Дорчол: Старейший и самый модный район Белграда

Dorćol (; ) is an affluent urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. Located along the right bank of the Danube, Dorćol is the oldest surviving neighborhood in Belgrade. It is known for its specific urban charm and the mentality of its residents. The neighborhood has experienced artistic revival since the 2000s concurrently with the Savamala neighborhood on the opposite, Sava, bank. After being featured in numerous reports, including by the BBC and The Guardian, Time Out magazine placed Dorćol on their list of "50 coolest neighborhoods". It has been described as a Belgrade "phenomenon", an "exciting, creative and inventive spot", and the "authentic, organic soul of the city". A section of Upper Dorćol was declared a spatial cultural historical unit in 1989, and placed under protection as the "Area surrounding Dositej's Lyceum".

Dorćol begins already some 700 meters north of Terazije, the central square of Belgrade. It can roughlyn be divided into two sections, Gornji (or Upper) Dorćol (formerly known as Zerek), which covers the area from Academy Park to Cara Dušana street, and Donji (or Lower) Dorćol, formerly called Jalija, which occupies the area between Cara Dušana, Bulevar despota Stefana and the right bank of the Danube. It borders (and largely overlaps) the neighborhoods of Stari Grad and Jevremovac (east and south) and the fortress of Kalemegdan (west). The population of the neighborhood in the widest sense was 22,707 in 2002.

The predecessor to Belgrade was Singidunum, a Celtic and, later, Roman fortified town. The original earthen and wooden fort stretched around Studentski Trg and Knez Mihailova Street. The oldest Roman graves were discovered in this section, dated to the 1st and early 2nd centuries. During the period of the Roman Empire, the Danube was much wider and modern Lower Dorćol didn't exist. Upper Dorćol was included in the city. The civilian zone spread from Kralja Petra Street, over both the Sava and Danube banks to Kosančićev Venac, extending in a series of necropolises from Republic Square, along the Bulevar kralja Aleksandra all the way to the Mali Mokri Lug. The highest, ending section of Upper Dorćol was part of the central axis of the city grid in the direction of modern Uzun Mirkova Vasina Republic Square. The necropolis at Republic Square contained well shaped graves from the 1st century AD. In general, the largest section of the civilian settlement was situated between modern Simina Street in Dorćol, Brankova Street in Savamala and Zeleni Venac, and Republic Square. On the crossroads of Gospodar Jevremova and Kneginje Ljubice streets, a house of worship dedicated to the Greek goddess Hecate, a sort of "descent of Hades", was discovered in 1935. As foundations for a new building were being dug, a long architrave beam, with an inscription in Latin dedicated to Hecate, was discovered at the depth of The inscription was written by Valerius Crescentio, a legionary of the Legio IV Flavia Felix, in the service of the emperor Maximinus Thrax. It is roughly dated to c. 235 AD. It disappeared after it was discovered but was found decades later and handed over to the National Museum in Belgrade. It is a rare finding of Hecate in Serbia. Her cult wasn't developed in this area, and she was mostly identified with the Roman goddess Diana, worshiped in the region as the protector of silver mines. The entire surrounding slope around the Gospodar Jevremova was a necropolis, so the temple was probably part of it since Hecate's temples were usually built on cemeteries. The beam ends in a step like manner, so the temple was probably built in the Ionic order rather than the Tuscan order, which would be expected in Singidunum. Impressions of anta capital and their size on the lower side of the beam point to the existence of two columns and probably a rectangular gable above it. There is a possibility that due to the terrain, the temple was actually dug into the slope. The northern section of Academy Park was excavated in 1968 during the building of a furnace oil tank for the boiler room of Belgrade's City Committee of League of Communists, which were located nearby. Under the lawn, the remnants of the ancient Roman thermae were discovered, including the frigidarium (room with cold water), laconicum (room with the warm water where people would sweat and prepare), and caldarium (room with two pools of hot water). The site became an archaeological dig in 1969 and 8 rooms in total were discovered, including the remains of the brick furnace that heated the water. It was a public unisex bath dated to the 3rd or 4th century. The entire area of the park is actually within the borders of the "Protected zone of Roman Singidunum". It is situated in the area that used to be the civilian sector of the city, outside the fortress. The remnants were visible until 1978 and due to the lack of funds to continue excavations or to cover it with a roof or marquee, the remains were conserved and buried again. Remnants of the Roman castrum from the 2nd century were discovered beneath Tadeuša Košćuškog Street during the reconstruction in June 2009. They were conserved and reburied. In Cincar Jankova Street, five graves from the late 1st century were discovered so as three canals. As later development of Belgrade destroyed over 80% of the cultural layer within the current protected zone of Ancient Singidunum, that is, of the civilian settlement and necropolises, there are only three sections that were excavated, conserved, and reburied, two of them being in Upper Dorćol (Academy Park and Tadeuša Košćuškog), the third being Park Proleće on the opposite side of the central slope. The settlement hosted a Ragusan merchant colony, so a modern street, roughly in this area, was named Dubrovačka in the late 19th century.

