Renovation of bombed National Library planned – Digital department headquarters in Kosancicev Venac Street, depot in building in Vracar among priority projects

On the day they marked the anniversary of their institution, employees of the National Library of Serbia received assurances from the Minister of Culture, Nikola Selakovic, that the state would support the renovation of the old library building in Kosancicev Venac Street, which was destroyed 85 years ago in the April bombing of Belgrade, when numerous valuable documents, books and writings were permanently destroyed.

Selakovic, as reported by Beta, said that he was convinced that well before the celebration of the two centuries of the National Library of Serbia, it would celebrate a big and important date with a new depot, the construction of which was planned within the main building on Vracar.

– We will also help with the renovation of the administrative part, the building of the National Library of Serbia and the reconstruction of the old headquarters, the building that should testify that our culture was not killed – said Selakovic at the celebration of the 194th anniversary of the National Library of Serbia.

He added that the location in Kosancicev Venac Street will become the headquarters of the digital department of the National Library of Serbia, and that the Ministry of Culture, in drafting the “Serbia 2030-2035” plan, had prioritized the construction of the library’s depot.

Acting Director of the National Library of Serbia Jasmina Ninkov said that the year 2026 would mark the 85th anniversary of the destruction of the building in Kosancicev Venac Street, and added that she had submitted a request to change the regulation plan for that part of the city because a public review was underway, and to reconstruct the old building.

– The National Library’s initiative to restore the old building is that it should reflect the historical context of this institution in an area that had been neglected for years. The idea is to highlight the authenticity of the old building with the design of the memorial complex and to promote those values that have the qualities to become permanent – said Ninkov.

She stated that two public procurement procedures had also been carried out for two projects: the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the administrative part of the library of 18,000 square meters, and for the reconstruction of the library’s amphitheater.

As for the new depot, the preliminary design was developed by academy professor Branislav Mitrovic and associate professor Djordje Alfirevic, PhD. The new depot will occupy several underground floors, which will be intended for the storage of book materials. It is planned in the southwestern part of the National Library of Serbia complex, so that the roof and access areas of the new facilities retain the purpose of public, pedestrian and green space. The facility is planned as a unique form-functional entity that will be physically connected to the existing depot.

The PC Art studio from Belgrade has developed an urban planning design for the construction/expansion of the depot of the National Library of Serbia.

When it comes to the space of the former National Library building in Kosancicev Venac Street, in previous decades there have been various ideas regarding it, and one of the more recent ones was to arrange the remains and form a memorial there according to the design of architect Boris Podreka.

Narodna biblioteka Srbije Beograd

Ministarstvo kulture Republike Srbije

National Library of Serbia

Jasmina Ninkov

Boris Podreka

Nikola Selaković

Branislav Mitrović

Đorđe Alfirević

reconstruction of National Library in Kosančićev venac Street

construction of depot of National Library of Serbia