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THE ROYAL PALACES

The Royal Family of Yugoslavia and Serbia have official and private residencies in Belgrade and in the provinces. In Belgrade the Royal Family resided in the City Palaces (Old and New Palace) and in the palaces of Dedinje (Royal Palace and White Palace).

City Palaces

The City Palaces are located in the center of Belgrade. At the beginning of the 20th Century the palaces consisted of the Old Konak and at that time The New Palace, known today as The Old Palace. Eventually the Old Konak building was removed and it was substituted with the New Palace. In between the Old Palace and the New Palace there stood another structure between World War I and World War II containing the offices of the Marshal of the Royal Court, Aides-de-Camps, Guards and Duty Officers, as well as garages and the Royal Mews. The park was surrounded by an iron fence and stone guard posts. Today the park still has some interesting botanical specimens.

The Old Palace

The Old Palace in Belgrade erected by King Milan Obrenovic during the period of 1881-1884 (today’s Belgrade City Hall) was the residence of King Peter I Karadjordjevic (1903-1921) and King Alexander I (1921-1922).This palace was built in academic style with renaissance decoration of the facades. The architect was Alexander Bugarski.

The Old Palace

The Palace was a representative building originally embellished with two cupolas topped with large gilded Royal Crowns. Since the Palace was heavily damaged in both World Wars in the last century, the cupolas are missing today and the entire appearance of The Old Palace has somewhat changed. Some parts of the Palace are demolished (for example the palace chapel), other parts have dramatically changed appearance and are today unrecognizable (the grand staircase, the throne room, etc.). The Old Palace was the official Royal residence, but it was temporarily put to other use in 1919 and 1920 by the Parliament of the Kingdom. The Old Palace was also used for official receptions and other state functions.

The New Palace

The New Palace is adjacent to the Old Palace and it was built during the Balkan Wars and World War I. The architect was Stojan Titelbach and the unfinished palace was heavily damaged during the Austrian bombing of Belgrade so that reconstruction had to take place before the court officially moved in.

The New Palace

The New Palace was put to regular use from 1922 until the completion of The Royal Palace of Dedinje and it was the official home of King Alexander I and Queen Maria. The New Palace was the living quarters of the Royal Couple and King's Cabinet and it was here that King and Queen entertained their private guests. After the assassination of King Alexander I in Marseilles in 1934 The New Palace was used as temporary location for the Museum of Prince Paul.

The Old Palace and The New Palace before World War II

THE PALACES OF DEDINJE

The Royal Palace of Dedinje

The Royal Palace was built between 1924 and 1929 with the private funds of His Majesty King Alexander I (the grandfather of HRH Crown Prince Alexander). The Royal Palace was the home of King Alexander I and King Peter II (the father of Crown Prince Alexander).

The Royal Palace

Today The Royal Palace is the home Crown Prince Alexander and his family. The Architects were Zivojin Nikolic and Nikolay Krassnoff of the Royal Academy. It is a palace built in the Serbian-Byzantine style. Its facade consists of white marble from the island of Brac (today’s Croatia), which was also used for the stone colonnade that connects the main building with the church. The decoration of the pillars, windows and doors, both outside and inside, is in the low relief of animals and plants ornaments. Attached to The Royal Palace there is a Royal Chapel dedicated to Saint Apostle Andrew The First-Called, the Patron Saint of The Royal Family. The Chapel was built reflecting the Royal Church of the Serbian medieval King Milutin in Studenica, and the monastery Church of Saint Andrew on the River Treska in Macedonia where the Holy Place of the medieval Serbian King Vukashin is located. The interior of the Church is covered with frescoes painted by the Russian painters.

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace is surrounded with pergolas, park terraces, swimming pools, pavilions and concert platforms. There are magnificent views from the palace towards the ridge of Dedinje Hill, Koshutnjak Forest, Topchider and Avala Mountain. The ground floor rooms are very beautifully appointed. The Formal Entrance Hall is paved with stone and decorated with copies of medieval frescoes from the Monasteries of Dechani and Sopochani.

The Blue Drawing Room

The Blue Drawing Room is decorated in the Baroque style; the Golden Drawing Room (Palma Vecchio) and Dining Room are in the Renaissance style with impressive wood carved ceilings and bronze chandeliers. These rooms are ornately decorated with paintings of old masters and Renaissance painted Florentine Cassoni from the Royal collections. The Library and King’s Cabinet are decorated in the same manner.

The Dining Room

The private living quarters are located on the first floor and this is were Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine, Hereditary Prince Peter, Prince Philip and Prince Alexander live. Grouped around a Central Hall these apartments are decorated in various styles, most notably Louis XVI, Empire, Napoleon III and Biedermayer. The Attic contains smaller guest apartments and ancillary rooms. The Basement is decorated in the style of the Moscow Kremlin Terem Palace, the vaults and walls are painted in the theme of the Fire-Bird Legend, as well as the motives from Serbian national epics. That is why the largest of these drawing rooms is named the Room of Miracles. The Billiard room and a cinema are also located here.

The Room of Miracles

The park was arranged according to the design of Eduard Andre. The Palace Complex is surrounded by a decorative fence with stone guard houses. There are buildings in The Palace Complex such as garages, servants’ quarters, stables and a heating plant. Within the park there is also a thatched house “Peasant House”, a kitchen and a swimming pool.

The White Palace (Beli Dvor)

The White Palace (Beli Dvor) is located within the same complex as The Royal Palace and it was commissioned by command of His Majesty King Alexander I.

The White Palace

The White Palace was built with the private funds of King Alexander I as the residence for his three sons HRH Crown Prince Peter (the future King Peter II and father of HRH Crown Prince Alexander), Prince Tomislav and Prince Andrej. King Alexander I envisaged that his three sons would require their own private accommodation when they would become of age. The assassination of HM King Alexander I in 1934 in Marseille separated the King from his family, causing the destiny of his sons to take a different turn. The young King Peter II became the new master of the Dedinje Complex.

The White Palace

The completion of The White Palace was supervised by King Peter II great uncle HRH Prince Regent Paul. The White Palace took almost four years to finish (1934-1937) and it became the official residence on loan to the Prince-Regent and his family in the waiting for King Peter II majority.

The Hall and the Gallery of The White Palace

The White Palace architect was Alexander Djordjevic. The ground floor of this classicistic palace houses a large hall and a number of drawing rooms furnished in the style of Louis XV and Louis XVI with large Venetian chandeliers. There is also a library which once contained 50 000 books and a formal Chippendale dining room. The first floor apartments are reached by stairs and a Gallery overlooking the Hall. The attic has further rooms and another library. The Royal Dedinje Compound covers an area of over 100 hectares, of which 27 hectares surround The Royal Palace and another 12 hectares The White Palace. The service buildings include kitchens, garages, Palace Guard buildings, the administration of the Office of the Marshall of the Royal Court, etc. The Dedinje Palaces contain many important statues by the famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, many valuable paintings by world famous artists such as Rembrandt, Poussin, Breughel and others, as well as valuable furniture and ornaments.

Temporary Royal Palaces

Owing to the tremendous destruction of Belgrade during World War I the city palaces could not be used and repair took several years. Other locations had to be used as temporary Royal Palaces.

Krsmanovic House

A location that was used was the Krsmanovic House near Belgrade's Terazije Place and this became the residence of Prince Regent Alexander (later HM King Alexander I) in 1918 and 1919. It was in Krsmanovic House where the proclamation of the Union of the Southern Slavs into the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes took place.

The Villa on Topcider Hill

Another small suburban villa at the foot of the Topchider Hill was used as the temporary residence of King Peter I and this where he died in 1921.

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