The name of the neighborhood comes from Turkish words dört (four) and yol (road), literally meaning "four roads" or colloquially "intersection (of four roads)", "crossroads". After recapturing Belgrade from the Austrians in 1739, Kafana Crni Orao (Kafana Black Eagle) was opened at the corner of the modern streets of Kralja Petra and Cara Dušana. It was the first such facility with the recorded word kafana in its name. Apart from coffee, nargile was also on offer. During the Turkish rule of Belgrade, Dorćol was a well known trading center, with many markets and traders of different nationalities. Among others, it was a center of Belgrade's Jewish community, who settled in Belgrade in the early 16th century, a remnant of which is the modern Jevrejska ("Jewish") street in Dorćol. The area of Jalija, or Lower Dorćol, below the Duga čaršija (Long Çarşı), modern Cara Dušana, and the Danube was dotted with numerous mosques, each having its own mahallah. One of the mahallahs was Jewish.

During the Austrian occupation of northern Serbia in 1717 39, Belgrade was divided by the governing Austrian authorities into six districts: Fortress, Serbian Town (modern Kosančićev Venac), German Town (modern Dorćol), Lower Serbian Town (Savamala), Karlstadt (Palilula), and the Great Military Hospital (Terazije Tašmajdan). German Town is today referred to as Baroque Belgrade. In this couple of decades, Austrians turned Belgrade from an Oriental town into a modern, European one, including several grandiose projects. German Town was divided into blocks and built according to the most modern rules of the Baroque architecture of the day. A series of houses with Baroque façades were built along the straight streets. Official buildings included hospitals, barracks, pharmacies, brewery, saltern, monasteries, schools and several official palaces. Also, it was the seat of the Prince Eugene of Savoy's court. For the first time, settlements outside of the fortress, German and Serbian towns, were fenced with the protective ramparts and gates which were connected by the four main city roads. As the Turks completely withdrew, Austrians settled people from all over the Habsburg Monarchy, including many merchants, traders, and artisans, but also war veterans and poor people. Chronicles record that the first theatrical shows were organized in this period, as they mention "comedies" being performed in some of the former mosques, which were abundant in Dorćol. Several hospitals were established in German Town, including the Capucines' hospital. The Capucines were granted permission to do missionary work in Belgrade on 23 August 1718, on the Emperor's decision. They were given one of the mosques, which they adapted and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. On the city plans, their monastery is located just within the outer walls, next to the Emperor's Gate. They possibly arranged the Bajram beg mosque, also known as the Stambol mosque, below the modern National Theatre in Belgrade, approximately on the location of the modern Church of St. Alexander Nevsky. The Capucines had only nine monks by 1725 which was quite insufficient for their duties. They were handling all the Catholics in the occupied area, proclaimed by the Austrian court as the Kingdom of Serbia. They also took religious care of the soldiers who were scattered over the region, but they only had two parochial priests. Still, they converted over 1,000 imperial soldiers from Protestantism to Catholicism. They originally took care of the ill all over Belgrade, in the fortress, existing hospitals, and private houses. In the letter of an unknown city clerk from 10 November 1736, sent to the Vicar Provincial of the order in Vienna, it was mentioned that the Capucines asked for the field hospital to be established. It would take care of the soldiers and have a place for 1,500 people. The military commander of Belgrade agreed, providing permanent pay and food for the monks who would treat the soldiers. There was enough space next to their monastery for such a facility. Still, the care of the soldiers was first offered to the Jesuits, but they refused. Names of two especially dedicated Capucine priests are preserved in the documents: Father Oswaldus and Father Chrysogonus. However, the local population wasn't welcomed in German Town, though they welcomed Austrians as their Christian liberators. Division of Belgrade into German and Serbian towns was just the first step. German settlers asked the Austrian emperor on 8 April 1718 to allow only German Catholics to settle in German Town, to expel 40 Serbian families who already lived there, and to also expel or move into ghettos all Serbs, Armenians, Greeks, and Jews present there before the Austrians came. Germans openly stated that the local population, which lived there during the Ottoman period, moved into the largest and most beautiful Turkish houses, which Germans wanted for themselves. Emperor Charles VI granted almost the same rights to both towns, but on the pretext that they were fully separate. Statute of German Town stipulates that "Serbs, Armenians, and Greeks" will be tolerated only in separate municipalities. Non German nationalities were finally completely expelled from German Town in 1726, when some estates were bought off, but the majority of people were relocated forcefully by the Austrian gendarmerie colonel Von Burg. By the end of their rule, there were massive differences between two parts of Belgrade, as the Austrians made no effort at all to cultivate Serbian Town, which remained an Oriental settlement, while German Town grew larger, both in area and population; new palaces, squares, and streets were