The house of Jevrem Grujić is located in 17 Svetogorska Street, – the first designated heritage building since the founding of the Cultural Heritage Protection Institute of the City of Belgrade, in 1961. It is located in the immediate distance from the theatre "

Atelje 212 Atelje 212 ( sr-Cyrl, Атеље 212) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Established in 1956 on the premises of the '' Borba'' building in front of 212 chairs, its opening play was the staging of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' dir ...

". The descendants of Jevrem Grujić, a prominent figure of the Serbian 19th century diplomacy, still live in this house. The life and work of members and descendants of the Grujić family is associated with the important political and social events in Serbia.

Јevrem Grujić

For more information, see: Jevrem Grujić.

The history

Jevrem Grujić built this two-storey house in 17 Svetogorska Street for his daughter Mirka, honorary lady-in waiting to Queen Marija Karađorđević and the chair of the "Kolo srpskih sestara". The house was built in 1896., according to the design of Milan Kapetanović, a Serbian architect educated in Munich, subsequently serving as a minister of construction.

The look of the house

The mansion The Mansion or The Mansions may refer to: Books * ''The Interior Castle'', also known as ''The Mansions'' (1577), a spiritual guide written by Teresa of Ávila * ''The Mansion'' (novel), a 1959 book written by novelist William Faulkner Buildings ...

has three historicist facades harmoniously combining

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

elements. In its own times it represented a typical town house designed according to the representation programme. The painted decoration in imitation of sgraffito makes it unique in the architecture of Belgrade. The painted decoration was the work of Domenico D'Andrea, an Italian master. In terms of the internal conception, the basis of the ground floor and the first floor are the same. The salon, the dining room and the kitchen were on the ground floor, and the bedrooms, the study, the library and the balcony overlooking the former garden were on the upper floor. The impressive entrance hall features white marble stairs with wrought-iron railings and a wall decorated with a composition in relief. The rich and diverse collection of movables, dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, comprises art works and utility objects, as well as the archival material. The arms collection from the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Second Serbian Insurrections was awarded a golden diploma and a medal at the Balkan States Exhibition in London in 1907. The collection spans generations of the Grujić family – from Teodor Herbez, finance minister under Prince Miloš, Jevrem Grujić, Slavko Grujić, General Kosta Protić, Stevan Ćurčić and many other family members, prominent figures of the political and cultural life in Serbia. The interior is adorned with the works of the most important painters of the national art:

Stevan Todorović Stevan Todorović ( sr-cyr, Стеван Тодоровић; Novi Sad, 1832–Belgrade, 1925) was a Serbian painter and the founder of modern fencing and Sokol movement in Yugoslavia. Biography Born in Novi Sad, Todorović moved in 1839 to Szeg ...

Uroš Predić Uroš Predić ( sr-Cyrl, Урош Предић, ; Orlovat, 7 December 1857 – Belgrade, 12 February 1953) was a Serbian Realism (visual arts), Realist painter. Along with Paja Jovanović and Đorđe Krstić, he is considered the most important ...

Paja Jovanović Pavle "Paja" Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Павле "Паја" Јовановић; ; 16 June 1859 – 30 November 1957) was a Serbian realist painter who painted more than 1,100 works including: '' The Wounded Montenegrin'' (1882), '' Decorating of the ...

Đorđe Krstić Đorđe Krstić also Djordje Krstić (, ; 19 April 1851 – 30 October 1907) was a Serbian Realism (visual arts), realist painter and Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, academic. He is often ranked alongside his contemporaries, Paja Jovanović ...

Uroš Knežević Uroš Knežević ( sr-cyr, Урош Кнежевић; 2 January 1811 – 21 October 1876) was a Serbian painter. Knežević is best-known as portraitist, having produced more than 200 portraits, mostly of notable people of his time. Life He ...

, Arsenije Petrović, Miloš Tenković,

Vlaho Bukovac Vlaho Bukovac (; ; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian painting, painter and academic. His life and work were eclecticism, eclectic, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed greatly over the course ...

as well as with the original pieces of furniture of different epochs. Along with the material values, the house also has intangible values. One of the important objects kept in this house is the wedding dress of Jelena Grujić from 1856.

The House as the Witness of Time

The meeting on which the secret agreement was signed between Serbia and Bulgaria for the liberation of all South Slavs from the Turkish slavery was held in the house, in 1912. That agreement was later on the basis for the creation of the

Balkan League The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which still ...

. After

The First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended, the house was Belgian embassy, where the first city balls and diplomatic receptions were organized, and after that, it was the French social society for providing help for children "A Drop of Milk". Right before the beginning of

The Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

the house was the meeting place of the female associations for the fight against the fascism, and since October 1944., in the days of the battles for the liberation of Belgrade, the partisan hospital was placed in the house. The house was visited by many important figures of Serbian politics and diplomacy, science and art, such as

Jovan Cvijić Jovan Cvijić ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Цвијић, ; 1865 – 16 January 1927) was a Serbs, Serbian geographer, Ethnology, ethnologist, university professor and academic. He was the president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, S ...

, Simo Matavulj,

Jovan Skerlić Jovan Skerlić (, ; 20 August 1877 – 15 May 1914) was a Serbian writer and literary critic.''Jovan Skerlić u srpskoj književnosti 1877–1977: Zbornik radova''. Posebna izdanja, Institut za knjizevnost i umetnost, Belgrade. He is seen as o ...

, Čeda Mijatović, Bogdan Popović,

Milan Rakić Milan Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938) was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rh ...

, Stevan Todorović,

Ivan Tabaković Ivan Tabaković (10 December 1898, Arad – 27 June 1977, Belgrade) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Serbian painter. Biography Tabaković was born in Arad, then part of the Habsburg Empire, in 1898, a son of noted Serbian architect Milan T ...

, dr Vukić Mićović as well as the members of the European noble families and other reputable persons. Milovan Milovanović, a minister of foreign affairs and the Prime Minister of the Serbian government (1911. – 1912.) used to live in the house. Jevrem Grujić's house is now a memorial place, the witness of many important political and cultural events, where, thanks to the descendants, the cultural heritage, tradition, national identity and avant-garde thoughts of Serbian society are continuously kept and preserved.

The Recent History of the House

In the basement of the house in 1967. the first Belgrade's disco club "At Laza Šećer's" was opened, named after its owner and Jevrem's descendant, a translator Lazar Šećerović.Blic online, retrieved on 10 October 2013. http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Beograd/17592/Prva-diskoteka-otvorena-u-kuci-srpskog-ministra ; NIN, when Belgrade was the world, retrieved on 10 October 2013 http://www.nin.co.rs/2001-09/06/19635.html ; Јеlena Kaličanin, retrieved on10 October 2013. Jevrem Grujić`s house http://www.jelenakalicanin.com/kucastil_lazasecer.htm

References

Literature

* The catalogue of immovable cultural assets of the Houses in Serbia Buildings and structures in Belgrade Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia)