The Beograđanka (; , lit. "Belgrade Lady"), officially Belgrade Palace (, ) is a modern high-rise building in the Belgrade downtown area.

A tall structure, it is one of the symbols of the city and representative of the "golden age" in the development of Belgrade during the 1965–1974 mayoral term of Branko Pešić.

History

House of Jeremija Milivojević was built on the location in 1890. It was a one-floor, corner house. The facades were ornamented in the Academism style. In 1941, right before World War II began in Yugoslavia, the plans were made to build the high-rise on the location. The investor was to be the , a major Serbian textile magnates. The plans were scrapped due to the outbreak of the war, and the Milivojević's house remained until the mid-1960, when it was demolished. Planned pre-war commercial highrise was designed by architect Grigorije Samojlov. Mayor Pešić laid the charter of the building's construction into the foundations on 29 March 1969 and the building was opened on 22 April 1974.

During the digging of the foundation, ten strong water springs were discovered. Eventually, they were all conducted into the city sewage system. The construction was executed using the latest methods in constructing and during the next 5 years, some 20,000 workers of all kinds were employed in erecting the building. Other hospitality venues were restaurant "STB" (formerly "Plato") on the 5th floor (known for its decorative gold plated tiles) and club B-74. After Vještica's death, the plateau was named in his honor. The plateau was embellished with the green wall along the Masarikova Street in 2014. The wall was fully renovated in April 2021.

Assessment

The building invoked both admiration and criticism. Some architects thought that the Interbellum skyline of Belgrade, which the Beograđanka disrupted, should be preserved. The main problem, however, appeared to be the dark colored façade. The critics ascribed it to the current fashion in architecture after the Toronto-Dominion Centre, while citizens who opposed it said that dark building doesn't fit to the white city (meaning of "Belgrade") and that dark paint should be scratched. Others asked was it really necessary to "thrust" it into the old core of the city. Still, with the lower annex, the building was nicely connected to the much lower objects in the adjoining block of buildings.

Tenants

The building is almost completely owned and operated by the City of Belgrade. The first several stories were occupied by the Robne kuće Beograd department store; on the other floors offices of Studio B (formerly city-owned TV and radio station) and Happy TV station are located. On the other floors, there are business premises, as well as the head offices of IKEA for Serbia and other Belgrade media are also located in the building. Blic daily still has some offices in Beograđanka although they have moved most of their business to a new building.

After the privatization of the "Robne kuće Beograd" in 2007, owner of the first four floors became "Verano Motors". Studio B is the only tenant who has been in the building since it was opened in 1974.

In July 2020, city offered half of the building for sale. The asking price was set at €20,6 million. Architects, economists, citizens' groups and political opposition started criticizing city's actions in these matters, especially with the similar, much longer failed process conducted for another symbol of Belgrade, the Sava Centar congressional center. Opposition politicians openly accused city administration of corruption and theft. Through repeated, collapsed biddings, the prices of the objects are being reduced each time, as allowed by the law, until they are sold to some tycoon close to the ruling establishment for a very low price. In August 2020 city again offered the same space for the lowered price of €16,5 million.

On 9 September 2020, offered part of Beograđanka was officially sold to the "MPP New Project", a daughter company of the "Marera Properties", for the offered price plus additional €8 million in future investments, as they were the only participants in the bidding. "MPP New Project" was founded two weeks prior to the bidding, with the capital of 100 Serbian dinars or €0.85. "Marera Properties" previously acquired several objects in Belgrade, founding separate companies for purchasing each one. Economic reporters and opposition parties regarded the sale as the confirmation of their claims that the entire job will be done "within the family", or the ruling party. Iconic building was sold for the price of €860 /m2, which is considered "miserable" for downtown Belgrade. Reporters discovered that "Marera Properties" basically exists only on paper, and that behind it is the Russian fund seated in Cyprus connected with offshore companies from the British Virgin Islands, which also recycles money from Serbia. Several present and former executives of the company turned out to be, directly or indirectly, connected to Siniša Mali, Serbian finance minister and former mayor of Belgrade.

In January 2021 it was announced that the reconstruction will be finished by the end of the year. Decorative lights will be added along the facade of the building, from the fifth floor to the top.

See also

  • List of tallest structures in Serbia

References

  • City of Belgrade