Academic Park ( sr-cyr, Академски парк, Akademski park) is a park in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, the capital of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. It is situated in the neighborhood of
Studentski Trg
Studentski Trg ( sr-cyr, Студентски Трг), or Students Square, is one of the central town squares and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. In the Classical ...
, in the downtown. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of
Stari Grad. Built from 1886 to 1889, Academic Park is one of the oldest parks in Belgrade.
Location
Academic Park is located halfway between the
Republic Square (to the east) and the
Belgrade Fortress
The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in a ...
(to the west). It is completely encircled by Studentski Trg, which is effectively turned into the four streets around the park.
Names
When formed, the park was called "Little Park" (''Mali park'') and later was renamed to "Pančić's Park" (''Pančićev park''). Today, it is officially named Academic Park,
but colloquially it is also called "University Park" (''Univerzitetski park'') and "Students' Park" (''Studentski park'').
History
Roman period
Northern section of the park was excavated in 1968 in the project of building a
furnace oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
tank for the
boiler room of the Belgrade's City Committee of the League of Communists located nearby. Under the lawn, the remnants of the ancient
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
thermae
In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
were discovered, including the
frigidarium
A frigidarium is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or ''thermae'', namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool.
The succession of bathing activities in the ''thermae'' is not known with certainty, but it is thought ...
(room with the cold water),
laconicum
The ''laconicum'' (i.e. Spartan, ''sc.'' ''balneum'', bath). Cf. Greek ''pyriaterion to lakonikon'' "the Laconian vapour-bath"; , . was the dry sweating room of the Roman ''thermae'', contiguous to the ''caldarium'' or hot room. The name was given ...
(room with the warm water where people would sweat and prepare) and
caldarium
230px, Caldarium from the Roman Baths at Bath, England. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor.
A caldarium (also called a calidarium, cella caldaria or cella coctilium) was a room ...
(room with the two pools of hot water). The site became an archaeological dig in 1969 and 8 rooms in total were discovered, including the remains of the brick furnace which heated the water. It was a public unisex bath dated to 3rd or 4th century. The entire area of the park is actually within the borders of the "Protected zone of Roman
Singidunum
Singidunum ( sr, Сингидунум/''Singidunum'') was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celts, Celtic origin, going back to the time when Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in ...
". It is situated in the area that used to be the civilian sector of the city, outside the fortress. The remnants were visible until 1978 and due to the lack of funds to continue excavations or to cover it with the roof or a marquee, the remains were conserved and buried again.
Great Market
Area of the park and the square surrounding it used to be a Turkish cemetery. At the beginning of the 19th century, farmers were selling goods at the entrances to the city. However, Turkish soldiers would often forcibly buy goods from them at the small prices, and then sell it themselves in the city for much higher amounts. After constant complaints from the farmers, vizier of Belgrade, after counseling with the city merchants, agreed to choose one place for the market. Market became operational in 1824. As per Serbian-Turkish agreement anyone could bring and sell goods, market quickly grew and became city's commercial center and was known as the Great Market (Serbian: ''Velika pijaca'' or ''Veliki pijac''). Remaining, smaller part of Turkish cemetery, which was functional until the 1860s, was fenced by the local Turks to prevent further deterioration. After Turks completely withdrew from Belgrade and Serbia in 1867, the cemetery became overgrown with grass and was turned into the meadow, called "Little field" (''Poljanče'') by the local population.
Park
First modern Belgrade's urbanist
Emilijan Josimović
Emilijan Josimović (Moldova Nouă, Caraș-Severin County, then part of Austrian Empire, 1823 – Sokobanja, 25 May 1897) was a Serbian urban planner who designed the first urban plan of Belgrade at the same time as Cerdà in Barcelona and Georges ...
suggested dislocation of the market in 1867, as it was placed in the sole center of the city, and he deemed it inappropriate for the Great School to be across the market. He envisioned the social center or pedestrian square ("
piazza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
") in the form of the park with tall deciduous trees instead. However, when the
horse-drawn tram
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...
was introduced in Belgrade 1892, as it passed through this part of the city, the market actually bloomed even more. Josimović met with much resistance and only some time before his death, he persuaded city government to decide to split the market in two and to form a park in one of the sections. The open space area around the market, which was now a defunct Turkish cemetery, and the northwestern section were turned into the park, as Josimović originally envisioned. He also proposed for the nearby buffer zone between the city and the Fortress to be adapted into the
Kalemegdan Park
The Kalemegdan Park ( sr, / ), or simply Kalemegdan ( sr-Cyrl, Калемегдан) is the largest park and the most important historical monument in Belgrade. It is located on a cliff, at the junction of the River Sava and the Danube.
Kal ...
, as he considered parks the "air reservoirs". Some parts of the original park were constructed from the spring of 1886 to 1889, which was named Little Park.
![Spomenik Dositeju Obradoviću 0010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Spomenik_Dositeju_Obradovi%C4%87u_0010.JPG)
The park was officially opened on 11 May 1897, just two weeks before Josimović's death. On the same day, the monument to
Josif Pančić
Josif Pančić ( sr-cyr, Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a Serbian botanist, a doctor of medicine, a lecturer at the Great School (the future University of Belgrade), and the first president of the Serbian Royal ...
