Vračar

At the beginning of the 19th century Vračar, as a geographical term, referred to a much wider area, from the village of Savamala (present Mostar) on the west to the village of Paliula (present neighborhood of Karaburma), which means it used to cover at least three times larger territory than the municipality covers today. By order of prince Miloš Obrenović, an alternative city centre with western characteristics was designed and built here while city of Belgrade was still under Turkish rule and for three quarters an oriental town with all the characteristics of Islamic architecture. On the other hand, Vračar was built with broad streets and boulevards, first parks and monuments. It was housing all Serbian public buildings and state institutions in Belgrade, known as a place where the remains of the Serbian Saint Archbishop Sava Nemanjic were burned by Turks. The Masonic Temple on this site was destroyed during the German bombing of Belgrade on 6 April 1941. Today, it is the site of the biggest Christian Orthodox Cathedral in the world.

The Times on 17 October 1843 published a text full of exultations. 'Four years have passed since the time when I was last here, and how Belgrade has changed! I have hardly recognised it. The high belfry on the church (Cathedral) now screens by its shadow the Turkish mosques; many shops are now provided with new doors and glass windows, oriental clothing is more rare and houses with several storeys, in European manner, are being built everywhere'.

Many architects-baumeisters (builders) Germans, Czechs, Italians and the Serbians who appeared only at the end of the 1860s built new Serbian Belgrade in Vračar. After 1867, when Turkish military garrisons left the Belgrade fortress Kalemegdan they extended their architectural activities on the ruins of the Turkish houses (Stambol gate, Dorćol, Palilula) and on the ruins of the Serbian huts in the Sava river port, Savamala.

When Belgrade was divided into six quarters in 1860, Vračar was one of them.[6] By the census of 1883 it had a population of 5,965.[7]

In the eastern section of Vračar, on the border of the Kalenić, Čubura and Krunski Venac neighborhoods, a settlement of one-floor villas began to develop in the early 1920s. At that time, a tram line No. 1-a was passing through here, connecting downtown to Crveni Krst. As majority of the parcels were purchased by the army generals and their family members, the neighborhood became known as the "Quarter of the Generals" (Milivoje Zečević, Bogoljub Ilić, Svetislav Milosavljević, families Kocić, Lukić, Petrović, Đonović, etc.). The villas were later upgraded with additional floors and were given names (Villa Stana, Villa Kocić, Villa Ilić).[8]

Since the 1880s, the neighborhood was roughly divided into Zapadni Vračar (West Vračar) and Istočni Vračar (East Vračar), divided by the road of Šumadijski put (present Boulevard of Liberation). The municipality of Vračar was officially formed in 1952 after Belgrade was administratively reorganized from districts (rejon) to municipalities. Already on 1 September 1955 Vračar was divided into Zapadni Vračar (West Vračar) and Istočni Vračar (East Vračar). Year and a half later, on 1 January 1957, parts of Istočni Vračar merged with the municipality of Neimar and the western part of the municipality of Terazije to create new, albeit the smallest municipality in Belgrade, Vračar. Zapadni Vračar became municipality of Savski Venac, while the easternmost section of Istočni Vračar became part of the municipality of Zvezdara (local community of Vračarsko Polje; Zvezdara hill itself was styled Veliki Vračar - Big Vračar).

New municipal healthcare center, HC Vračar, was built from 1969 to 1972.[9]

In the 21st century, a massive construction in Vračar began, with old houses and villas being demolished to make way for the high-rise buildings. The period of corruption and "investors' urbanism" ensued, where structures were built by the wishes of the investors, disregarding laws and regulations. As a result, accidents happened, most notably in the autumn of 2008 and in July 2021. In 2008 in the Dubljanska Street, while the foundations were dug for a new building, four neighboring houses were undermined and collapsed, with residents never getting legal satisfaction. In 2021, due to the same action, a ground floor of the older building in the Vidovdanska Street caved in. With non-planned construction of new buildings, and added annexes onto the existing ones, structures built without space between them where residents almost "sleep on top of each other", the overcrowded neighborhood earned a moniker of Favela Vračar. The difference with the Brazilian favelas, which are home to the poorest classes of society, is that apartments in Vračar's favela are purchased by the affluent class, who find it a matter of prestige to live in Vračar.[10][11][12][13][14]

Proclamation of several protected areas in Vračar, including some preliminary and some announced, did not prevent demolition of old houses, including some deemed historically and artistically valuable. In some cases, when the protection would be announced, the investors would hasten the demolitions and construction. Various other scandals received public and media attention, like planned demolition of villas in the neighborhood of Neimar, addition of new floors on the old buildings in the Krunska Street, demolition of several Interbellum villas in the neighborhood of Krunski Venac, especially the 1927 villa in Takovska Street as one of the first representatives of the moderna-style in Belgrade, which was demolished in 2018. The House of Pera Velimirović at 25 Resavska Street, built in 1908, was demolished in June 2020, despite being under the preliminary protection. In December, after public protest subdued, even older house from the 19th century, on the lot adjoined to the already demolished building, was demolished, too.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Other projects which caused public debate include attempt of building on the small green area in the Tomaša Ježa, which prompted residents to self-organize and clash with the investors since 2017, and house at 4 Sredačka Street. Designed by then official city urbanist Milutin Folić, and built by his family studio (he officially withdrew after taking the office), the building was not permitted until he took office. The terraces of the building spread above the neighboring, urbanized lot, but when residents complained, city replied that this area was meant to be the square anyway.[24]

In September 2020, city administration made public its plan for demolishing the entire block bounded by the Krunska, Smiljanićeva, Kneginje Zorke and Njegoševa streets, including the building of the Museum of Natural History. After major negative public, experts' and political reaction, only few days later city administration abandoned the plans, and in April 2021 placed this specific block under protection, calling it a "priceless heritage".[25][26][27] City announced new rules in 2020, which stipulated that the facades of the new buildings which are not in the protected zones will have to be approved by the Institute for the Cultural Monuments Protection, but nothing changed. When on 25 December 2020 temporary protection of another zone, East Vračar, expired, the demolitions expedited and the "edifices started to fall down like houses of cards". It included the villa at 4 Nikolaja Krasnova Street, with a recognizable facade, which caused further public objections. Institute stated that it works on the house's protection and that it will protect it in 2022, but it was nevertheless demolished in August 2021.[28] Instead of a one-floor villa, a 7-storey building will be built, though the façade should resemble the old villa.[29]

The smallest municipality in Serbia, in terms of area, became the example of urban chaos. As there are basically no non-urbanized lots left, the demolition of old villas and houses sped up. Other, public areas were also destroyed to make room for highrise, so some sections have no sidewalk at all, and the green areas were reduced.[24] Streets turned into "tunnels" and there is no chance of finding free parking spot anymore. It was also noted that investors usually began demolitions in summer, when people tend to be on vacation, so that reduced number of residents and neighbors can protest.[28] Belgrade school shooting occurred in Vračar on 3 May 2023.[30]

The ethnic composition of the municipality:[32]