Stari dvor

The Old Palace, known in Serbian as Stari dvor, is a historic building in Belgrade on Dragoslava Jovanovića Street, across from the New Palace. Originally conceived as the stately residence of the Yugoslav kings, it has housed the Belgrade City Assembly since 1961. The history of the site goes back to the 1840s, when the influential politician Stojan Simić acquired the land, drained the marshes, and had a house built that was later converted into the residence of Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević. The present-day Old Palace itself was built between 1881 and 1884 to plans by the architect Aleksandar Bugarski. It was built on the orders of King Milan Obrenović on the site of an earlier small palace and initially served as a guest residence and for diplomatic receptions, before becoming the official residence of the Karađorđević dynasty after the change of dynasty in 1903.

Architecturally, the building embodies the academic style concepts of the late 19th century, with a harmonious blend of classical, Baroque, and Renaissance elements. The symmetrical facades are richly decorated with Ionic and Corinthian columns, caryatids, and decorative sculpture. Especially striking are the corner design, which recalls a tower topped with a dome and a double-headed eagle, and the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia in the pediment, which is considered one of the oldest on a public building. Inside, the palace impresses with its sumptuous furnishings, which originally came from Viennese art workshops. The centerpiece is a central winter garden with a glass roof and gilded decorations, from which the various salons, such as the ballroom, the library, and the palace chapel, can be reached.

The building has lived through a turbulent history that has left deep marks. After damage from bombardment in World War I, it was restored in the early 1920s and furnished with new furniture from Lyon and Vienna. The palace suffered more severe destruction during the bombing of Belgrade in April 1941. In the postwar period it was extensively remodeled, with the original royal symbols, such as the small domes with crowns, removed and replaced by new state emblems. Today the Old Palace is a protected cultural monument and, together with the New Palace, an important testament to the palatial architecture of Serbia under the Obrenović and Karađorđević dynasties. Visitors can experience the imposing exterior and the historical significance of the building as the seat of the city administration.