| The Old Palace, the Royal Palace of the Obrenović dynasty of Serbia, presently housing the City Assembly of Belgrade, is situated at the corner of Kralja Milana and Dragoslava Jovanovića streets. It was built between 1882 and 1884, according to the design of Aleksandar Bugarski, in the style of academism of the XIX century, with intention to surpass all existing residences of the Serbian rulers.
Today, visitor meet the Old Palace which in time has changed its original interior and exterior look. Through the Central Hall (of 130 sqm), one can enter the Red Salon. In this room, the attention of the visitors will first be drawn to the "Portrait of a Girl", painted in 1862 by Đura Jakšić. There is also the painting "The Crossing of the Neretva River" by Ismet Mujezinović. In the same room, there are also gifts of foreign delegations: two porcelain vases with scenes from Saint Petersburg (gift of a Russian delegation) and a dish (gift of a Danish delegation). At the left side of the entrance into the Yellow Salon, there is the facsimile of a letter written by the Pope John VIII, of April 16. 878, - the oldest written document which mentions the Slavic name of the city - Beograd. This is, as a matter of fact, a part of the Register of the Pope John VIII, which is still being kept in the archives of the Vatican. Beside the facsimile, there is an artistic interpretation of that document, made by the well-known painter and graphic artist, Professor of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Branko Miljuš. To the right of the entrance, there is the Order of National Hero awarded to Belgrade on October 20, 1974.
In the next, Yellow Salon, there are several exceptional paintings. These are the paintings by Sava Šumanović, Jovan Bijelić, Petar Lubarda, Miodrag-Bata Mihajlović, Ljuba Lah, Jovan Zonjić, Peđa Milosavljević, Petar Omčikus and Vasa Pomorišac, as well as the wooden sculptures by Rista Stijović. In this Salon, there are also some gifts of foreign statesmen, delegations, associations and federations: a number of decorative plates, vases and sculptures.
The Yellow Salon leads to the Gala Hall, with an area of 260 sqm. The upper parts of the walls are adorned with stained glass windows which illustrate the people's liberation struggle and the working enthusiasm. At the consoles in front of the mirrors, immediately beside the entrance, to the left and to the right, there are brass chandeliers, 65 cm high, made in France, two standing ashtrays with decorative figures of three serpents (to the right), and two vases and porcelain chandelier (to the left). At the other end of the hall, there is a candy box with two angels, made in the same technique as the chandeliers and the porcelain vases. This hall gives access to the balcony. |