Tašmajdan park
Encyclopedia
Tašmajdan Park colloquially Tašmajdan or simply just Taš, is a public park and the surrounding urban neighborhood of Belgrade
, the capital of Serbia
. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula
. Entire Tašmajdan Park is now closed for largest reconstruction since park creation in 1958.
, covering the extreme south-west corner of the Palilula municipality, bordering the municipalities of Vračar
on the south and Stari Grad
on the west. In narrower sense, Tašmajdan occupies the area bounded by the streets of Takovska on the north-west, Ilije Garašanina on the northeast, Beogradska on the southeast and Bulevar kralja Aleksandra
. The majority of the area is occupied by the park itself (central, east, west) while the northern and extreme western sections are urbanised. In wider sense, it occupies the additional area to the north (between Ilije Garašanina and 27. marta streets) and east (between Beogradska and Karnedžijeva streets) The latter is also known as Little Tašmajdan. Tašmajdan is bordered by the neighborhoods of Palilula on the northeast, while it extends into the neighborhoods of Vukov Spomenik
, Krunski Venac
and Nikola Pašić Square
on the east, south and west, respectively.
were extracting stone from the quarry located in the area for the building of Belgrade's predecessor, Singidunum
and for many surviving sarcophagi from that period. The quarry
remained operational during Ottoman
period, thus giving the name to the entire location (Turkish
taş, stone and meydan, square), though it was also used for the extraction of saltpeter
, which was used in the gunpowder
production. Due to the proximity to the town, basically all stone buildings and walls in Belgrade from Ottoman period were built from the stone extracted here. Some historians believe that this is the actual place where the remains of the Serbian Saint Sava
were burned at the stake in 1595 by the Ottoman grand vizier
Sinan Pasha
(area known as Little Vračar) and not the Vračar hill itself or Crveni Krst
, another alternative site.
and the subsequent Siege of Belgrade in autumn of 1806, leader of the Uprising Karađorđe set his camp in Tašmajdan and conducted the liberation of Belgrade from there. A mound
in the eastern section of the area was used for public reading of decrees and laws. It was here that on November 30, 1830 the Sultan's hattisherif (decree) was publicly announced, declaring autonomy (de facto, internal independence) of Serbia and granting hereditary ruling rights to the Obrenović dynasty.
when Serbian prince Miloš Obrenović ordered the building of a new town around the old Kalemegdan
fortress (Savamala
neighborhood), he also ordered that the old Serbian cemetery from Varoš-kapija (City gate) be moved to Tašmajdan, which was done in 1828. New cemetery was intended as and "international" contrary to the exsicting practice, so beside Serbs, it was also the burial place for Hungarians, Germans, Greeks, Italians and French. In the western section of the cemetery the Catholics and Protestants were buried, Serbs on the central promenade, while area around modern Seisomology Institute was left for the soldiers, suicides and drowned ones. In 1835 a small Palilulska church was built. Some of the most important Serbs from this period were buried in the churchyard
, including politicians Toma Vučić Peršić and Stojan Simić and Stevan Knićanin
, philologist Đura Daničić, botanist and first president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Josif Pančić
and philanthropist Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac. Belgraders protested because new cemetery, built on an inhabited fields, gardens and vineyards was away from then downtown, but already in the 1850s, the area surrounding the cemetery was completely urbanised, so the first plans for moving it again originate from 1871. City government bought the cemetery land in 1882 and gradual restriction of burials was conducted until it was closed in fully closed 1901. It was moved to the new Novo Groblje
(new cemetery), several blocks to the east, beginning from 1886 and the moving was finally completed in 1927 with park being planted instead of the old cemetery.
ridge-Tašmajdan).
In June 2010, it was announced that the park will be completely reconstructed as a gift of Azerbaijan
to Belgrade. As a sign of gratitude Belgrade will erect a monument to the former president of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev
in the park.