built; and the fortress was reconstructed. Belgrade remained rich in kafanas in this period. There were almost 200 kafanas and meyhanas, and production of alcoholic beverages in the city bloomed. Rakia was mainly produced by the local Jewish population, while beer was produced by both Jews and German migrant brewers. Brothers Jakov and Abraham Kepiš, grain merchants from Timișoara, built a large brewery close to Long Street, central in the neighborhood (modern Dušanova Street). It was situated on the location of the former Turkish cemetery, between modern Jevrejska, Braće Baruh, and Visokog Stevana streets. A massive, L shaped building had one floor, an attic, and a basement under the entire yard. When the Ottomans retook Belgrade, they demolished or closed all breweries. The Roman Catholic Church dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle, at the corner of modern Dušanova and Cara Uroša Streets, began in 1732. When Belgrade was divided into six quarters in 1860, Dorćol was one of them. By the census of 1883, it had a population of 5,728. Urban regulation of Dorćol began in the 1870s when the Association for the Improvement of the Danube Area was founded. They instigated cutting through the streets, their paving with cobblestone and embankment works on the Danube's bank. In this period the industrialization of Dorćol also began as numerous factories and workshops started to open. Among others, this included "Šonda", the first chocolate factory in Serbia. Until World War II, the lowest part of Dorćol was a location of the city's only official fish market (Riblja pijaca). As there were no refrigerators at the time, the fishermen sold the fish themselves, though some were first dried or smoked. On 16 February 1919, one of the first kindergartens in Belgrade, and in Serbia in general, was opened in the Upper Dorćol, near the Čukur Fountain and close to the location of the demolished Stambol Gate. It was named Dunavsko obdanište (Danube's kindergarten), and as of 2020, it is still operation under that name, though it has moved to Lower Dorćol after Queen Maria, later during the Interbellum, donated a building for the kindergarten at 1 Cara Dušana Street. Today it is the oldest kindergarten in the territory of the Stari Grad municipality. In 1920, the Society for the Construction of the Catholic Church in Belgrade was founded. In the next years, the Society and the city administration couldn't find common ground on the location of the future Belgrade Cathedral. The locations asked for by the Society and those offered by the city included Krunski Venac, Savamala, Mostar, and Palilula, until the city proposed the lot in Dorćol in 1931, bounded by the streets Visokog Stevana, Despota Đurđa, Cara Uroša, and Princa Eugenija (today Braće Baruh). In 1930, the Society announced an international design competition, which resulted in 129 designs (79 from Germany, 18 from Austria, 15 from Yugoslavia, and the rest from Switzerland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary). The project of German architect Josef Wenzler was chosen. He planned a monumental, three naves basilica, long and wide. Total floor area was to cover and host 4,300 people (3,390 sitting, 910 standing). It was to be dedicated to the Saint John of Capistrano who participated in the defense of Belgrade during the 1456 Ottoman siege. The Society disliked the location in Dorćol but planned to build the cathedral anyway. After the ensuing money problems, it was disbanded and, ultimately, the central church for Roman Catholics in Belgrade was never built. After World War II, the lot was nationalized by the state and the elementary school "Braća Baruh" was built on it. "Oneg Shabbat and Gemilut hasadim" center was built in 1923, at 16 Jevrejska Street. It became the most important gathering place for Dorćol's Jews. After World War II, it was renamed the Braća Baruh Center for culture, while today it is known as the cinema "Reks". Dorćol was partially demolished during the heavy Easter bombing of Belgrade by the Allies on 16 April 1944. Eventually, the old low houses and narrow streets were changed into modern buildings. Still, some parts, though vanishing one by one, resemble the old look. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dorćol began to change, from a mixed, old style neighborhood into the more modern one. Old synagogue in Mojsije's alley was demolished in 1954. Building next to it, at 14 Jevrejska Street, was one of the oldest in Belgrade, but it was also demolished in the late 1950s. After the 2010s, many parts were declared cheep "city building land", which resulted in accelerated demolition of the old houses, and construction of new, taller buildings. By the 2020s, "almost nothing" remained of "old Dorćol". Large section in the eastern part of the neighborhood, behind the Belgrade Port, was announced for demolition in September 2023. The old, mostly storage structures, including the vast Kompresor industrial complex, will be replaced by the SelfNest company with six massive buildings on and almost 500 apartments between the former railway tracks, Dunavska, Kneginje Ljubice and Dobračina streets. The urban blocks were designed by Milena Stevanović Šaljić and Vladan Nikolić. Transformation was planned for the further in the wider area of this complex, along the area formerly occupied by the railway tracks. Plans include demolition of the existing, mainly derelict industrial and storage buildings, and construction of commercial zones and urban centers. Up to ten stories high buildings will stretch along the almost entire Dorćol area in the west east direction, from the Francuska to the Mike Alasa street.

