The Nikola Pašić Square () is one of the central

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

s and an urban neighborhoods of

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 ...

, the capital of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. The square is named after Nikola Pašić who served as mayor of Belgrade, prime minister of Serbia and prime minister of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Until 1992 the square was named the

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Stari Grad, Nikola Pašić Square lies in downtown Belgrade as the direct extension of Terazije. Named after Nikola Pašić, Serbia's famous early 20th-century politician and prime minister, it overlooks the monumental building of the House of the National Assembly and itself extends into urban Belgrade's longest street, Bulevar kralja Aleksandra, while Dečanska Street connects it to the Republic Square.

History

At the corner of Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra and Dečanska Street, near the former "Topola" '' kafana'', the first

gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

in Belgrade was open. It was located on the spot close to the modern fountain, where the '' jardinières'' facing the National Assembly are situated today. In order to make room for the "contemporary works in the style of the Socialist realism", the new urban concept of Belgrade after 1945 "ruthlessly demolished all obstacles". In order to create the new, wide plateau of the square named after Marx and Engels and effectively being transformed into a parking later, several buildings were demolished prior to te beginning of the construction of Dom Sindikata in 1947. The square was built during the 1950s as part of a massive Terazije reorganization project. Inaugurated as the

and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

held in Belgrade that year. The obelisk turned out to be a temporary one, as it was removed some time after the summit ended. The plateau was paved with the red granite slabs and while marble slabs which formed stripes. For the first two decades the plateau wasn't easily accessible for the pedestrians as it was used as an unofficial parking lot. In March 1970, city announced construction of three underground garages below the square, with 500 parking spaces each. They were designed by architect Stojan Maksimović. One was planned below the modern fountain plateau, another one was to be below the Vlajkovićeva Street, next to the parliament building, while the third was planned on the location of the Pioneer's Park. Works on the one below the plateau were to start in the second half of the year. The garage in Vlajkovićeva was also to have a circular, above the ground, multi-level parking lot. These two garages were to be connected underground. In the end, only the garage below the Pioneer's Park was finished, and even that was only in 2005. In the 1970s, city administration decided to remodel the square and make it more pedestrian friendly. Various ideas were given, including the creation of a hillock. Still, nothing has been done until the 1980s. On the initiative of Đoko Vještica, famous Belgrade radio host, the greenery was planted on the square, including the plane trees. The square was re-paved with the six-squared concrete slabs and the fountain was remodeled in 1987, too. NikolaPasicStatue

Subsequently, in the early 1990s, it was one of the Belgrade's first

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s to change its name with the ending of the era of Socialist Yugoslavia. It was renamed from the Marx and Engels Square to the Nikola Pašić Square in 1992. A monument to Nikola Pašić was erected in 1998. When the statue was to be erected, ideas of bringing back the earth to the square in order to create an artificial hillock as a pedestal for the monument reappeared, but were again ultimately abandoned. In 2015, city organized design competition for three central squares, Republic Square, Terazije and Nikola Pašić Square. Design by Zorica Savičić and Zoran Dmitrović was selected. In 2017, city government announced reconstruction of the square which would include the demolition of the fountain and construction of a new, smaller one. In August 2020 city confirmed that the works may start in 2021. The design, especially the handling of its central piece, the fountain, met with negative public reactions so the city confirmed that the fountain will remain the same. City then announced that the fountain will be redesigned, but it will remain a classical fountain, though by August 2022 it became evident that reconstruction will not start before 2023, later rescheduled for the end of summer of 2023. The architects continued to insist on reduction of the fountain, and also asked for the Pašić's monument to be repositioned. This project also included reconstruction of the area in front of the assembly building. The "lavish fountain" was planned for the plateau along the boulevard, while the cars should move underground, as the idea of an underground garage in the Vlajkovićeva Street was revived. Start was planned for 2016. Instead, only re-paving of the plateau began in October 2021, and was to be finished by February 2022, but the renovation dragged on. Public debate on arranging the area continued, with some supporting the present, open for all status, while other suggested former solution by Nikolay Krasnov, which included avenue, decorative iron fence, gates and

sentry box A sentry box is a small shelter (building), shelter with an open front in which a Picket (military), sentry or person on Security guard, guard duty may stand to be sheltered from the weather. Many boxes are decorated in national colours. Compare: ...

es. This appearance was dismantled in the mid-20th century. City continued to push the reconstruction of the square, officially searching for the contractor in October 2023. Total projection of the cost was raised to 854 million dinars (7,2 million) in the span of three years.