Small Palilulska church (church of Palilula) was built in 1835. It was destroyed in the German bombing of Belgrade
on April 6, 1941. Today existing Serbian Orthodox
St. Mark's Church was built in 1931-1940, in the medieval Serbo-Byzantine style, patterned after the Gračanica monastery
. The Serbian King Dusan
is buried inside, along with the Serbian Patriarch German
. Next to it is a small Russian Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity, built in 1924, inside of which the Russian general Pyotr Wrangel is buried.
is located. Centre administers several facilities located outside Tašmajdan, like "Pionir Hall
" and "Ice Hall". However, swimming pools are located in the park. The outdoor swimming pool was built in 1959-1961. Its dimensions are 50 x 20 meters; its depth varies between 2.2 and 5.0 meters; its capacity is 3,500 m³ and 2,500 seats. Next to the big one, there is a small swimming pool for children. Altogether, there is enough room for 4,000 people. It is equipped for international day-and-night competitions in swimming, water polo, water diving, etc and also used for certain cultural venues or as an outdoor cinema
during summer. It was one of the venues for the 2006 Men's European Water Polo Championship
in September 2006 in Belgrade. It will be the venue of the 2009 Summer Universiade
in July 2009 The pool has been renovated for the upcoming event. The indoor swimming was built in 1964-1968. Its dimensions are 50 x 20 meters and depth is between 2.2 and 5.4 meters; its capacity is 3,700 m³. The swimming pool is surrounded with four diving boards - 1, 3, 5 and 10 meters high and 2,000 seats. It is equipped with underwater light. At -16 °C, water and air can be heated up to 28 °C.
It has recently undergone a renovation. Concrete walkways have been placed (6,000 square metres), new stairways and new lighting have been also installed. In the centre of the park a playing area for children has been constructed. Near the children’s area there is a fountain which has also been renovated and 30 new benches have been placed in the park as well.
are found in the caves. Military arsenals and warehouses have been housed for a long time in the catacombs left after the excavations of stone blocks, and these catacombs have been also used as shelters and first-aid places for wounded soldiers. It was a major hiding place for the local population during the bombing of Belgrade by the Austro-Hungarian army in the World War I
. During the World War II
, the caves were the headquarters of the Alexander Löhr
, head of the German Air forces in Serbia. Headquarters were massive, with large metal doors, truck
entrances and fully prepared to support 1,000 soldiers for six month without making any surface contact. Vast labyrinth of corridors, expanded by the Wehrmacht
, branches into all directions beneath the city and today nobody knows how many of them there are or where they all lead. Future examinations are slowed because of the lack of funding and many remaining German mines. After 1945 the entrances into the caves were closed and new generations completely lost any knowledge of it. It was only in the 2000s that they were rediscovered and today are slowly turning into one of Belgrade tourist attractions.
in the underground caves beneath Tašmajdan. The project includes construction of 50 underground aquariums with about 1,000 cubic meters of water in the period of 9 years. Over 900 marine animals were supposed to be placed in the natural environment provided by the caves. The project was initially backed by the Ministry of trade in the Government of Serbia
and Belgrade City Assembly (the only problem appeared to be the building permit), but as of August 2008, the project which was promised to be "more than just exhibit space" and pompously announcing "the return of Pannonian Sea
to Belgrade" still exists only on paper.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the capital of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula
Palilula Belgrade
Palilula is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It has the largest area of all municipalities of Belgrade.- Location :...
. Entire Tašmajdan Park is now closed for largest reconstruction since park creation in 1958.
Location
Tašmajdan begins 600 meters southeast of the Belgrade's designated center, TerazijeTerazije
Terazije is the central square and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad.- Location :...
, covering the extreme south-west corner of the Palilula municipality, bordering the municipalities of Vračar
Vracar
Vračar is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade. With an area of only , it is the smallest of all Belgrade's municipalities, but also the most densely populated. Vračar is one of the three municipalities that constitute the central area of the...
on the south and Stari Grad
Stari Grad, Belgrade
Stari Grad is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It encompasses some of the oldest sections of urban Belgrade, thus the name...
on the west. In narrower sense, Tašmajdan occupies the area bounded by the streets of Takovska on the north-west, Ilije Garašanina on the northeast, Beogradska on the southeast and Bulevar kralja Aleksandra
Bulevar kralja Aleksandra
Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra , with length of 7,5 kilometers, is the longest street entirely within the urban limits of Belgrade, capital of Serbia...
. The majority of the area is occupied by the park itself (central, east, west) while the northern and extreme western sections are urbanised. In wider sense, it occupies the additional area to the north (between Ilije Garašanina and 27. marta streets) and east (between Beogradska and Karnedžijeva streets) The latter is also known as Little Tašmajdan. Tašmajdan is bordered by the neighborhoods of Palilula on the northeast, while it extends into the neighborhoods of Vukov Spomenik
Vukov Spomenik
Vukov Spomenik or colloquially Vuk is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, Krunski Venac
Krunski Venac
Krunski Venac is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade's municipality of Vračar....
and Nikola Pašić Square
Nikola Pašic Square
Trg Nikole Pašića or Nikola Pašić Square is one of the central town squares and an urban neighborhoods of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Square is named after Nikola Pašić who served as mayor of Belgrade, prime minister of Serbia and prime minister of Yugoslavia...
on the east, south and west, respectively.