Zerek roughly encompassed the modern area bounded by the streets of Francuska, Vasina, Tadeuška Košćuška, and Cara Dušana. It was the original location of the neighborhood, where it developed during the Ottoman period and from where Dorćol spread as it grew. Its name originates from the Turkish language (zeyrek) and means scenic viewpoint, as Zerek developed on the slopes above the Danube. Other theories of the origin of the neighborhood's name, that it comes from the Turkish word meaning "wise (man)", or from Zeyrek, neighborhood of Istanbul, are considered less likely. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Zerek was a prosperous trading center, with numerous foreign trade colonies, including ones from the Republic of Ragusa. The neighborhood was originally centered around the modern Kralja Petra Street, which was previously named the Zerek Street. As in the 16th century city outside of the fortress was located only where the modern Kosančićev Venac neighborhood is, south of Zerek, Zerek was called the "first suburb of Belgrade" and is considered to be one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Even the Bajrakli mosque was once called Zerek mosque. Zerek Street, as the central in the neighborhood, was full of foreign trade representations, and as Serbian name for Ragusa is Dubrovnik, part of the street is still called Dubrovačka today. They used to build Mediterranean style houses with one floor. Ground floor was a shop while the upper floor hosted the living quarters. Two of those old Ragusan houses survived at the corner of the Kralja Petra and Uzun Mirkova until the early 1900s. Large section of the neighborhood was inhabited by Jews, so it was also known as the Jewish mala. They began settling in Jalija at least in the 16th century. The neighborhood was dotted with small grocery and craft shops. On Jewish holidays the fairs were organized, especially on Purim, when masked Jews were greeting Belgraders in the streets, giving away treats. After the intermittent occupations of Belgrade by the Austrians in the 18th century, number of Jews in Jalija grew, so the Sephardic, and later the Ashkenazi municipalities were founded. The neighborhood was described as the "part of Belgrade where you could breathe the most freely", and it never developed into the ghetto. The monument was dedicated in 1990. The neighborhood is also described in literary works of writers such as Stevan Sremac, Branislav Nušić, Milutin Uskoković and David Alkalaj.

Dorćol is well known for its hospitality and catering facilities. Upper section is full of cafés, bars and restaurants, mostly concentrated in the streets of Strahinjića Bana, Kneginje Ljubice and Kralja Petra. In the lower section of the neighborhood there are numerous small cafés, craft breweries and artistic centers.