Characteristics

The dominant architectural features in the square are the massive "Dom sindikata" building and one of the Belgrade's largest fountains. Museum of Yugoslav History is located across the fountain. Adjacent to the square is the Pioneers Park as well as the buildings of the Belgrade City Hall and the Presidency of the Republic. The pedestrian section of the square is used for various public events, most notably open flower, honey, and book sales. On occasion, artificial

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

or beach volley sand courts are put up as seasonal attractions in winter and summer, respectively. Total plateau area of the square covers .

Features

Dom Sindikata

Dom Sindikata ("Trade Union Hall") is a massive building, built in the style of Socialist realism. It was projected by Branko Petričić and the construction began in 1947. It was finished by the Russian construction workers from 1953 to 1957. That year the first seminar was held and on 18 November 1957 the first musical show. The Great Hall with 1,600 seats, became one of the central entertainment multi-purpose venues in Belgrade (concerts, shows, cinema). Conductor stated that the hall is one of the five in Europe with the best acoustics. In the 1970s and 1980s it became a prestigious scene, Belgrade's version of Paris Olympia. A massive reconstruction ensued in 1978 when the interior of the entry hall was remodeled. In time it became the

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

, with additional halls 2 (305 seats), 3 (105) and 4 (101), with the total area of . In 2013 the building was declared a cultural monument. In July 2017 the facility was closed for the impending complete reconstruction, projected to last up to 8 months. Due to the protected status, the overall appearance has to be preserved. The unique marble floor, banisters and handrails will be repaired and with he help of the vintage photos, the "old feel" will be kept. After the reconstruction, it will have five halls with additional venues, while the Great Hall will be reduced to 1,300 seats and will still be the largest concert hall in Belgrade. The building is designed in the manner of socialist realism, with the influences of the late

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 ...

. In terms of architecture, it is the symbol of the construction immediately after the war, and with its position and volume, it permanently set the outline of the square, which itself is one of the most important public spaces in Belgrade. Apart from architectural values, the building is important from the cultural and historical point of view, as many important political and cultural events happened in Dom Sindikata. For all that, it was declared a cultural monument in April 2013.

Bezistan

Bezistan is a shopping area in an indoor passage which connects Terazije and the Square of Nikola Pašić. Originally, it was a location of Hotel "Pariz", which was built in 1870 and demolished in 1948 during the reconstruction of Terazije. Passage has been protected by the state as a "cultural property", though still under the "preliminary protection", and was nicknamed by the architects as the "belly button of Belgrade". It is part of the wider protected Spatial Cultural-Historical Unit of Stari Grad. Since the 1950s, the covered square was a quiet corner in sole downtown, with mini gardens and coffee shops and a popular destination of many Belgraders, but in the recent decades mainly lost that function. In 1959 a round plateau with the fountain and a bronze sculpture, called “Girl with the seashell”, sculptured by , was built. A webbed roof, shaped like a semi-opened dome, made of concrete and projected by Vladeta Maksimović, was constructed to cover the plateau and the fountain. Because of that feature, and a small shops located in it, it was named "Bezistan", though it never functioned as the bezistan in its true, oriental sense of the term. Revitalization and reconstruction was projected for the second half of 2008, but the only work that has been done was the reconstruction of the plateau and the fountain in 2011. A popular disco club "Bezistan" was opened in the 1980s. It was located in the basement of the venue which was later adapted into the McDonald restaurant. It was different from other discos of the era, and was the only "dancing club" in the city. When the popularity of the

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...

reached Belgrade, the club organized dance competitions for participant from the entire Yugoslavia. Band Zana was promoted for the first time here, while band Aska practiced its choreography for their performance at the 1982

Eurovision song contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. The venue was closed in 1989. Bezistan covers an area of . The major feature within Bezistan was the "Kozara" cinema, one of the most popular in Belgrade for decades. It was closed in 2003, purchased by Croatian tycoon Ivica Todorić and allegedly planned as a supermarket for Todorić's Serbian brand "Idea" before it was destroyed by fire on 25 May 2012 It has been left in that condition ever since. Bezistan had candy and souvenir shops on one side, and modernistic section on other side, with McDonald's restaurant, modern coffee shop and "Reiffeisen bank", but as of 2018 it looks like nothing more than a neglected, empty passage. New possible reconstruction was announced in April 2017, followed by a series of postponing: for October 2017, January, March and May 2018. The project includes new paving of the area and reintroduction of the greenery. Nothing has been done, though, and in May 2019 part of the concrete ceiling collapsed so the city again promised to renovate the passage, sometime in 2019.