Origin
Almost two millennia ago, RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
were extracting stone from the quarry located in the area for the building of Belgrade's predecessor, Singidunum
Singidunum
Singidunum is the name for the ancient city in Serbia which became Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It was recorded that a Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in the 3rd century BC following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 75 BC and later garrisoned...
and for many surviving sarcophagi from that period. The quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
remained operational during Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period, thus giving the name to the entire location (Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
taş, stone and meydan, square), though it was also used for the extraction of saltpeter
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
, which was used in the gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
production. Due to the proximity to the town, basically all stone buildings and walls in Belgrade from Ottoman period were built from the stone extracted here. Some historians believe that this is the actual place where the remains of the Serbian Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
were burned at the stake in 1595 by the Ottoman grand vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha or Sinan Pashë Kahremanliu was an Albanian Grand Vizier, Ottoman military commander and statesman.-Life:...
(area known as Little Vračar) and not the Vračar hill itself or Crveni Krst
Crveni Krst (Belgrade)
Crveni Krst or colloquially just Krst is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipalities of Vračar and Zvezdara.- Location :...
, another alternative site.
Uprisings
During the First Serbian UprisingFirst Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...
and the subsequent Siege of Belgrade in autumn of 1806, leader of the Uprising Karađorđe set his camp in Tašmajdan and conducted the liberation of Belgrade from there. A mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
in the eastern section of the area was used for public reading of decrees and laws. It was here that on November 30, 1830 the Sultan's hattisherif (decree) was publicly announced, declaring autonomy (de facto, internal independence) of Serbia and granting hereditary ruling rights to the Obrenović dynasty.
Cemetery
After the successful Second Serbian UprisingSecond Serbian Uprising
The Second Serbian Uprising was a second phase of the Serbian revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire, in 1813. The occupation was enforced following the defeat of the First Serbian Uprising , during which Serbia...
when Serbian prince Miloš Obrenović ordered the building of a new town around the old Kalemegdan
Kalemegdan
Belgrade Fortress , represent old citadel and Kalemegdan Park on the confluence of the River Sava and Danube, in an urban area of modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad...
fortress (Savamala
Savamala
Savamala is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipalities of Savski Venac and Stari Grad.- Location :...
neighborhood), he also ordered that the old Serbian cemetery from Varoš-kapija (City gate) be moved to Tašmajdan, which was done in 1828. New cemetery was intended as and "international" contrary to the exsicting practice, so beside Serbs, it was also the burial place for Hungarians, Germans, Greeks, Italians and French. In the western section of the cemetery the Catholics and Protestants were buried, Serbs on the central promenade, while area around modern Seisomology Institute was left for the soldiers, suicides and drowned ones. In 1835 a small Palilulska church was built. Some of the most important Serbs from this period were buried in the churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
, including politicians Toma Vučić Peršić and Stojan Simić and Stevan Knićanin
Stevan Knicanin
Stevan Petrović, KCMT , known simply as Stevan Knićanin was a Serbian voivode of the Serbian volunteer squads in Serbian Vojvodina during the 1848 revolution.-Life:...
, philologist Đura Daničić, botanist and first president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the most prominent academic institution in Serbia today...
Josif Pančić
Josif Pancic
Josif Pančić OSS was a Serbian botanist. He was a famous lecturer at the Great School in Belgrade and the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy. Pančić is credited for discovering the new species of coniferthe Serbian Spruce.-Biography:...
and philanthropist Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac. Belgraders protested because new cemetery, built on an inhabited fields, gardens and vineyards was away from then downtown, but already in the 1850s, the area surrounding the cemetery was completely urbanised, so the first plans for moving it again originate from 1871. City government bought the cemetery land in 1882 and gradual restriction of burials was conducted until it was closed in fully closed 1901. It was moved to the new Novo Groblje
Novo groblje
Novo groblje is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christian cemetery in Belgrade. The newly developed cemetery in that period had no chapel or church...
(new cemetery), several blocks to the east, beginning from 1886 and the moving was finally completed in 1927 with park being planted instead of the old cemetery.
1999 NATO bombing
Tašmajdan was bombed again during the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia when several objects in Tašmajdan park were badly hit:- 23 April 1999 - At 2:06 NATO bombed the building of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTSRadio Television of SerbiaRadio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
) situated in Tašmajdan park. Part of the building collapsed, trapping people who were working in the building that night. Sixteen people were killed while many were trapped for days.
- 24 April 1999 - A children’s theatre "Duško Radović" in the heart of Tašmajdan park was badly damaged due to its close proximity to neighbouring buildings that were bombed.
- 30 June 1999 - A heart-like shaped monument was erected by the city of Belgrade for all the children that have died in the bombing. The monument says "We were just children" in English and Serbian.
Present
The neighborhood of Tašmajdan forms a local community (mesna zajednica), sub-municipal administrative unit within Palilula. It had a population of 4,018 according to the 2002 Census of population. With the surrounding area it forms the cultural-historical complex Stari Beograd (Old Belgrade), while the park itself is in the zone of the protected natural area of Miocenski sprud-Tašmajdan (MioceneMiocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
ridge-Tašmajdan).
In June 2010, it was announced that the park will be completely reconstructed as a gift of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
to Belgrade. As a sign of gratitude Belgrade will erect a monument to the former president of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev , also spelled as Heidar Aliev, Geidar Aliev, Haydar Aliyev, Geydar Aliyev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.From 1969 till 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet...
in the park.
Churches
Bombing of Belgrade in World War II
The city of Belgrade was bombed during two campaigns in World War II, the first undertaken by the Luftwaffe in 1941, and the latter by Allied air forces in 1944.- German bombing :...
on April 6, 1941. Today existing Serbian Orthodox
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
St. Mark's Church was built in 1931-1940, in the medieval Serbo-Byzantine style, patterned after the Gračanica monastery
Gracanica monastery
Gračanica is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Kosovo. It was founded by the Serbian king Stefan Milutin in 1321. Gračanica Monastery was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia, and on 13 July 2006 it was placed on UNESCO's...
. The Serbian King Dusan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia
Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty , was the King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks until his death on 20 December 1355. Dušan managed to conquer a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time...
is buried inside, along with the Serbian Patriarch German
Patriarch German
Patriarch German was the 43rd Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1958 to 1990. Nicknamed the red patriarch by his opponents, he was successful in revitalizing the Serbian Orthodox Church to a certain extent during the Communist period, despite two schisms that occurred during his...
. Next to it is a small Russian Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity, built in 1924, inside of which the Russian general Pyotr Wrangel is buried.
Sports complex
Within the Tašmajdan park a sports complex of Tašmajdan Sports CentreTašmajdan Sports Centre
Tašmajdan Sports and Recreation Center is a sporting and recreational complex situated in the city of Belgrade, Serbia, which was founded by the Assembly of the City of Belgrade in 1958. In recent years, the stadium has shown very visible signs of aging. This led to many public personalities in...
is located. Centre administers several facilities located outside Tašmajdan, like "Pionir Hall
Pionir Hall
Pionir Hall, or Pionir Arena is a sports arena in Belgrade, Serbia, located in the Belgrade's municipality of Palilula...
" and "Ice Hall". However, swimming pools are located in the park. The outdoor swimming pool was built in 1959-1961. Its dimensions are 50 x 20 meters; its depth varies between 2.2 and 5.0 meters; its capacity is 3,500 m³ and 2,500 seats. Next to the big one, there is a small swimming pool for children. Altogether, there is enough room for 4,000 people. It is equipped for international day-and-night competitions in swimming, water polo, water diving, etc and also used for certain cultural venues or as an outdoor cinema
Outdoor cinema
An outdoor cinema consists of a digital or analog movie projector, scaffolded construction or inflatable projection screen, and sound system....
during summer. It was one of the venues for the 2006 Men's European Water Polo Championship
2006 Men's European Water Polo Championship
The 2006 Men's European Water Polo Championship was the 27-th edition of the event organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation...
in September 2006 in Belgrade. It will be the venue of the 2009 Summer Universiade
2009 Summer Universiade
The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade were celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from 1 July to 12 July 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina , close to Belgrade. It was the largest sporting event ever to be organised...
in July 2009 The pool has been renovated for the upcoming event. The indoor swimming was built in 1964-1968. Its dimensions are 50 x 20 meters and depth is between 2.2 and 5.4 meters; its capacity is 3,700 m³. The swimming pool is surrounded with four diving boards - 1, 3, 5 and 10 meters high and 2,000 seats. It is equipped with underwater light. At -16 °C, water and air can be heated up to 28 °C.
