UNREALIZED DESIGNS BY DOBROVIĆ, OF THE POLITICAL/SPORTS STADIUM AND A RECREATION BELT

Text topic: Architect Nikola Dobrović (1897–1967) – Fifty Years Later

Text author: Владана Путник Прица

Even before the Second World War, sports had a significant role in the popular culture of Belgrade. 1940s were also marked by ambitious ideas for construction of a representative stadium. However, social and political circumstances have equally prevented some monumental designer ideas from coming to fruition. Although the end of the Second World War brought about some fundamental changes in the Yugoslav society, the rise of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to power did not mean a total separation from the architecture of earlier periods. One of the examples that confirms a continuity and a dialogue with pre-War urbanistic ideas in the field of sports architecture, are the designs of Nikola Dobrović from 1946 for the political/sports stadium near the Belgrade Fortress and the recreation belt from Autokomanda to Banjica. Since these unrealized designs were not subject of detailed historiographical studies, they need to be revisited with more attention in order to determine a potential connection with the pre-War design solutions for similar purposes. Also, it is important to clarify possible reasons for which these designs remained just on paper.