Traffic facilities include the railway which circles around the fortress of Kalemegdan, from the main railway station of Belgrade, through Dorćol, and over the Pančevo Bridge further into Vojvodina. Small marina is projected to be in the future one of the most modern and expensive parts of the neighborhood. Dorćol hosts the central depot for city trolleybuses, in the Dunavska Street. After the new city government took over in 2013, an idea of abolishing the trolleybus network was raised, due to the possible creation of the pedestrian zone in the entire central section of Belgrade. Propositions include the change of the routes in downtown, the relocation of the central terminus from Studentski Trg to Slavija Square and of the depo from Dorćol to Medaković. After public protests, the idea was modified in 2015 and the city announced that the terminus from Studentski Trg will be relocated to the Dunavska Street, extending the trolleybus lines to Dorćol, as a temporary solution. In August 2019, city confirmed its plans to relocate the depot to Medaković, along the Belgrade Niš motorway. The plan envisions a major garage area, next to the already existing depot "Kosmaj 1". New planned additions are "Kosmaj 2", that is, the relocated trolleybuses depot and "Mala Autokomanda", for the city public transportation company's technical and auxiliary vehicles. The western part of the Port of Belgrade "Dunav" also belongs to Dorćol. City's general urban plan (GUP) from 1972 projected the removal of the Port of Belgrade and the industrial facilities by 2021. The cleared area was to encompass the Danube's bank from the Dorćol to the Pančevo bridge. At that time, the proposed new locations included the Veliko Selo marsh or the Reva 2 section of Krnjača, across the Danube. When the GUP was revised in 2003, it kept the idea od relocating the port and the industry, and as the new location only Krnjača was mentioned. There was an idea that the already existing port of Pančevo, after certain changes, could become the new Belgrade's port, but the idea was abandoned. After President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping visited Serbia in 2016, it was announced that the large, new port of Belgrade will be built in the central part of Beljarica, a wetland upstream the Danube, known as "Belgrade's Amazonia". The proposed area of the future port is almost half of the wetland and should cover in its central part. As of 2020, no works began. In December 2021, city announced restoration of the riverine public transportation, which was discontinued decades ago. One of the first two proposed lines should be New Belgrade's Block 45 Sports Center Milan Gale Muškatirović, at Dorćol. Even the second line, planned to eventually connect Borča and Ada Huja, will in the first, testing phase connect Dorćol and Zemunski Kej. But the New mayor Aleksandar Šapić stated in July 2022 that the project will not be pursued further, calling it too expensive and "pointless".

Land in the Marina Dorćol was among the costliest pieces of land in Belgrade when it was leased to the Israeli investor "Engel Marina Dorćol" in 2006, which hired architect Rami Wimmer for the project. The land covers an area of and it is allowed to build a total floor area of As per the detailed regulatory plan from 2005, the project of the new residential and commercial complex in marina, with high rise buildings, shops, sports fields, public promenade with avenues, etc., was loudly advertised. The investor was litigating with the city for years due to the numerous things, which included the fee of the lease and city taxes. It is not clear whether the contract was mutually terminated in 2016; by October 2017 nothing has been done on the lot, the lease contract was annulled and city decided to sell it. The area, with the neighboring lots, was now planned as the cultural, scientific and research complex, which would include the new building of the Nikola Tesla Museum. In 2017, someone illegally built an object on the lot while by April 2018 several construction barracks have been placed, too, and part of the land is turned into the illegal parking. In September 2019, Czech based company "MD Investments 2000" purchased the marina and the surrounding of land. They were the only bidders and the total price was 3,86 billion dinars (€32.7 million). The investor had to follow the 2005 plan, including the partial reconstruction of the old power plant, which should be ultimately adapted into the Tesla museum, and construction of the berth, both of which will be then returned to the city. Just a few days later, the government stated that they actually didn't decide where the museum will be relocated and that it may be some completely different location. City then announced the power plant may become "a public object for the cultural activities from creative industries", which should be finished in 2023. In December 2020 government confirmed that the Nikola Tesla Museum will be relocated into the building. In 2019 city announced creation of the linear park along the Sava and the Danube, from Savamala's Branko's Bridge to Pančevo Bridge, patterned after the High Line park in New York City and Zaryadye Park in Moscow. This includes the Dorćol's quay from the sports center, through marina, to the port. The park will stretch for and cover an area of City planned to hire the Diller Scofidio + Renfro design studio but later announced that 10 different Serbian teams, each for one of 10 planned segments of the park, will be hired. Finances apparently were the problem, as the city refused to disclose how much the New York studio asked for, while the World Bank backed from financing the project, with city claiming the credit wasn't favorable anyway. Beginning of the construction was tentatively moved to 2021. Ten teams were publicly presented in February 2020 and the deadline for the completion of works is set for 2023. Chief city urbanist Marko Stojčić several times publicly said that the companies which are located along the route should donate money for the park. Marina's investors announced that through one of their connected companies, they will finance the drafting of the conceptual design of all 10 teams (55 architects in total). Stojčić said they didn't do this out of their kindness, but because they can't start any works until the detailed regulatory plan for the park is finished. In May 2021, a computer imaging of the future "green" Marina was made public.