the hometown of architect Dragoljub Mićović, who supervised construction, while the main architects were Vera Ćirković and Milutin Jerotijević. It consists of three high-rise structures with a step shape and a height of 28 oors that face one another, while between them is a plateau with contents for the young- est, though chess games among pensioners aren’t a rare sight either. They were built from 1973 to 1976, when the rst res- idents moved in and only a few Belgraders were able to view the “Promised City” from the 28 th oor, and to do so from the comfort of their own living room. And they can only slightly hear how the tram kisses the rails of the boulevards and how planes descend and ascend over Belgrade. The ideal scenario at the other end of Belgrade would be as follows: you are acquainted with someone who knows the president of the residents’ council, you are persuasive in na- ture and love adventures - there’s no doubt that you would enjoy a bird’s eye view of the columns of vehicles traversing the “Brotherhood and Unity” highway that connects Belgrade and Zagreb. And under your feet is the Western Gate of Bel- grade, also known as Genex - two 35-storey high-rises linked by a bridge that today represent the main asset of New Bel- grade. At the top of the tower is a dome that once housed one of Belgrade’s most famous restaurants. One of the buildings is intended for residential use, while the other was built as the headquarters of one of Yuoglsavia’s largest export companies – Genex. The building was built in 1980, as the signature work of architect Mihajlo Mitrović. Belgraders and everyone else for whom Belgrade has ev- er been home, even temporarily, know what the feeling is like when you see these gates after a long journey and can sigh with the relief of having arrived. Because they know that they are home. It was precisely this irreplaceable feeling of arriving home after an exciting journey that was the goal of the archi- tects of these gates that symbolically represent entering Bel- grade. You can convince yourself of that the very next time you visit and see the high-rises that defy Google Maps! Apart from that, these buildings have served as motifs for the opening and closing credits of numerous television shows, postcards or souvenirs that you can give to loved ones, favour- ite locations for scenes from famous lms and TV series, places where gra ti proves that drawing on buildings is a true form of art. Welcome to our Belgrade! Belgraders and everyone else for whom Belgrade has ever been home, even temporarily, know what the feeling is like when you see these gates after a long journey and can sigh with the relief of having arrived. Because they know that they are home Beograđani i svi ostali kojima je Beograd ikad bar privremeno bio dom znaju kakav je osećaj kada ove kapije ugledaju nakon dugog puta i mogu da odahnu, jer znaju da su stigli kući
I t isn’t essential to stroll Knez Mihailova Street, visit Kale- megdan or drink at a cafe near Vuk’s Monument in order to enjoy the symbols of Belgrade. It is enough to enter Bel- grade via the highway from the direction of Niš or from the direction of Nikola Tesla Airport. The former will be await- ed by Belgrade’s Eastern Gate and the latter by the city’s West- ern Gate, which are the symbolic names of high-rise buildings which, besides tirelessly defying time, represent the most sig- ni cant masterpieces of socialist architecture that remain to- day, almost half a century after their creation, obligatory ma- terial for all students of architecture. The Eastern Gate, located on Zvezdara Hill, owes its o cial name of Rudo to a Bosnian town of the same name that was
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