Although the Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan have long been declared a cultural asset under protection, some real estate developers, close to the government, are building residential and commercial complex called the K-District in the lower part of the park, which seriously damages this historical site, known since Celtic times.
The construction is being carried out in a protected area, which is in breach of the Law on Cultural Heritage.
The architect and urban planner, Dragoljub Bakić, also warns that if a cable car were built on Kalemegdan, the Belgrade Fortress probably won’t be included in the UNESCO list of historical and cultural monuments.
“UNESCO has a project titled ‘Eastern Borders of the Roman Empire’, which focuses on historical sites along the river Danube and everything related to the Roman Empire, The Kalemegdan Fortress is included in this project and could be included as one of the historical and cultural monuments in the UNESCO list,” he says.
“The European institution called Europa Nostra, based in The Hague and Brussels, has included the Belgrade Fortress on the list of the 7 most endangered historical and cultural monuments if a cable car is constructed on Kalemegdan and warned the Serbian authorities that if they carry on with the project, the fortress will not be included in the list of historical and cultural monuments of great importance,” Bakić explains.
The K-district project was publicly presented in 2018 by real estate developer Vladimir Gogoljev and Finance Minister Siniša Mali. Subsequently, the construction of tennis courts owned, a project financed by Novak Djokovic began, which will, according to some, further contribute to the destruction of the cultural heritage of Kalemegdan.
(Nova, 02.03.2022)
https://nova.rs/vesti/drustvo/kalemegdan-nikada-nije-bio-ugrozeniji-unistice-ga-investitori/
Photo credits: “Vesna Lalić/Nova.rs”
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