Fountain

The original fountain was built in 1959. It was designed by Hranislav Stojanović. The fountain was remodeled in 1987. It was reconstructed in the shape of an artificial cascade stream, with "spring" in the section close to the parliament building, and the "mouth" in the newly added section of the high jetted water. There are also two drinking fountains at the head of the fountain. The fountain became one of the symbols of Belgrade, featured in numerous music and promotional videos and printed on the post cards, especially using the angle with the parliament building behind the fountain. In time, a custom of graduation celebrations developed around it. Every year, graduate students from both the elementary and secondary schools, celebrate the last day of school by jumping dressed into the fountain. In 2017, city government announced that, within the scopes of the reconstruction of the square, it will demolish the fountain and build a new, smaller one, with the sprinklers on the ground level. Demolition of "one of the most recognizable city fountains" prompted a public opposition to the project. Chief city urbanist Marko Stojčič stated in July 2019 that the fountain is not envisioned by the new project at all, adding that he will "insist to keep water in some form". In August 2019, deputy mayor Andreja Mladenović said that the fountain will not be removed, not specifying if the old one will be kept or the new one will be built instead. As the opposition among the citizens continued, Stojčić stated that the new fountain will be similar to the existing one "to the extreme degree". Political opposition in the city hall, threatened to physically prevent the works in the square if the fountain is to be removed. In August 2020, city confirmed that the fountain will keep its location and appearance, and that only its rim could be modernized. City also wanted to make the fountain operational during the winter, too, but the architects who designed the project were against it. Architect Savičić, co-designer, accepted that their proposal for the ground fountain will be dropped, but suggested that the fountain should at least be reduced to its 1987 size.

Birds

The square's open space attracts various bird species, among them:

feral pigeon Feral pigeons are birds derived from domesticated populations of the rock dove ''Columba livia'', descendants that have escaped and are living independently from (and often unwanted by) humans, having gone "feral". They are sometimes given the ...

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pa ...

, hooded crow, European kestrel, and

common swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or Common house martin, house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The re ...

. Furthermore, walking around the square, it is possible to hear

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of No ...

and woodpigeon sounds emanating from the nearby Pionirski Park. Large gulls regularly fly over the square at higher altitude.

Gathering spot

1982 Palestinian solidarity rally

On 9 July 1982, the square, then named after Marx and Engels, was the site of a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

solidarity rally. Named "Solidarity with the Struggle of the Palestinian People" and held under the ' Death to fascism, freedom to the people' slogan, the event was Yugoslav youth's protest against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

as well as the Israeli

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Organized by the Yugoslav Socialist Youth League (SSOJ), youth wing of

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

's ruling political party—the Yugoslav Communist League (SKJ), the rally was held in front of 30,000 people. It featured speeches from the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) general-lieutenant and

Order of the People's Hero The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; , ), was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav gallantry medal, the ...

holder as well as the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

(PLO) representative in Yugoslavia, Mohammed Nabhan. It also saw musical performances by

Riblja Čorba Riblja Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Рибља Чорба, pronounced ; ) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav Rock music, rock band formed in Belgrade in 1978. The band has been one of the most popular and most influential acts of the Popular music in the So ...

, Električni Orgazam, Radomir "Točak" Mihailović, and Aki Rahimovski. A group of Yugoslav liberal dissidents used the rally to protest against the regime and were arrested. They carried the banner of

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

, the Polish labor union and an anti-authoritarian social movement.

1984 Maj Rok

On 25 May 1984— Marshal Tito's "birthday", known in SFR Yugoslavia as the Day of Youth—the square saw a large open-air rock concert the admission for which was free of charge. Twelve Yugoslav rock acts took the stage in front of reportedly 90,000 spectators. The acts that participated in order of appearance were: Delta 9, Beta Kentauri,

Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly M ...

, U Škripcu, Električni Orgazam,

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, Divlje Jagode,

Zabranjeno Pušenje Zabranjeno Pušenje () is a Bosnian Rock music, rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with Bosnian folk music, folk influences, often featuring innovative production a ...

, Dʼ Boys,

Disciplina Kičme Disciplin A Kitschme, originally known as Disciplina Kičme ( sr-Cyrl, Дисциплина Кичме, transl. ''Backbone Discipline''), was a Serbian and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslav and, for a period of time, Great Britain, British Rock music, r ...

, Kerber, and

Drugi Način Drugi Način (trans. ''The Other Way'') is a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Zagreb in 1974. The band was formed by Branko Požgajec (vocals, keyboard, flute), Halil Mekić (guitar), Željko Mikulčić (bass guitar), Ismet Kurtović (g ...

1986 Maj Rok

On 24 May 1986, another Day of Youth celebration was scheduled for the Marx and Engels Square with a multitude of Yugoslav rock acts booked and over 100,000 in attendance. However, the concert got interrupted early on when a huge downpour began and began to endanger the safety of the gathered crowd. The event was moved for 6 September 1986. And even though the rain fell again, this time the celebration was held in full.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikola Pasic Square Neighborhoods of Belgrade Squares in Belgrade Stari Grad, Belgrade Cultural depictions of Nikola Pašić