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Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building

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The Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building (Serbian: Зграда Савезног секретариjaта за народну одбрану, romanized: Zgrada Saveznog sekretarijata za narodnu odbranu, lit. "Federal Secretariat for the People's Defence Building"), also known as the General Staff Building (Serbian: Зграда Генералштаба, romanized: Zgrada Generalštaba), is a complex of government buildings, that formerly housed the Ministry of Defence of Yugoslavia and the General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army, now housing the Ministry of Defence of Serbia (in non-damaged part, tower of "Building B"). It is located in Savski Venac, Belgrade.

Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building
Зграда Савезног секретариjaта за народну одбрану
Heavily damaged "Building A" of the complex in March 2022
Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building is located in Belgrade
Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building
Location in Belgrade
General information
StatusDamaged / partially used
TypeComplex of buildings that housed the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense
LocationSavski Venac, Belgrade, Serbia
Coordinates44°48′20.2″N 20°27′40.5″E / 44.805611°N 20.461250°E / 44.805611; 20.461250
Construction started1957
Completed1965
Closed1999 (destroyed)
Technical details
Floor area49,235 m2 (pre-1999)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Nikola Dobrović

The complex was heavily damaged during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and was left largely derelict.

History

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The complex of buildings, intended for the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence of Yugoslavia and the General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army, was built from 1957 to 1965.[1]

 
The complex in 2013

On 29 April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the complex was bombed twice in the space of fifteen minutes.[2][3] Deserted at the time of bombing, this bombing was largely seen as to its symbolic significance as a representation of the state, rather than merely just for immediate tangible purposes.[1] It was bombed once again nine days later, around midnight on 7 May 1999.[3]

Except for removal of the entrance annex of the "Building B" in 2014, the building has not been repaired ever since and is Belgrade’s most famous ruins.

In 2015, the clearing of rubble from "Building A" was conducted, aiming to stabilise the structure.[4] On that occasion, around 5,000 square meters of the central part of the "Building A" was entirely demolished and the pillars for the part of the building close to the street were poured.[5]

In 2017, the Government of Serbia circulated plans for demolishing the remaining parts of the "Building A" in order of eventual rebuilding to its original appearance.[6] The Association of Serbian Architects launched an initiative for the submission of candidature for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, also saying that the Government of Serbia wanted to remove it from the Registry of Cultural Properties, but due to the long legal procedure chose the other path.[7] It condemned the government decision and marked potential demolishing of the "Building A" as a "definitive loss of our culture" as it is a "monument of suffering and brutality of NATO forces".[7] In 2015, on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the beginning of NATO bombing of Serbia, the Government of Serbia organized a ceremony in front of the complex, which some observers interpreted as the evidence that the ruins has indeed become a de facto war monument.[8]

There have been several other proposals for the building since then, including turning the building into a hotel.[9][10] The Prime Minister of Serbia at the time, Aleksandar Vučić, announced that there are plans for the construction of Monument of Stefan Nemanja and Museum of medieval Serbia at the site of the "Building A".[11][12] This idea was later abandoned as the monument was placed on Sava Square.[13]

In March 2024, Aleksandar Jovanović said that the Government of Serbia is planning to sign of a memorandum that will effectively give away the buildings to American offshore companies Kushner Realty and Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, registered to Jonathan Kushner, cousin of Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of former President of the United States Donald Trump.[14] The Minister for Construction and Infrastructure Goran Vesić confirmed that he received authorization from the Government of Serbia at a public meeting to sign a memorandum that the complex will be leased for 99 years to American offshore companies.[15] The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade announced that the building, has the status of a cultural property and that it had not received any official document proposing the abolition of that status.[16] Later on Jared Kushner published renderings that showed a luxury complex on the site of the complex.[17] In response, Ecological Uprising political party announced the launch of a petition to prevent the sale of the complex, and to build a memorial centre dedicated to the victims of 1999 NATO bombing on that site instead.[18]

