R I TAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CI TY 1 30 Y EARS OF T HE GR EAT GL ASSHOUSE Oasis of serenity at the centre of the bustling city The glasshouse of Jevremovac Botanical Garden has always been a symbol of the advance of science and education, but also the city’s place among European architectural tendencies B elgrade’s beautiful botanical garden is an oasis of serenity in the bustling city, a pleasant spot for a picnic, a leisurely stroll or just hanging out under one of its shady trees.The Victorian style glasshouse and tranquil Japanese gardenare just bonus features of this lushgreenery. Belgrade’s Jevremovac Botanical Garden opened in 1847 by a decree issued by the Ministry of Education of the then Kingdom of Serbia, on the basis of a suggestion of prominent Serbian doctor and botanist Josif Pančić, who also became its first administrator. The garden was declared a natural monument in 1995 and a cultural monument in 2007. This locationwasprecededbyanother, near theDanube in the Dorćol neighbourhood. Unfortunately, unfavourable conditionsmeant that it had to be relocated. It was thus raised on an estate that KingMilanObrenović donated to the Great School, where Pančić taught botany.That patch of landwas a former orchard of the king’s grandfather, Jevrem, which is why the Botanical Garden is called Jevremovac – Jevrem’s garden. The large glasshouse, covering an area of 500 square metres, was built 130 years ago, in 1892, and at the time represented one of themost beautiful in the Balkans, while it was in 2004 that Jevremovac received its own Japanese gar64 | Beograd » Belgrade den, which includes a collection of Far Eastern fauna. Thebotanical gardensprawls over anareaof fivehectares and includes the Botanical Institute and library. Its outdoor area cultivates around 1,500 species of trees, shrubs andplants originating fromEuropeanand exotic regions, while approximately 1,000 species arenurtured in the glasshouse. This garden perhaps isn’t as large as those that can be found in some other European cities, but it does offer various activities and truly diverse flora to explore. During just one visit, you can see theHerbarium of the Botanical Institute, which is one of the most important and richest herbariums in Southeast Europe, but also the Library containing over 7,000 books and 300 scientific and professional journals. The Garden is nonetheless dominated by the great glasshouse that was commissioned byMilanObrenović andmade inDresden, and which still captivates visitors with its aesthetics and architecture, while it also symbolises the rapiddevelopment of Belgrade andSerbiaduring theperiodof theObrenovićdynasty.When itwas erected on the site in 1892, only 15 years had elapsed since Serbia had declared its independence from Ottoman rule, but Belgrade nonetheless received a building that then represented truly exotic architecture that didn’t evenexist inEurope’s advanced countries. Belgradedoesn’t have manypreservedbuildings thatweredesignedand implemented in the art nouveau style, which is why this hothouse is a unique example of what was then a new style in Europe and Serbia. Today’s collection of plants in the large glasshouse consists of over 1,000 species originating from various parts of the world, many of which are classed as rare and endangered. Apart from the exceptional aesthetic atmosphere provided to visitors by this rich collection of plants, it also holds special importance with its educational and scientific applications. You can discover everything about its history, development, plants and other important facts at the current exhibition that has been jointly organised by the Belgrade City Institute for theProtectionofCulturalMonuments, the Institute of Botany and Jevremovac BotanicalGarden, andwhich commemoratesthe130th anniversaryof the existenceof the great glasshouse. Kolekciju biljaka u velikoj staklenoj bašti danas čini više od 1.000 vrsta iz različitih krajeva sveta Today’s collection of plants in the large glasshouse consists of over 1,000 species originating from various parts of the world
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