No St. Peter’s Square on Saint Sava Plaza – Under pressure from citizens, instead of tiles, 130 oak trees

Thanks to citizens’ objections, the original project for the reconstruction of the Sait Sava Plaza has been corrected. Instead of the previously planned concrete, 130 oak trees will be planted.

– We have taken into account the citizens’ objections and corrected the project according to which the reconstruction of the Saint Sava Plaza is being carried out – says Professor Branislav Mitrovic for Vreme.

He, in cooperation with his colleague, Professor of Architecture Dejan Miljkovic, is the author of the project that was commissioned by the Serbian Orthodox Church and which began to be implemented in May 2024, with the construction of an underground garage in Skerliceva Street. Because of this, several trees were cut down, and it turned out that it would not stop there.

The people of Vracar protested, did not accept the explanations of the project author that the current greenery would be replaced with something else, in a different form, and managed to have the original project corrected.

“Designing is a laboratory job”

Professor Mitrovic emphasizes that even those remarks that he considered unnecessary were taken into account.

– Primarily, I mean the one that had to do with the area in front of the Temple. We originally removed the existing trees from that part with the idea of leaving an empty space within a radius of about 30 meters of a sacred building like St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. I think that is appropriate for a sacred building, the citizens thought differently, and we gave up on the empty space – says Professor Mitrovic.

– You know, designing is a laboratory job, it is done at a table, and only when you get to experience the location can you see the real situation. Now I am glad that we corrected the original idea.

Anyway: the oak trees have remained where they are now, and instead of the originally planned concrete there will be soil with dense low vegetation. Professor Mitrovic says “it will be like a green box” with paths among the bushes on which there will be benches.

Also, there is greenery between the Church of Saint Sava and the Temple. “These are green oases that were not there before,” explains the professor.

Chamber stage

The next big change is in the area that forms the corner of the National Library of Serbia building and its annex, which houses the business part. There will be an open-air chamber stage, 180×30, with 200 seats, and it will be integrated into the park.

– This area of the Plaza has not been used enough so far. It has turned out that it is a good place for a chamber stage - in a quiet and sheltered part of the Plaza. Only the areas for sitting and moving around will be paved, while everything else will remain under greenery, so that the entire space will represent a green cascade – says Professor Mitrovic.

The access path to the Temple has also been shortened. It was 18 meters, and now it is 6.5 meters. Accordingly, the existing fountain has been adjusted.

A total of 130 oak trees will form a barrier between Nebojsina Street and the Plaza.

The reconstruction of the Saint Sava Plaza is expected to be completed in the fall of next year.

Srpska pravoslavna crkva

Serbian Orthodox Church

Branislav Mitrović

Dejan Miljković

Saint Sava Plaza

Church of Saint Sava Belgrade