, work of sculptor
Đorđe Jovanović was erected in the park. As the monument was covered with cloth for a long time, citizens colloquially nicknamed the square a "plateau of the bagged man". The Pančić monument was the first such monument in Belgrade, and the park was soon renamed to Pančič's Park.
The market continued to operate until 1926 when was finally closed and its area was used to enlarge the Pančič's Park in 1927, when the present square was finally formed, with the park in the central part. The project was done by Đorđe Kovalevski. In 1929, the stone ornamental fence with the massive gates made of wrought iron was built around the park, projected by Milutin Borisavljević. It was projected in the style of Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
with Neo-Baroqe and Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
motives. The fence and the gates cost seven time more than the construction of the enlarged park itself two years ago. The fence has 74 decorative oval alcoves with ornamental wrought iron flower ornaments. It also has 176 decorative amphora-shaped vases, ornamented with the motives of ram heads and garlands. The fence and the ornaments are made of reinforced concrete with artificial stone covering. In 1930, the monument to Dositej Obradović
The monument to Dositej Obradović is located in the Academy Park, Belgrade, Serbia. Obradović was Serbian writer, educator and the reformer from the revolutionary period of the national awakening and rebirth. Also in the park are monuments of ...
(work of Rudolf Valdec) was transferred to the park from his previous location at the end of the Knez Mihailova
Knez Mihailova Street, ( sr, Кнез Михаилова улица, translit=Knez Mihailova ulica, officially: sr, Улица кнеза Михаила, translit=Ulica kneza Mihaila, label=none), is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgra ...
street, where it was unveiled in 1914. A monument to Jovan Cvijić
Jovan Cvijić ( sr-cyr, Јован Цвијић, ; 1865 – 16 January 1927) was a Serbian geographer and ethnologist, president of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and rector of the University of Belgrade. Cvijić is considered the ...
, sculptured by Oto Logo, was dedicated in 1994.[
]
In 1943, as part of the strategic bombing campaign within the scopes of the oil campaign against Nazi Germany, the U.S. began massive bombardment of the oil fields and refineries in Romania, known as the Operation Tidal Wave
Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...
campaign. On their return, as Belgrade was important strategic point, the bombers threw their unused bombs on the city. German occupational forces dug several pools across the city to storage water for extinguishing the fires. One of such pools was built in the center of the park. In time, citizens began to use the pools for swimming and the Germans didn't try to stop them so they became sort of public swimming pools. The pools were ultimately re-filled by 1950.
Characteristics
The park covers an area of . In 2007 it was protected
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
and declared the natural monument
A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.
Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...
.
In 2008, two species of bats
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
lived in the park.
Surrounding area is location of many educational and cultural institutions, thus the names (Academic/Students Park). They include:
* Rectorate of the University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia.
Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
in the representative Captain Miša's Mansion
The Mansion of Miša Anastasijević ( sr, Капетан Мишино здање, Kapetan Mišino zdanje) is one of the most notable buildings in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the University of Belgrade's administration and governance building.
History ...
;
* Faculty for Natural Sciences and Mathematics ( University of Belgrade);
* University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy ( sr, Филозофски факултет Универзитета у Београду), established in 1838 within the Belgrade Higher School, is the oldest Faculty at the University of Belgrade ...
;
* University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
The Faculty of Philology is one of the constituent schools of the University of Belgrade. The school's purpose is to train and educate its students in the academic study or practice in linguistics and philology.
History
The study of philology wa ...
;
* Kolarac Public University, with concert hall;
* Ethnographic museum Ethnographic museums conserve, display and contextualize items relevant to the field of ethnography, the systematic study of people and cultures. Such museums include:
List by country/region Albania
* Ethnographic Museum of Kavajë,
* Gjirokast ...
;
* A monument to Petar II Petrović Njegoš Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter.
Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra.
...
;
Reconstructions
A detailed project of park's repair was done in 1989 but was never conducted.[ It was renovated in 2009 (when the new fence on the north side was built and the new seedlings were planted),] 2011-2012 and 2015. New plane trees
''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.
All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...
, Callery pear
''Pyrus calleryana'', or the Callery pear, is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is most commonly known for its cultivar 'Bradford' and its offensive odor, widely planted throughout the United States an ...
s and photinia
''Photinia'' () is a genus of about 30 species of small trees and large shrubs, but the taxonomy has recently varied greatly, with the genera ''Heteromeles'', ''Stranvaesia'' and ''Aronia'' sometimes included in ''Photinia''.
They are a part of ...
s were planted and three flower rondelles were restored around the three monuments (Pančić, Obradović, Cvijić).
By 2020, the fence deteriorated a lot. The entire fence is built on the embankment as the continual wall which causes static instability. As the pressure is the strongest where the massive gates are, one of the gates was permanently closed due to the terrain settling which caused the shifting of the axis of the columns which hold the gate. Also due to the settlement, structural cracks developed in the ornamented wall, but also because it has no interruption in its design so the construction can't "work". Out of 74 alcove, 15 had no iron ornaments anymore, while almost all amphorae were either damaged or completely destroyed. In February 2020, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments drafted the project of static restoration, which includes reconstruction of all damaged or missing plastics.[
]
References
External links
{{Protected areas of Serbia
Parks in Belgrade
Protected areas of Serbia
Stari Grad, Belgrade