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The Royal Palaces |
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The Royal Palaces |
THE
ROYAL RESIDENCIES
The Royal House of Serbia have official and private residencies in Belgrade and in the provinces. BELGRADE In Belgrade the capital city, the Royal Family resided in the City Palaces (Old and New Palace) and in the palaces of Dedinje (Royal Palace and White Palace). City Palaces The City Palaces are located at the centre of Belgrade. At the beginning of the 20th Century the palaces consisted of the Old Konak and (at that time The New, known today as The Old Palace. Eventually the Old Konak building was removed and was substituted with the New Palace. In between the Old and The New Palaces there stood another building between World War I and World War II containing the offices of the Marshal of the Royal Court, Aides-de-Camps, Guards and Duty Officers, as well as garages and the Royal Mews. The Court Park was surrounded with an iron fence and stone guard posts. The Park still has some interesting botanical specimens. The Old Palace This building was built in 1882 in academic style, with Renaissance decoration of the facades. The Architect was Aleksandar Bugarski. It was a representative building, originally embellished with two cupolas topped with large gilded Royal Crowns. Since the Palace was heavily damaged last century in both World Wars, the cupolas are now missing and the entire appearance of The Old Palace has somewhat changed. Some parts of the Palace are demolished (i.e., the Palace Chapel), other parts have changed appearance so much as to be unrecognizable (Grand Staircase, Throne Room, etc.).
The Old Palace was the official Royal Residence, but it was temporarily put to other use (between 1919 and 1920 the Parliament of the Kingdom used it). The Old Palace was also used for official receptions and other state functions.
   The New Palace This is adjacent to the Old Palace built during the Balkan Wars and The Great War 1913-1918. The Architect was Stojan Titelbah. The unfinished building was heavily damaged during the Austrian bombing of Belgrade and a thorough reconstruction had to take place before the Court officially moved in. The New Palace was put to regular use from 1922 until the completion of the Royal Palace of Dedinje, it was the official Home of King Alexander I and Queen Maria. The New Palace was the living quarters of the Royal Couple and King's Cabinet, and it was here that King and Queen entertained their private guests. After the assassination of the King in Marseilles in 1934, The New Palace was used as temporary location for the Museum of Prince Paul.
 (It is now the Office of the President of the Republic of Serbia) Palaces of Dedinje:
The Royal Palace of Dedinje was built between 1924 and 1929, with private funds from H.M. King Alexander I (the Grandfather of HRH Crown Prince Alexander). The Architects were Zivojin Nikolic and Nikolay Krassnoff of the Royal Academy. It is a residence built in the Serbian-Byzantine style. Within its compound there is a Royal Chapel dedicated to St. Apostle Andrew The First-Called, Patron Saint and Family "Slava" of the Royal Family, built reflecting the monastery Church of St. Andrew on the River Treska the holy place of the medieval Serbian King Vukashin. The Royal Palace is surrounded with pergolas, park terraces, swimming pools, pavilions and concert platforms. There is a magnificent view from the palace of the ridge of Dedinje Hill, of Koshutnjak Forest, Topchider and Avala Mountain. The Ground Floor rooms are very beautifully appointed. The Formal Entrance Hall is paved with stone and decorated with copies of medieval frescoes from the Monasteries of Dechani and Sopochani. The Blue Drawing Room is decorated in the Baroque style; the Golden Drawing Room and Dining Room are in the style of the Renaissance, with impressive wood carved ceilings and bronze chandeliers. These rooms are ornately decorated with paintings of old masters and Renaissance painted Florentine Cassoni from the Royal collections. The Greater and Lesser Libraries are decorated in the same manner.
The Blue Drawing Room of The Royal Palace The First Floor has a number of Royal Apartments grouped around a Central Hall and they were used by HM King Alexander and HM Queen Maria, it is the home today of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine, Prince Peter, Prince Philip and Prince Alexander. These apartments are decorated in various styles, most notably Louis XVI, Empire, Napoleon III and Biedermayer. The Attic contains smaller guest apartments and ancillary rooms.
The Queens Drawing Room The Basement is decorated in the style of the Moscow Kremlin Terem Palace, the vaults and walls are painted in the theme of the Fire-Bird Legend, there are as well motives from Serbian National Epics. That is why the largest of these drawing rooms is named The Room of the Miracles. The Wine Room and a cinema are also located here. The White Palace (Beli Dvor)
The White Palace (Beli Dvor) The White Palace (Beli Dvor) is located within the same compound as The Royal Palace; it was commissioned by command of HM King Alexander I with his private funds as the residence for his sons HRH Crown Prince Peter (the future King Peter II), Prince Tomislav and Prince Andrej . The King envisaged that his three sons would require their own private accommodation when they would become of age. The assassination of HM Ling Alexander I in 1934 in Marseille separated the King from his family, causing the destiny of his sons to take a different turn. The young King Peter II became the new master of the Dedinje Complex. The Royal Palace and the completion of The White Palace were supervised by his great uncle HRH Prince Regent Paul. The White Palace took almost four years to finish (1934-1937) and it became the Official Residence of the Prince Regent and his Family in the waiting for King Peter II majority. The Architect was Aleksandar Djordjevich. The Ground Floor of this classicistic structure houses a large Hall and a number of drawing rooms furnished in the style of Louis XV and Louis XVI, with large Venetian chandeliers. There is also a Palace Library and a formal Chippendale Dining Room. The First Floor Apartments are reached by stairs and a Gallery overlooking the Hall. The Attic has further rooms and another Library.
The Hall and Gallery of the White Palace
Temporary Residences Owing to the tremendous destruction last century of the Capital City of Belgrade during the Great War, the City palaces could not be used and repair took several years. For that reason other locations had to be used as temporary Royal Palaces. One such location was Krsmanovich House, located at Belgrade's Terazije Place; this was used as the Residence of Prince Regent Aleksandar between 1918 and 1919. It is here that the proclamation of the Union of the Southern Slavs into Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes took place. Another small suburban villa, at the foot of the Topchider Hill, was used as the temporary Residence of King Peter I, who died in it in 1921.
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