Bogoslovija

Central place belongs to the Seminary of the Serbian Orthodox Church with adjoining campus, which was finished in 1957-1958 and gave its name to the entire neighborhood (Serbian: bogoslovija, "seminary"). The complex was designed by Aleksandar Deroko, in the modernist architectural style of the 1930s.[5]

Deroko, with Petar Anagnosti, designed the building in 1938. The projected object was considered a modernist one, because it "expanded outside of the Serbo-Byzantine Revival style" and was described as the representative of the "Late Orthodox Modernism". The red brick, in a subdued manner, emphasized the grey cross which was built into the façade surface.[6]

The communal company "Waste Management" was founded in 1884 and since 1932 is located on the lot, previously known as "Pionir", in the neighborhood. The location at the modern 4 Mije Kovačevića Street, was chosen by the mayor Milutin Petrović. He personally gave the initial design of the complex, including the horseshoe-shaped garage and the stables for the horses. The first objects were built in 1933–1934. The horses were retired from the service and fully replaced by the engine vehicles on 26 March 1958.[7]

The most protruding feature in the neighborhood is the skyscraper officially called "Residential Tower Karaburma". Due to its unusual, spikey design it was originally nicknamed the "Hedgehog" or the "Mace of Kraljević Marko", but in time the nickname "Toblerone" stuck, after the Swiss chocolate of the same name.[6]

The building was constructed in 1963, after the Brutalist design of architect Rista Šekerinski. The entry section is paved with the black and white marble tiles. In architectural terms, the building almost touches the building of the Seminary, having a "direct dialogue" with it and both buildings are important representatives of their corresponding styles.[6]

Originally, the building sparked controversy, and even more ridicule, due to its triangular terraces design and for being the only highrise in the wider area ("urban solitary position"). Despite later seen as the representative of the "estranged Socialist realism", the building was considered having a higher comfortable lodging characteristics, even for modern standards: a wide and direct view over the entire city and the Danube, a fenced backyard, a children's park in the shady lot behind the building and its own parking space. Also, it is close to downtown.[6] As with other monumental buildings in Belgrade, there is a matter of maintenance though, after the 1990s.

In July 2018, MoMA museum opened a 6-month exhibition entitled "Toward a Concrete Utopia" providing visitors with a large collection of images, architectural models, and drawings from Yugoslav architecture in the 1948-1980 period.[8] Among the buildings which were presented as the major representatives of the Brutalist style was the "Toblerone".[6]

On 7 November 2017 city assembly decided to erect a monument, called "Tripod", in the center of the roundabout. Author of the project is sculptor Kosta Bogdanović and it was funded by the Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS).[12] The modernist sculpture is 8.5 m (28 ft) tall, weights 3 tons and is colored in Byzantine blue. It is part of the author's cycle "Byzanthemes". It symbolically represents a trinity and is envisioned as a sort of northern city gate (as there are Eastern City Gate and Western City Gate). The project was planned already in 2009 but city lacked sufficient fundings, until NIS offered to sponsor the project.[13] The monument is made of stainless steel,[5] and due to its size and position, it is visible to the commuters coming from all access roads to the roundabout: Pančevo Bridge, Zvezdara, Karaburma, Mirijevo.[14]

In April 2018 it was announced that the installation will actually protrude out of a fountain which will be built in the center of the roundabout.[15] Preparatory works began in August 2019.[16] The sculpture was placed in September 2019, when it became obvious that the fountain around it won't be built. Initial public reactions to the object, including local residents, were mostly negative, concerning both practical side (traffic safety) and visual and artistic one (current vogue of the city administration to place monuments and fountains everywhere).[14]