Karađorđev Park is located on the southern slope of the Vračar hill, beginning at the Vračar plateau and the National Library of Serbia and ending at the highway interchange of Autokomanda. It is elongated in the north to south direction, bordered by the Boulevard of the Liberation on the west and the Nebojšina street on the east. Today, Karađorđev Park in the term of neighborhood covers larger area than the park itself. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Vračar on the north, Neimar on the east and Autokomanda on the south, but the term spread on the area west and northwest of the park, so basically all the area along the Boulevard of Liberation from Autokomanda to the Slavija square is today called Karađorđev Park. Across the northernmost top of the park to the west is another park, Park Milutin Milanković. It is one of the busiest parts of Belgrade with very dense traffic as the Boulevard of Liberation is one of the major routes to downtown Belgrade. Area is mostly non-residential, with public buildings.
History
The predecessor to the modern park was a camp set by the Serbian army in 1806 during the siege of Belgrade in the First Serbian Uprising. After the Serbs secured Belgrade, killed soldiers were buried at this place and the place was arranged as the Insurgents Cemetery in 1848, when the Monument to the Liberators of Belgrade was also erected. Out of the 50 original tombstones, 12 still survives. As the ruling prince of Serbia at that time was Aleksandar Karađorđević, who was also the patron of the monument, the park which soon developed around the monument was named after his father, leader of the First Serbian Uprising and the founder of the Karađorđević royal family, Karađorđe. One of the first avenues in Belgrade was planted along the Kragujevac Road, in 1848, from which the park developed in time. The planted seedlings were of chestnut trees, and the chestnut alley descending from the original one still survives in the park. Originally outside the urban core of Belgrade, park was much enlarged in 1903-04, when it got, more or less, its present borders and a hedge which encircled it. After the World War I many additional monuments were erected in the park. Neglected for a long time, Karađorđev Park went through massive reconstruction and beautification in the early 2000s which completely rejuvenated the park, including new benches, children playgrounds and candelabra. The idea at the time was to turn it into the first English type park in Belgrade, with added wall around the park, gates with porters and working hours, but after the failed bids for the job, the idea is put on hold for the time being.
Characteristics
Pavilions
There is a small, pavilion-type house in the central part of the park. There were also two swimming pools in front of it, built during the Interbellum. After World War II, in the 1950s, the venue was adapted into the children's cultural center. In time, the venue was abandoned and the pools were covered with earth and the flowers were planted. There was another, even smaller, green pavilion, at the plateau behind the house. It was used for selling food and beverages, but was demolished later. In September 2019 it was announced that the house will be adapted into the "Momo Kapor Endowment".
Monuments
Monuments in the park include:
"Monument to the Liberators of Belgrade", erected in 1848, the oldest public monument in Belgrade. Dedicated to those killed in the liberation of Belgrade in 1806, it is 547 centimeters high, made of stone with the cover of artificial rock. Erected by the prince Aleksandar Karađorđević, it was renovated by the kingAleksandar Obrenović in 1889.
"Monument to the third-class reservists", erected in 1923, dedicated to the soldiers of the final reserve killed in the World War I. Made of natural stone, it is 470 centimeters high.
"Monument to Alphonse de Lamartine", dedicated to the French poet, erected in 1933.
Stone memorial dedicated to the victims killed in an underground shelter during German bombing of Belgrade on April 6, 1941. Built hastily before the war began, it suffered a direct hit by a bomb and collapsed, killing 192 Belgraders.
In 1979 it was decided to erect the Monument to Karađorđe, but instead in the park named after him, the monument was erected on the Vračar plateau, across the Nebojšina street, in front of the Temple of Saint Sava.
