A contribution to the research of the architecture of the Court complex on Terazije: Knežev dvorac (Stari konak) and the Court of Crown Prince Mihailo

Abstract

This paper presents research on the historical and urban development of the palace complex on Terazije during the 19th and early 20th centuries, placing a focus on the period from the 1840s to the 1880s, i.e. upon the architecture of the Prince's Court (Knežev dvorac, also known as the Stari konak) and the Court of Crown Prince Mihailo, which were both demolished in the early 20th century. The process of urban transformation of the complex and the design of buildings for the accommodation of the then-rulers is presented, based on the available historical material (old plans and photographs), as well as pre-existing interpretations of this topic available in published literature. Both the appearance of the court buildings and the complex itself in certain phases of development are reconstructed, facilitated by comparative situational representations and axonometric projections. A typological and stylistic analysis of the architectural characteristics of the Stari konak and the court, which are to be considered representative examples of the transition from the Classicist to the Romantic era of Serbian architecture in the middle of the 19th century, is given. The paper places a particular emphasis on the historical and cultural significance in the present of these now-demolished buildings for preserving the memory of an extremely important period in the history of the modern Serbian state.

Keywords

• belgrade
• terazije court complex
• stari konak
• court of crown prince mihailo
• urban transformation
• design