Momir Korunović
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Momir Korunović ( sr-Cyrl, Момир Коруновић), was a
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...
architect associated with
Serbo-Byzantine Revival The Modern Serbo-Byzantine architectural style, Neo-Byzantine architectural style or Serbian national architectural style is the style in Serbian architecture which lasted from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th ce ...
. He was sometimes called the 'Serbian Gaudi'. Although he designed many buildings in Belgrade and Yugoslavia between the two World Wars, he is largely forgotten today. Many of his works were destroyed or substantially altered during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the communist period.


Biography


Early life and education

Momir Korunović was born on April 17, 1883 in
Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of ...
, Serbia. He was raised in the village of
Glogovac Glogovac may refer to: Places * Glogovac, Kosovo, a town near Pristina * Glogovac, Bogatić, Serbia * Glogovac, Knjaževac, Serbia * Glogovac, Bela Palanka, Serbia * Glogovac, Jagodina, Serbia * Glogovac, Croatia, a village near Koprivnički Bregi ...
, where his father Prota Petar Korunović served as a priest. Korunović finished his higher education in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
and undertook postgraduate studies at
Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...
, funded by a scholarship from the Ministry of Education of Serbia. During his studies, he created a distinctive style that he continued to develop throughout his career.


Military service

Korunović served in the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
and received the Gold Medal for bravery for his professional merits and courage. His experience during the war later influenced Korunović to take an authentic Serbian point of view in architecture. He also served in the military during 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 ...
and retreated through Albania with the
Royal Serbian Army The Army of the Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Војска Краљевине Србије, Vojska Kraljevine Srbije), known in English language, English as the Royal Serbian Army, was the army of the Kingdom of Serbia that existed between 1882 ...
. During the war, he continued to make sketches and designs for subsequent projects.


Architecture

In addition to working in the civil service as a government official in the Ministry of Construction, Korunović was also a prominent member of the
Pan-Slavic Pan-Slavism, a movement that took shape in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with promoting integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled the South S ...
organization
Sokol Sokol, Sokół or SOKOL may refer to: Sports * Sokol movement, a Pan-Slavic physical education movement, and its various incarnations: ** Czech Sokol movement, the original one ** Polish Sokół movement ** Russian Sokol movement ** Sokol mov ...
. He was the head of the Belgrade Sokol Society "Matica" and was responsible for construction of about thirty Sokol movement buildings in Serbia. In 1926, he was the youngest member of the commission for the construction of the
Church of Saint Sava The Church of Saint Sava ( sr-Cyrl, Храм Светог Саве, Hram Svetog Save, lit='The Temple of Saint Sava') is a 79 m high Serbian Orthodox church, which sits on the Vračar plateau in Belgrade, Serbia. It was planned as the bishopric ...
. He participated in the "Salon of Architecture" exhibition in 1929. Among the many architects of that era, mostly architects of
modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
, he was a representative of traditional architecture and
romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
. During the occupation of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
, he continued to work in the ministry. He retired in 1942. After the war, he spent his retirement days in his house in
Vračar Vračar ( sr-Cyrl, Врачар, ) is an affluent urban area and Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade known as the location of many embassies and museums. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a popul ...
, where he mostly wrote his memories and illustrated earlier publications. He died on April 17, 1969 in Belgrade. He was buried in the village of Bogava.


Projects

Korunović build the Belgrade city center for physical culture "Stari DIF", located on Deligradska street in
Savski Venac Savski Venac ( sr-cyr, Савски Венац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 36,699 inhabitants. It is one of the three municipalities which constitute the ...
municipality. The project was built for the needs of the Sokol Society "Matica" between 1929 and 1936. He also designed a stadium ("Sokol stadium") for the 1930 Sokol manifestation in Belgrade. The stadium was located on the site of today's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. The stadium accommodated around 40,000 spectators. It had arched entrances, four for the audience and three for athletes. On the north side, there was a music pavilion in the form of an arched tribune, with towers in the background, decorated with the symbols of the All-Slavic Sokol movement. On the south side was the royal lodge. For this project, he was awarded the
Order of Saint Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a Order (distinction), state order awarded by both the Kingdom of S ...
. The Seismological Institute Building and the Post-Telegraph-Telephone Museum are also the work of Momir Korunović as well as many churches, monuments (for example, Zebrnjak and Memorial Ossuary, Mačkov kamen) and other prominent buildings, with total of 143 authored projects. In 1922 Korunović was entrusted with the task of renovating the marshal's office of the Yugoslavian Royal Palace so it would be suitable for guests coming to Belgrade for the royal wedding of King Alexander I Karađorđević and Princess Maria of Romania. The semicircular wings were kept for accommodations while the rest of the building was assigned to the Marshal of the Court. The building was demolished in 1953, as it blocked the view of the Parliament. The old Post Office has also been altered beyond recognition. The new, communist authorities, considered its façade "too bourgeois" so they removed the remains of the façade and reconstructed only the skeletal architecture under it, which suited the more simplified style which was pushed by the government in the immediate post-war period.


Selected works

File:Зграда Соколског дома „Матица“ 1.JPG, Sokol building in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
File:Sokolski dom Obrenovac.jpg, Sokol building in
Obrenovac Obrenovac ( sr-cyr, Обреновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 68,882 inhabitants, while the urban area has 25,380 inhabitants. The old name for Obreno ...
File:LjubljanaCvCirilaMetodaFotoThalerTamas1.jpg, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church (Ljubljana) File:Храм Покрова Пресвете Богородице у Београду 2.jpg, Church of the Cover of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belgrade File:Crkva Vaznesenja Gospodnjeg (nova), Krupanj 001.jpg, Church of Holy Ascension, Krupanj File:Zgrada Seizmološkog zavoda, Beograd.JPG, Seismological Institute Building File:Kuća Momira Korunovića 3.JPG, Korunović's family house File:Old Post Office in Belgrade during winter.jpg, Old Post Office File:Unrealized project by architect Momir Korunović3.png, Unrealized project, 1912-1914 File:Unrealized project by architect Momir Korunović2.png, Unrealized project of a Post office building, 1912-1914


See also

* List of Serbian architects * Milan Antonović * Dragutin Dragiša Milutinović


References


Literature

* Đurić Zamolo, Divna, ''Graditelji Beograda'', 1815-1914 * Kadijević, Aleksandar, ''Momir Korunović'', 1996 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Korunović, Momir 1883 births 1969 deaths Serbian architects People from Jagodina