The Royal Compound ( sr, Краљевски комплекс, Kraljevski kompleks) is a complex of residences built with the personal funds of
King Alexander I for the
Karađorđević royal family between 1924 and 1937. The compound is located in the
Dedinje
Dedinje ( sr-cyrl, Дедиње, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Savski Venac. Dedinje is generally considered the wealthiest part of Belgrade, and is the site of numerous ...
neighborhood, a prestigious area of
Belgrade,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
. It consists of two primary residences: the Royal Palace and the
White Palace.
The Royal Compound covers an area of 134
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
, of which 27 hectares surround the Royal Palace and another 12 hectares the White Palace. The service buildings include kitchens, garages, guards barracks and the office of the Marshal.
Parks and gardens
The Royal Compound is covered with parks of the
English garden
The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
type, where the vegetation is allowed to grow naturally, whereas around the two palaces the
French garden
The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...
concept of park arrangement is applied, meaning that flowers, bushes and trees have neatly shaped forms and are planted in strictly geometrical order.
Thatched House
The Thatched House (Slamnata kuća) is a structure built in the style of old traditional houses. King
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yu ...
used to reside in this house supervising the construction works at the Royal Compound, and it also served as the studying room for King Alexander’s three sons (later King
Peter II,
Prince Tomislav,
Prince Andrej) and the art studio of
Queen Maria.
Royal Palace
The
Royal Palace is a grand stucco villa in the Serbo-Byzantine style by architect Živojin Nikolić and assisted by
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
immigrant architects Nikolai Krasnov and Victor Lukomsky, was built from 1924 to 1929 as an ideal home for King Alexander I and Queen Maria. The King thought that it would be a nice and quiet place, away from the city noise and curious public eyes.
Visitors are able to see: The formal entrance hall with details taken from
Serbian medieval art, Blue Salon, Royal Dining Room, Royal Library, Atrium, the Salon of the Wedding Gifts or Palma il Vecchio Salon – and The King’s Office. The palace's basement features a unique leisure room with a cinema theatre and billiard tables.
White Palace
It is another Palace within the Royal Compound.
The White Palace (Beli Dvor) is located within the same Royal Compound in Dedinje as the Royal Palace and it was commissioned by command of His Majesty King Alexander I. The White Palace was built with the private funds of King Alexander I as the residence for his three sons HRH Crown Prince Peter (the future King Peter II and father of HRH Crown Prince Alexander), Prince Tomislav and Prince Andrej .
Royal Chapel
the Royal Chapel, which is located within the Royal Compound, is devoted to
Saint Apostle Andrew The First-Called, the patron Saint of
the Royal Family of Yugoslavia. The church was built at the same time as the Royal Palace and is attached to it through a colonnade with semicircular arches from where there are magnificent views towards northern, western and southern parts of Belgrade, as well as to the terraced rose gardens. It is covered with
frescoes painted by Russian painters who travelled around Serbia and copied the frescoes of the most famous
Serbian medieval monasteries. The final decoration was chosen personally by King Alexander I with help from the architect Nikolai Krasnov. During the Communist era, the church was repeatedly desecrated, it served as a storage room for cleaners and gardeners. One of the most obvious signs of desecration is a bullet hole in
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
’s forehead and a scratch of the Angel’s wings, representing the communist symbolic "murder of God". The church is today used by the Royal Family, especially during
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
,
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
, and
Slava (patron saint day).
The Royal Compound, which many still wrongly call "Beli dvor" because it associates them with
Josip Broz Tito, is now the home of
Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and his family.
The Royal Compound opened its doors for the Days of European Cultural Heritage event and has participated at tourist fairs.
[The Office of HRH Crown Prince Alexander II, ''Royal Compound presented at Novi Sad fair 9–12 October'' (press release), Belgrade, 9 October 2007.]
References
External links
*
The Mausoleum of the Royal Family
{{Coord, 44, 45, 56, N, 20, 27, 13, E, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title
Palaces in Serbia
Royal residences in Serbia
Buildings and structures in Belgrade
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1920s establishments in Serbia
Savski Venac