Topčider

Topčider , in Serb Cyrillic Топчидер, is a Parc, a Forêt and a district of Belgrade, the capital of the Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Savski Venac but also extends on the municipalities from Čukarica and Rakovica. Near the center town, it offers a place of relaxation and walk to the inhabitants of Belgrade.

Localization

Eastern slopes of Topčidersko Brdo (" the hill of Topčider") start as of Mostarska Petlja. Topčider is then bordered by the districts of Senjak and Dedinje. One finds there the street Topčiderski Venac and the crossroads of Topčiderska zvezda (" the star of Topčider").

The southernmost slopes of the hill extend until in the valley from the Topčiderska reka, an affluent of the Save. This sector is recognized like the limit of the district of Topčider.

The park of Topčider starts to 5 km in the south of the center town and extends to the west, the east and the south until in the old forest of Topčider which extends itself to the west until in the forest park from Košutnjak.

In the extreme North-West, Topčider is surrounded by the district of Careva Ćuprija and in south-east by those of Lisičji Potok and Kanarevo Brdo.

History

During the Othoman occupation , the valley of Topčiderska reka and the forest of Topčider sheltered Turkish artillery intended to defend Belgrade. The name of Topčider points out this military use since it comes from the Turkish word topçu , which signfie the artillerist, derived from signal , the gun, and of the word dere , which means the " vallée". Topčider is thus " the valley of the canon".

The history of the park begins in 1831 when the prince Miloš Obrenović was made build a residence at this place, the konak Milošev. The park was designed and carried out by Atanasije Nikolić. In 1884, a station was built in Topčider. In 1926, the hill of Topčidersko Brdo was wooded.

Caractéritiques

Forest

The park of Topčider covers 13 hectares. It has trees, in particular Platane S, which are among oldest of Europe; largest of them, protected by the State, 34 m in height measure. The park also has rare flowers, formerly chosen by the French gardeners of prince Miloš.

Monuments

The most famous building of the park is the Résidence Milošev (konak Milošev), built 1831 with 1834; it is characteristic of the Balkan Style, which mixes with the Eastern elements and classicisants. It shelters today a museum devoted to the First Serb revolt against the Turks.

Near the residence is the church of the saints apostles Pierre and Paul, built in 1832 at the place where, twenty-eight years earlier, prince Miloš had escaped with the execution prepared for him by his rival Karageorges. This church, which with the form of a Greek Cross, is decorated of two bell-towers baroques.

One can also see the stone called binjektaš , the " hone which saute" , that prince Miloš was accustomed to jumping to horse.

The park has three public fountains and a Obélisque out of stone set up in 1859; this obelisk was one of the first public monuments of Belgrade. A bronze monument dedicated to the doctor and Swiss Philanthropist Archibald Reiss, work of Marko Brežanin, was set up in 1931.

Other curiosities

At the north of the district the cemetery of Topčider is located, with a Serb orthodoxe church dedicated to Saint Trifun. The district also shelters the Monnaie ( Zavod za izradu novčanica ) of the national Banque of Serbia.

In the west, in extreme cases with Dedinje, the Beli Dvor, the " is; palate blanc" former royal family of the Karađorđević; it is today the residence of the applicant to the throne Aleksandar Karađorđević and of his family.

The vast military complex of " Karaš" , in the street Teodora Drajzera , was built inside the hill between 1965 and 1980; it contains many barraquements and several kilometers of underpasses.

References of the article

Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija , 3rd (1985); Prosveta; ISBN 86-07-00001-2
Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije ; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; ISBN 86-01-02651-6
Beograd - plan I vodič ; Geokarta, 1999; ISBN 86-459-0006-8
Beograd - plan graded ; M@gic M@p, 2006; ISBN 86-83501-53-1

See too

Belgrade
Districts and suburbs of Belgrade
List of the forests of Serbia

External bonds and documents

Page on Topčider Official site of the Town of Belgrade

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