 city of Belgrade regulation plan by Emilijan Josimović, the street soon gained its current look and architecture.

Houses were built there by the most influential and wealthiest families of the Serbian society, most of them merchants. In 1870, one year after the assassination of Prince Mihailo Obrenović, the city authorities officially named the street - Ulica Kneza Mihaila (Prince Michael Street).

Reportedly, as of mid-2010s, much of the street's real estate is owned by Serbian tycoons of the day such as Dragan Đurić, Miroslav Mišković, Miodrag Kostić, Philip Zepter, Radomir Živanić, Vojin Lazarević, Tahir Hasanović, and Radivoje Dražević and it houses their respective business holdings.[1]

Lower part of the Knez Mihailova Street

Famous buildings

Today

Knez Mihailova Street at night (January 2012)

Knez Mihailova is a common meeting point for Belgraders. The street has been named one of the most beautiful pedestrian zones in South East Europe and is a constant buzz of people and tourists. Thousands of people stroll along the street every day as it is the shortest path from Terazije to Kalemegdan park and fortress.

The street is home to Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), Instituto Cervantes, Goethe-Institut, Alliance française, as well as many other leading shops and several cafes.

SANU headquarters in Knez Mihailova

In December 2006, BusinessWeek magazine included the street as one of Europe's notable Christmas shopping sites.[2] One can find international clothing brands such as Mango, Zara and Zara men, Gap, Nike men and women, Replay, Diesel, Terranova, Sephora, New Look, Swarovski, Cesare Paciotti, Tally Weijl, Miss Sixty, Bata, Bally, Aldo, Adidas, Vapiano, Monsoon Accessorize and many more shops.

Furthermore, the representative offices of various airlines such as Aeroflot, FlyDubai, Emirates Airline, Qantas, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airways, Singapore Airlines and Air France are located in Knez Mihailova.

In terms of real estate value, the property in and around Knez Mihailova Street is among the most expensive in Belgrade. The latest confirmation of this occurred in late November 2007 when the 485m2 parcel belonging to state owned company Jugoexport was sold for 15 million, which works out to some €32,000 per square meter.[3]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Knez_Mihailova.

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.