On 15 May, the Government of Serbia has approved a contract with Jared Kushner in partnership with Richard Grenell on plans to build a $500 million luxury hotel on the bombed-out site of the buildings.[19] On 15 November 2024 the Government of Serbia made a decision to remove the building from the Central Register of Immovable Cultural Heritage, effectively allowing the government to realise its plan.[20] The decision becomes effective on 23 November 2024.[20]

Architecture

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The building was designed by Serbian architect, Nikola Dobrović.[1] It is located in the downtown Belgrade, split in two by Nemanjina Street. Its design was meant to resemble a canyon of the Sutjeska river, where one of the most significant battles of World War II in Yugoslavia was fought, with the street as a river dividing the two monumental, gradually completed tracts. As Nemanjina Street comes up the hill from the Belgrade Main Railway Station, the two parts of the building form a symbolic gate.[1]

In addition to cascading forms, facades are characterized by the application of contrasting materials - robust, brown-red stone from Kosjerić and white marble slabs from the island of Brač.[21] The most striking visual motif representing the window bars on the facades, designed in the spirit of late modernism.

The northern part of the complex, standing across the Government Building in Kneza Miloša Street, is named "Building A" with area of 12,654 square meters.[3] The southern part of the complex, across the Nemanjina Street, is named "Building B" with area of 36,581 square meters.[3]

 
Derelict "Building A", on the left, and partly-damaged "Building B" (tower currently housing the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence), on the right

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Milošević, Srđan (9 March 2015). "The ghosts of the past, present and future: the case of army headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia" (PDF). IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  2. ^ "A Kosovo Chronology". PBS. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "Tri varijante za ZGRADU GENERALŠTABA, ali na kraju ipak MORA DA SE RUŠI". blic.rs (in Serbian). 2 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Počinje rušenje nestabilnog dela zgrade Generalštaba" (in Serbian). Tanjug. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  5. ^ Rodić, Milena (11 May 2016). "ZGRADA GENERALŠTABA podeljena na DVA DELA" (in Serbian). Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Sanirali zgradu Generalštaba za 78, ruše je za 180 miliona". insajder.net (in Serbian). 28 February 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Generalštab je obeležje našeg stradanja". novosti.rs (in Serbian). 9 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  8. ^ Ejdus, Filip (2017). "'Not a heap of stones': material environments and ontological security in international relations" (PDF). Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 30: 23–43. doi:10.1080/09557571.2016.1271310. hdl:1983/46946960-3281-4175-a8c1-6b46971a4e3f.
  9. ^ "Trump Eyes Turning Serbian Army Ruin into Hotel". Balkan Insights. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Donald Trump to build a hotel in Belgrade". ExpatSerbia. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Na mestu Generalštaba spomenik i muzej Stefanu Nemanji". blic.rs (in Serbian). 21 November 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  12. ^ Dragović, R. (27 December 2016). "UMESTO SRUŠENOG GENERALŠTABA: Nemanjićima muzej naspram zgrade Vlade". novosti.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Generalštab ipak neće biti Muzej srpskog srednjeg veka". N1 (in Serbian). 15 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  14. ^ N, B. (13 March 2024). "Ćuta: Vlada poklanja Generalštab američkim ofšor firmama, na delu Beograd na vodi 2". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Vesić o lokaciji Generalštaba: Dobio sam ovlašćenje za potpisivanje memoranduma". N1 (in Serbian). 13 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture: Generalštab pod zaštitom". N1 (in Serbian). 15 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  17. ^ Lipton, Eric; Swan, Jonathan; Haberman, Maggie (15 March 2024). "Kushner Developing Deals Overseas Even as His Father-in-Law Runs for President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  18. ^ S, S. M. (15 March 2024). "Trampov zet objavio render za projekat kompleksa na mestu Generalštaba". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  19. ^ Lipton, Eric (16 May 2024). "Serbia Approves Contract With Jared Kushner for Hotel Complex". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ a b K, D. (15 November 2024). "Vlada odlučila: Zgrade Generalštaba i Ministarstva odbrane u Beogradu gube svojstvo kulturnog dobra". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  21. ^ Petrović, M. R. (30 July 2015). "Generalštab pola šminkaju, pola ruše". blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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