Veljković Family House
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| Veljković's Family House | |
|---|---|
 Veljković's Family House | |
  Location within Belgrade | |
| General information | |
| Status | Cultural Heritage |
| Location | Belgrade |
| Address | 21 Birčaninova Street |
| Town or city | Savski Venac |
| Country |  Serbia |
| Coordinates | 44°48′08″N 20°27′49″E / 44.8021°N 20.4637°E |
| Completed | 1883 |
| Website | |
| beogradskonasledje | |
Veljković's Family House is a cultural monument located in Belgrade, Serbia.[1] It was the historical seat of the elite Veljković family, known for its pre-World War II interior architecture (family collection of paintings and sculptures, a private library, the collection of arms, and the utility items). It is now a designated cultural property, and became a joint member of the European Historic Houses Association in 2009.[citation needed]
History
[edit]The original blueprints for the two-story family mansion, as well as the names of the architect and the contractor, were not saved. However, the title deed shows that the original owner of the lot with the buildings[2] was Marko Čolić, who, in 1866, sold it to the telegrapher Kosta Lazarević from Smederevo. In 1873, the property was resold to Franjo Všetački and his wife, Ruža, and the new (present) house that they had built that was purchased by Stojan Veljković in 1883.[3]
In 1931, the exhibition pavilion was built in the large courtyard of the cultural monument, after a design by architect Vojislav Đokić and engineer Aleksandar Gavrilović. It was a 255 m2 area with a glass roof conceived along modernist principles, and intended specifically for the display of paintings and sculptures, with a central heating system and a special device for mounting the paintings and pedestals.
Legacy
[edit]The Veljković family constructed a modern exhibition pavilion in the courtyard of the family house, at the time of its construction the first private museum in the Balkans. The museum was closed after the outbreak of the Second World War, and after the war the building was used as an atelier, first by Moša Pijade and then by sculptor Sreten Stojanović. After the pavilion was nationalized, the bronzes from the collection were handed over to the Academy of Fine Arts, and the space gradually ceased to serve its original purpose.
The house of the Veljković family is now considered an example of the development of 19th century urban architecture, and the adoption of the European stylistic models taking place as part of the modernization of Serbian society at the time. For its cultural, historical architectural and townscape values the House of the Veljković family was designated as a cultural property.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cultural Heritage Protection Institute of Belgrade
- ^ There are no data about the number and the appearance of the buildings on the lot from 1866.
- ^ The assumption is that based on the Title deed the house was erected in the period between 1873 and 1882.
- ^ Decision of the Institution no. 63/5 from 30 April 1967