Oktobar

| 33 The largest andmost beautiful of Belgrade’s four gates during the periodwhen the citywas aTurkish town was the famous Stambol Gate. It was located between today’s National Theatre and the monument to PrinceMihailo on Republic Square, while it was named after the road that led from there to Istanbul. Despite its beauty, the gate was remembered as the place where the Turks tortured and killed Serbian rebels. That was why Prince Mihailo Obrenović ordered in 1866 that it be demolished and replaced with a symbol of progress instead of a reminder of the suffering of Belgrade. And back during the 1860s, the streets of Belgrade – which sat on the road between East andWest – were dark and narrow, while the world was increasingly adapting to Western tastes. That post-liberation time sawa need arise for education, culture and science. The first theatre plays were performed, but the absence of a bespoke space meant that they were performed in inns or hotel halls... That’s why Prince Mihailo promised to build a theatre. He unfortunately didn’t live to see the realisation of his idea, as he was assassinated in Košutnjak Forest in 1868. Nevertheless, the first play performed in the newly constructed theatre building at the end of 1869 was dedicated to him and called “The Posthumous Glory of Prince Mihailo”. Following the permanent establishing of the Serbian government and the demolition of the gate, the area of the square remained unregulated for a long time, with the National Theatre standing for three decades as the only building in the area. And it was after this building that the area of today’s Republic Square was originally calledTheatre Square. The symbol of the square today, the monument to Prince Mihailo, was erected in 1882, so the square began gradually gaining its first contours. It was from here, at the end of 1892, that the first tram ceremoniously embarked on the first Belgrade city transport line, connecting Kalemegdan and Slavija viaTheatre Square. The tram terminal was located there in the period between the two world wars, before being removed – along with the rails – after World War II. New life was also brought to the square by the Bohemians who gathered in the building that stood on the site of today’s National Museum. Known under the nickname“At the Horse’s Behind”, the cult kafana tavern “Dardaneli” was one of old Belgrade’s most famous taverns. Actors of the National Theatre happily came here at the end of the 19th century, and “Dardaneli” became a meeting place for Belgrade intellectuals. There newspaper articles and theatre reviews were written immediately after shows. Regular guests included the likes of Đura Jakšić, Milovan Glišić, Vlada Jovanović, Stevan Sremac, Janko Veselinović and Vojislav Ilić. The building of the kafana was demolished in 1901, only for the building of the Fund Mortgage Bank to emerge two years later – as the original occupant of the building that houses today’s National Museum. Until World War II, the site beside the National Theatre that’s today occupied by a small park was home to the ‘Kolarac’ tavern and cinema, named after the owner of the building and benefactor Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac. Reunion Palace, which housed the‘Jadran’cinema, was built in 1930. And although its appearance has been a cause of dispute for almost a century, it remains as one of the symbols of the Square. The area today occupied by the Simbol trga, spomenik knezu Mihailu, izgrađen je 1882. godine, The symbol of the square today, the monument to Prince Mihailo, was erected in 1882 1935. 1965. building of Press House had numerous dilapidated buildings packed with merchants’ workshops prior to World War II. Most of them were destroyed during the bombing of 6th April 1941. Upon the conclusion of the war, a tomb and monument to the fallen soldiers of the Red Army were situated nearby for a while, only for the remains to later be transferred to the Cemetery of the Liberators of Belgrade. It was during the following years that this square’s largest building emerged - Press House, which houses the Belgrade Cultural Centre with galleries, the International Press Centre, the “City Tavern”... Belgrade’s central square recently received a new look, more than a century and a half after its formation was launched. A lavish and spacious pedestrian area has been created, 12 flowerbeds with ornamental trees, four lanes for traffic, smart benches with free internet, sensors for temperature, air quality and noise, over 100 lights that are controlled remotely and can be adapted to events organised on the Square, a parking area for bicycles etc. Specially adapted granite on the pedestrianised area marks the spot once occupied by Stambol Gate, while individual granite slabs will also mark the origianl burial site of the Red Army soldiers who fell in the fight to liberate Belgrade in 1944. All of this adorns the new Republic Square in Belgrade, but it remains that same good old place that preserves memories of the history and culture of the capital, but also countless first dates...

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