Mirjana Roter Blagojević
The modernization and urban transformation of Belgrade in the 19th
and early 20th centuryThe main goal of the paper is to highlight some important issues connected
with the urban modernization of Belgrade around 1900. The focus is on the
political, social and cultural changes and the urban transformation of the city
from a Levantine to a European one.
After the establishing of the Serbian Principality in the early 19th century the
influences of the European culture and academic architecture start coming
in, but an Ottoman way of living is still quite obvious. The process of social
and cultural changes is characterized by the emancipation from the Oriental
influences and the adaptation of the western social and cultural values. The
changes are supported by the Austrian Empire and many Serbs, born and/or
educated there, come to Serbia.
The transformation of the settlement surrounded by a trench is introduced
by the plan of Josimović, 1867, which proposes the exchange of the Levantine
morphology by a regular orthogonal grid of streets following the models of
Vienna and Budapest. The transformation and growth of Belgrade gathers
speed after the proclamation of the Kingdom, 1882, as a result of the foreign
investments, coming mostly from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The
construction of the railway network, connecting Serbia with its neighboring
countries is of particular importance. The turn of the century is marked by
intensive constructions works.
The European influences in architecture and urbanism are quite strong in the
early 20th century, best expressed by the Master Plan of Belgrade from 1912
made by the French architect Chambon. He proposes an orthogonal street
network and numerous diagonal directions, introducing the spirit of the
19 th century French urbanism. He draws in the Haussmann scales a circular
boulevard, clearly dividing the urbanized area from its periphery and proposes
the formation of eleven monumental ensembles with imposing public buildings.
However, the Master Plan doesn’t consider the problems of the inherited
urban patterns and those of the poor infrastructure. This is the reason the city
authorities are criticized by the Belgrade engineers and architects for their
inadequate planning approach. Some of these problems are solved after the
WW I, but many are still present today.