Vračar plateau

The most distinctive feature of the plateau today is a massive Church of Saint Sava, visible from almost all approaches to the city, and one of the Belgrade's main landmarks.

Western section is occupied by the Park Milutin Milanković and Old Belgrade Observatory, extending into the vast Clinical Center of Serbia complex and West Vračar.

Serbian clergy and rebels established relations with foreign states,[4] and in a short time captured several towns, including Vršac, Bečkerek, Lipova, Titel and Bečej, although the uprising was quickly suppressed.

Ottoman Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha decided to punish rebellious Serbs and ordered that the sarcophagus and relics of Saint Sava located in the Mileševa monastery be brought by military convoy to Belgrade.

The relics were publicly incinerated by the Ottomans, on 27 April 1595, as it was placed on a pyre and burnt on the Vračar plateau, and the ashes were scattered.

Even the exact year is unknown, with 1594 and 1595 being mentioned, so as the proposed locations, since the term Vračar was historically applied to the much wider territory than it occupies today.

The remaining tombs were rearranged, the monument was renovated, and the metal fence was placed around it, while the seedlings of black locust were planted in order to form the memorial park.

[12] It was constructed according to the design of architect Dimitrije T. Leko and equipped with the modern small instruments for astronomical and meteorological observations.

Originally outside of the urban core of Belgrade, there were plans for the enlargement of the Karađorđe's Park 1903-1904, in order to mark the centennial of the First Serbian Uprising, which broke out in 1804.

The society leveled the park's terrain, created pathways, planted grass, lindens, chestnuts and decorative shrubs.

Beside the church itself, new project was to include buildings of the Patriarchate, Ministry of Religion, Seminary and Great Religious Court [sr].

The competition rules stipulated that the new church must be in the style of the Serbo-Byzantine architecture, from the period of Prince Lazar (late 14th century).

Though the first and third prize were not awarded, the second-place submission by architect Bogdan Nestorović was selected, but the project itself, the idea of building a church, and its proposed style became a matter of fierce public debate.

[9] Those opposing the church design pushed for the construction of the Vidovdan Temple instead, as the unified South Slav state was formed in 1918 and renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929.

Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, original proponent of the Vidovdan Temple, though on Kosovo, not in Belgrade, supported Strajnić, insisting that the new "Yugoslav style" should be created, instead of the sacral architecture that would fit only one of the denominations.

King Alexander Karađorđević publicly didn't support any solution, but privately pushed for the Meštrović's temple.

[18] The remaining granite slabs intended for the construction of the church were used for the building of the Tomb of People's Heroes in 1948, in the Kalemegdan section of the Belgrade Fortress.

[19] Children who grew up in the vicinity, including the future President of Serbia Boris Tadić, didn't know the intended purpose of the unfinished construction, so they played inside thinking it was a ruin of some old castle.

Citizens organized in groups and signed petitions against the project under the slogan "We don't want New Belgrade on Vračar, we want small Montmartre around the church".

The conceptualized "walls" of the square were the National Library on one side, and the Parochial Home (clergy house) and the planned Patriarchate Building on another.

[25] Construction of the Macura-Bobić project finally began in 2003, and the works were ceremonially opened by prime minister Zoran Živković.

[11] The Parochial Home, with facade of shining, white stone, is work of Mateja Nenadović and his sons Miloš and Đorđe.

The architects rejected the idea of large, either under or above the ground garage, as the regulation didn't allow it at the time, plus, the authors believed that due to the nature of the object, people should come on foot anyway.

Entire square is used for walking, even on the grassy areas, though there are relatively narrow pedestrian paths made of Jablanica marble.

Scandal broke out during the visit of Russian president Vladimir Putin in January 2019 because of the sloppy repairs by the city communal services.

The central pedestrian pathway is to be expanded and between the library and the new Patriarchate Building an artificial forest, partially growing out of the water, was to be planted.

[26] The design was criticized by the Association of Serbian Architects which stated the planned “forest” would degrade the historical, symbolical and social importance of the plateau by reducing the area to the profane city park.

It was noted that mass gatherings organized on the plateau (funeral processions for Patriarch Pavle and prime minister Zoran Điniđić, visit of Russian president Vladimir Putin) showed that the area’s space is inadequate as it is.

[25] There are calls for keeping the square-like shape of the present plateau or even expanding it as it basically functions as the extended, open air narthex of the church and should have room for as much as possible visitors as the 1990 design unilaterally took care only of local residents' needs, neglecting the area's spiritual and religious character.

[31] In November 2023, mayor Aleksandar Šapić announced plateau reconstruction and digging of the garage for 2024, but the construction of the library's depots was omitted.