Januar

| 103 Tourists who visit Belgrade usually spendtheir timeononesideof the river, touring the city centre and inevitable historic spots like Kalemegdan Fortress or the bohemian quarter of Skadarlija. That’s because the other side of the Sava, at rst glance, o ers only huge concrete residential blocks. But that’s only how it appears, because New Belgrade is slowly but surely herding tourists from the centre who head to the other side of the river, where each building is inscribed with the history of Yugoslavia and socialist architecture. Youcandive intothis treasure fromthe secondhalfof the20th centurywiththeteam that’s beenpresenting the key spots to visitors since 2015, within the scope of what they’ve called their “Yugotour”. “The idea originated with Dutchman Ralf Van Der Zijden, who - inspired by the Trabant Tour of Berlin - wanted to organise something similar in Belgrade. The Yugotour today has six cars in its eet - Stojadins (Zastava101),mostlydatingbacktothesecond half of the ‘70s, and for the purposes of authenticity they are mostly in pristine factory condition,” says Vojin Munćan, the manager of this organisation, as he opens thedoor of oneof theStojadins in the eet. As we settle into the old-timer, a sti - ened, yellowed newspaper falls into view. It is a copy of Politika, the editionof 5th May 1980, the day that ComradeTito died. This, alongwitha coupleof confectioneryproducts from Yugoslavia that have remained with us, is shared by Vojin and his guides among their guests. In thecar boot are two YNA helmets, a famous red passport and a fewother little items fromhistory. The idea is for every car in the eet to have a mini history of Yugoslavia, expressed in little things fromtheeveryday livesofYugoslavs, by next summer. The journey leads us toGeneks, which was the tallest building in Belgrade for a longtime,withthe ideaof its impressiveappearanceattractingattentionandgreeting everyoneenteringBelgrade fromthewest, which iswhy itwasnicknamedtheWestern Gate. Now it is the second tallest building, with rst place having been taken over by the Ušće Tower. The left column of Geneks Towerwas conceivedas a residential block, with the right columnoccupiedby companieswhoseemployees livedinthe leftwing. The ideawas thatworkerswouldn’t have to move beyond the building, given that the two towers were connected by a tunnel at the top.The left tower remains a residential buildingtoday,whiletheright tower ispractically empty, given that all the companies from that time have long since collapsed. Aswemakeourway through themass of modern cars in our old-timer, Vojin tells us that interest among foreigners is growingyear onyear,most notably for their two

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzExMjc5