The Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building (Serbian: Зграда Савезног секретариjaта за народну одбрану, romanized: Zgrada Saveznog sekretarijata za narodnu odbranu, lit. "Federal Secretariat for the People's Defence Building"), also known as the General Staff Building (Serbian: Зграда Генералштаба, romanized: Zgrada Generalštaba), is a complex of government buildings, that formerly housed the Ministry of Defence of Yugoslavia and the General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army, now housing the Ministry of Defence of Serbia (in the non-damaged part, tower of "Building B"). It is located in Savski Venac, Belgrade.
The complex was heavily damaged during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and was left largely derelict.
History
The complex of buildings, intended for the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence of Yugoslavia and the General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army, was built from 1957 to 1965.[1]
The complex in 2013
On 29 April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the complex was bombed twice in the space of fifteen minutes.[2][3] Deserted at the time of bombing, this bombing was largely seen as to its symbolic significance as a representation of the state, rather than merely just for immediate tangible purposes.[1] It was bombed once again nine days later, around midnight on 7 May 1999.[3]
Except for removal of the entrance annex of the "Building B" in 2014, the building has not been repaired ever since and is Belgrade’s most famous ruins.
In 2015, the clearing of rubble from "Building A" was conducted, aiming to stabilise the structure.[4] On that occasion, around 5,000 square meters of the central part of the "Building A" was entirely demolished and the pillars for the part of the building close to the street were poured.[5]
In 2017, the Government of Serbia circulated plans for demolishing the remaining parts of the "Building A" in order of eventual rebuilding to its original appearance.[6] The Association of Serbian Architects launched an initiative for the submission of candidature for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, also saying that the Government of Serbia wanted to remove it from the Registry of Cultural Properties, but due to the long legal procedure chose the other path.[7] It condemned the government decision and marked potential demolishing of the "Building A" as a "definitive loss of our culture" as it is a "monument of suffering and brutality of NATO forces".[7] In 2015, on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the beginning of NATO bombing of Serbia, the Government of Serbia organized a ceremony in front of the complex, which some observers interpreted as the evidence that the ruins has indeed become a de facto war monument.[8]
There have been several other proposals for the building since then, including turning the building into a hotel.[9][10] The Prime Minister of Serbia at the time, Aleksandar Vučić, announced that there are plans for the construction of Monument of Stefan Nemanja and Museum of medieval Serbia at the site of the "Building A".[11][12] This idea was later abandoned as the monument was placed on Sava Square.[13]
In March 2024, Aleksandar Jovanović said that the Government of Serbia is planning to sign of a memorandum that will effectively give away the buildings to American offshore companies Kushner Realty and Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, registered to Jonathan Kushner, cousin of Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of former President of the United StatesDonald Trump.[14] The Minister for Construction and Infrastructure Goran Vesić confirmed that he received authorization from the Government of Serbia at a public meeting to sign a memorandum that the complex will be leased for 99 years to American offshore companies.[15] The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade announced that the building, has the status of a cultural property and that it had not received any official document proposing the abolition of that status.[16] Later on Jared Kushner published renderings that showed a luxury complex on the site of the complex.[17] In response, Ecological Uprising political party announced the launch of a petition to prevent the sale of the complex, and to build a memorial centre dedicated to the victims of 1999 NATO bombing on that site instead.[18]
On 15 May, the Government of Serbia has approved a contract with Jared Kushner in partnership with Richard Grenell on plans to build a $500 million luxury hotel on the bombed-out site of the buildings.[19] On 15 November 2024 the Government of Serbia made a decision to remove the building from the Central Register of Immovable Cultural Heritage, effectively allowing the government to realise its plan.[20] The decision became effective on 23 November 2024.[20]
In addition to cascading forms, facades are characterized by the application of contrasting materials - robust, brown-red stone from Kosjerić and white marble slabs from the island of Brač.[21] The most striking visual motif representing the window bars on the facades, designed in the spirit of late modernism.
The northern part of the complex, standing across the Government Building in Kneza Miloša Street, is named "Building A" with area of 12,654 square meters.[3] The southern part of the complex, across the Nemanjina Street, is named "Building B" with area of 36,581 square meters.[3]
Derelict "Building A", on the left, and partly-damaged "Building B" (tower currently housing the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence), on the right
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