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The fortress Kalemegdan has a
very long history, going back at least to the
castrum of Roman times; destroyed several times
by successive waves of invaders, was rebuilt
as a castle by the Byzantines in the 12th century.
Under the Serb Despot Stefan Lazarevic , son
of the king Lazar , Belgrade became the capital
of the Serbian kingdom; the fortress was strengthened,
and the Despot's palace was built within the
old castle. A medieval town grew up within
the walls of the lower fort (a model is on
display on one of the upper terraces).
In 1912, Meštrović designed a
monumental fountain on the theme of the liberation
of Serbia from the Turks which was to have
stood at Terazije square. The center of the
fountain's basin would have contained a five-stepped
column representing five centuries of slavery
under the Turks and it was intended that the "Victor" should
stand on top of this. After the end of World
War I the project was given up, so that in
1928 the "Victor" was placed on a column in
Kalemegdan as part of the 10th anniversary
celebration of the breach of the Thessaloniki
Front. This monument is often used as a symbol
of Belgrade.
Kalemegdan is the most beautiful and biggest
park in Belgrade, which is also the most important
cultural and historical complex, in which the
Belgrade Fortress stands high above the Sava
and Danube confluence. The name Kalemegdan
applies only to the spacious plateau surrounding
the Fortress, which was turned into a park
in the eighties of the XIX century. When the
Fortress served as Belgrade's chief military
stronghold, the plateau was a place from which
the enemy was kept under observation and where
preparations were made for combats. Its name
derives from the Turkish words kale (field)
and megdan (battle). The Turks also called
it Fichir-bair, which means "the contemplation
hill".
The planned development of Kalemegdan began
in 1890, when the military authorities handed
the park over to the Belgrade civilian authorities.
The mayor of Belgrade at that time, Nikola
Pašić, approved the first credit
amounting to 10,000 dinars for the regulation
of Kalemegdan. In 1905, the park was expanded
with the development of Mali (small) Kalemegdan,
which spreads from the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art
Pavilion to the Zoo.
Before the First World War, Kalemegdan spread
to the now still existing stone stairway (leading
to the lower terrace). The ground beyond this
stairway remained completely untouched and
overgrown with weeds until 1929. In 1931, the
park expanded also to Upper Town. Monuments
to many famous cultural and public persons
were erected in the park. Kalemegdan now includes
the Military Museum, Cvijeta
Zuzorić Art Pavilion, City Institute
for Protection of Cultural Monuments,
Zoo, a children's amusement park, a large number
of sports fields, restaurants and so on.
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