After a break of eight centuries, Stefan Nemanja is once again among us, as a monument to this great man now stands proudly on Sava Square, and there’s absolutely no doubt that it will astound you with its monumentality S tanding on Belgrade’s Sava Square is a mon- ument to one of Serbia’s most important rul- ers, the founder of the medieval Serbian state, the great prefect Stefan Nemanja. It rises in the vicinity of the old building of the Cen- tral Railway Station, which is set to be converted into a museum of Serbian history dedicated to the Neman- jić dynasty, at the beginning of the beautiful Neman- jina Street… We were just a tribe until Nemanja came along, but since his time, and to this day, we’ve become a nation-build- ing people. That’s why he holds a sword, with which he created and constructed, then guarded and protected. Until Nemanja came along, we were a culture of imita- tions and translations, but since his time we’ve become a culture of creation, nurturing and writing, as symbol- ised by the Hilandar Charter. He lived in all former Serbi- an lands, building churches and temples everywhere his path took him. He founded the Hilandar Monastery. As the great prefect of Raška, he mightily implemented his every decision. He is spoken of as a person who “illumi- nated” the Middle Ages, but also subsequent centuries, up until today. The Serbian people recognise him and his sons – Saint Sava and Stefan the First-Crowned – as the people who established the route to Serbia’s future. Moving forward, the Great Prefect will watch over the street that leads from Sava Square to Slavija Square, and which actually bears his name, from a height of 23 metres (the monument weighs 68 tons). Credit for the look of the monument belongs to Russian sculptor Al- exandr Rukavishnikov and local architect Petar Arsić. Created in a Moscow studio and then transferred to Bel- grade, the monument to the great prefect presents Ste- fan Nemanja standing atop a pedestal represented by a cracked Byzantine helmet connected to the ground at four points, with the ruler’s sceptre emerging from the helmet. He holds a sword in his right hand and the Hi- landar charter in his left. Visitors can enter the interi- or of the helmet, on which the history of the Nemanjic dynasty is displayed. Magnificent monument to Stefan Nemanja The great prefect watches over Belgrade
Stefan Nemanja će ubuduće posmatrati ulicu koja od Savskog trga vodi do Slavije, a nosi upravo njegovo ime Stefan Nemanja will watch over the street that leads from Sava Square to Slavija Square, and which actually bears his name
The pedestal includes reliefs depicting Nemanja’s life and Serbian history. Embossed on the front side, just be- low the monumental figure, is the Studenica Cross, one of the most recognisable symbols of Studenica Monastery, Nemanja’s endowment. The exterior of the pedestal also shows the monasteries of Studenica and Hilandar, two of his most important endowments. The remaining re- liefs were created on the basis of the examples of Serbi- an frescoes, one of which presents the Nemanjić family tree, based on a fresco from Visoki Dečani Monastery. The renovated Sava Square has gained a complete- ly new look and become a large pedestrian zone, with road traffic shifted entirely to its periphery. A large pla- teau has been formed in front of the building of the for- mer Central Railway Station, while there are also areas of greenery with 250 trees and many benches for visitors to rest. Following Slavija Square, Flower Square and Re- public Square, Belgrade has now gained another “must see” attraction on Sava Square…
Belgrade » Beograd | 65
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator