Symbol of Belgrade, the Victor Monument, to be removed from Kalemegdan Fortress for reconstruction

Pobednik na Kalemegdanu, maestralni rad Ivana Meštrovića. Foto: A. Nalbantjan

Mayor of Belgrade Prof. Dr. Zoran Radojicic says that the reconstruction of the symbol of our capital - the Victor Monument, the work of famous sculptor Ivan Mestrovic - will begin immediately upon obtaining a building permit from the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure.

This reconstruction will cost 26 million dinars, and the job has been entrusted to the Koto d.o.o. company and well-known sculptor Zoran Kuzmanovic.

The anticipated deadline for the completion of works is six months from the implementation of the public procurement procedure.

The mayor specified that the design was done by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade, while the static rehabilitation project was the work of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Belgrade.

He noted that the reconstruction involves three phases - static rehabilitation, restoration of the bronze sculpture and restoration of the stone pillar and pedestal.

"Rehabilitation of the foundation of the monument aims at stopping the uneven settling of the existing foundation, and the tilting of the top of the stairs to one side. The designed solution has been adopted in such a way as to minimize excavation around the monument, as well as to reduce the intervention on the monument itself to a minimum," said Radojicic.

Photo: Tanjug/Zoran Zestic

"Restoration of the bronze sculpture of the Victor is necessary because it has been damaged in numerous places, and water is passing through that damage, which further endangers it," said the mayor, adding that it is envisaged that the pedestal and the pillar of the monument will be restored where they stand, i.e., on Kalemegdan, while the restoration of the statue requires removing it and carrying the worksout in the studio of sculptor Zoran Kuzmanovic.

The sculpture, he emphasized, will be temporarily removed in order to complete the restoration work under most appropriate conditions in the workshop, and to form a new connection between the sculpture and the pillar, as this connection is the most damaged part of the monument.

The Belgrade mayor points out that the reconstruction of the Belgrade Victor, in addition to the reconstruction of the Great and Small Stairs, which are largely open to citizens, will give a new look to the most significant cultural and historical part of Belgrade such as Kalemegdan.

For years, Kalemegdan has been one of the first and favorite places that everyone visits when they come to Belgrade.

"The Belgrade Victor is a symbol and a decoration of our capital, by which the world recognizes us. I think it's extremely important that the Belgrade Fortress, which together with Kalemegdan Park makes up the most significant cultural and historical part of our capital, is arranged and restored to regain the splendor and beauty it once had. This certainly requires responsible maintenance, which after a long period of time involves reconstruction, and given that the Victor has deteriorated over time, which is now very much obvious looking at the damage, this is the last moment for its restoration. Since 1991, the only work done on the Victor has been to clean up graffiti and dirt, and fill up the cracks and the stone lining joints," said Radojicic.

Photo: Marko Jovanovic

He stated that during 2018 the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments inspected the condition of the monument, mapped the damage to the stone lining and the bronze sculpture, carried out detailed measurements and 3D laser scanning of the monument, and that this revealed that the damage had significantly worsened compared to 2016, when the situation was also reviewed.

"The city of Belgrade finds the expert opinion of Dr. Zoran Kuzmanovic, the sculptor, on the condition of the bronze sculpture to be very significant. It states that a large layer of oxide is visible on the entire surface of the sculpture, with damage done in a number of places in the shapes of holes, probably from bullets or shrapnel. The cracks are large and the connection of the sculpture to the circular stone base has corroded and is in very poor condition," Radojicic stressed.

The Victor Monument was declared a cultural and historical asset in 1992. The sculpture is located within the Belgrade Fortress monument of culture, designated as having exceptional importance to the Republic of Serbia.

(Telegraf.rs)