Other
- the main post office building of the national post office company Pošta SrbijePošta SrbijePošta Srbije is the national postal service of Serbia with its base in the capital, Belgrade. Public postal traffic was introduced in Serbia in 1840. The first stamp was printed in 1866...
, built in 1934, in Takovska street.
- RTSRadio Television of SerbiaRadio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
main building in Takovska and Aberdareva streets.
- The University of Belgrade's Law SchoolUniversity of Belgrade Faculty of LawThe University of Belgrade Faculty of Law , also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia...
, in Bulevar kralja AleksandraBulevar kralja AleksandraBulevar Kralja Aleksandra , with length of 7,5 kilometers, is the longest street entirely within the urban limits of Belgrade, capital of Serbia...
.
- in 1909, the first Seismology StationSeismologySeismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...
was built in the future park area, and it still exists today.
- famed Belgrade "Madera" restaurant.
- Hotel "Taš".
- Metropol Hotel BelgradeMetropol Hotel BelgradeThe Hotel Metropol Palace is one of Belgrade's tourist symbols and architectural monuments. It opened in 1961 on Bulevar kralja Aleksandra, the longest street in the urban part of the city, designed by Serbian architect Dragiša Brašovan...
, in Bulevar kralja AleksandraBulevar kralja AleksandraBulevar Kralja Aleksandra , with length of 7,5 kilometers, is the longest street entirely within the urban limits of Belgrade, capital of Serbia...
.
- statue of the leading poetess in the Serbian poetry, Desanka MaksimovićDesanka MaksimovicDesanka Maksimović was a Serbian poet, professor of literature, and a member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.-Biography:...
, erected in 2007.
- statue of Milorad PavicMilorad Pavic (writer)Milorad Pavić was a Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian. He was also a candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature....
, famous Belgrade writer
- children's amusement park.
- many rock pigeonRock PigeonThe Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
s can be seen in the park, popular among the birdwatchers.
- roundabout of the tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
line number 6.
Little Tašmajdan
Little Tašmajdan (Serbian: Mali Tašmajdan) is the extern extension of the park, across the Beogradska street which forms its western border, while Ilije Garašanina and Karnedžijeva streets form northern and eastern borders, respectively. Southern section of the complex is location of the Law Faculty and Hotel Metropol.It has recently undergone a renovation. Concrete walkways have been placed (6,000 square metres), new stairways and new lighting have been also installed. In the centre of the park a playing area for children has been constructed. Near the children’s area there is a fountain which has also been renovated and 30 new benches have been placed in the park as well.
Underworld
Geologically, caves under Tašmajdan are 6 to 8 million years old. Remains of the Roman aqueductAqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
are found in the caves. Military arsenals and warehouses have been housed for a long time in the catacombs left after the excavations of stone blocks, and these catacombs have been also used as shelters and first-aid places for wounded soldiers. It was a major hiding place for the local population during the bombing of Belgrade by the Austro-Hungarian army in the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the caves were the headquarters of the Alexander Löhr
Alexander Löhr
Alexander Löhr was an Austrian Air Force commander during the 1930s and, after the "Political Union of Germany and Austria" , he was a German Air Force commander...
, head of the German Air forces in Serbia. Headquarters were massive, with large metal doors, truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
entrances and fully prepared to support 1,000 soldiers for six month without making any surface contact. Vast labyrinth of corridors, expanded by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, branches into all directions beneath the city and today nobody knows how many of them there are or where they all lead. Future examinations are slowed because of the lack of funding and many remaining German mines. After 1945 the entrances into the caves were closed and new generations completely lost any knowledge of it. It was only in the 2000s that they were rediscovered and today are slowly turning into one of Belgrade tourist attractions.
Sea World
Underwater research company "Viridijan" announced in June 2006 it will began construction of the first Belgrade's sea aquariumAquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
in the underground caves beneath Tašmajdan. The project includes construction of 50 underground aquariums with about 1,000 cubic meters of water in the period of 9 years. Over 900 marine animals were supposed to be placed in the natural environment provided by the caves. The project was initially backed by the Ministry of trade in the Government of Serbia
Government of Serbia
Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...
and Belgrade City Assembly (the only problem appeared to be the building permit), but as of August 2008, the project which was promised to be "more than just exhibit space" and pompously announcing "the return of Pannonian Sea
Pannonian Sea
The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient sea located in the area today known as the Pannonian Plain in Central Europe. The Pannonian Sea existed during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, when three to four kilometres of marine sediments were deposited in the Pannonian Basin.-History:The Pannonian Sea...
to Belgrade" still exists only on paper.