bg Belgrade

Hotel Moskva

- Balkanska 1 -
The construction of the building, which was built as a multi-purpose building with the name Palace Rossiya, began in March 1905 and was completed by the end of 1906. The construction, which was executed by a project of the Serbian architect and a group of architects from , was executed with a major investment of the Russian Empire. The construction works were carried out by builder with masons from . The supervising engineer was the Serbian architect and the work for reinforced concrete was managed by architect Matija Schneider. The official opening took place on January 14, 1908, and the building was inaugurated by King personally.
The original interior and hotel staff in 1907
In addition to Hotel Moskva, the palace housed a bistro, an exclusive restaurant serving specialties from the French and Serbian cuisines, numerous apartments for rent, and the Rossiya Insurance Company's Belgrade branch. In 1909, the insurance company decided to lease out the building to Hotel Moskva and the bistro to Mehansko-Kafanska Zadruga, a local hospitality co-operative headed by Danilo Guteša who put in charge of running the hotel's and bistro's day-to-day operations. During the , the palace was closed, and after the war, by the decision of the Rossiya Insurance Company, it was sold to the United Bank. In 1923 was purchased by the Postal Savings Bank, an important financial institution, founded only two years earlier.
An advertisement announcing the opening of the hotel
During the , the moved into Hotel Moskva, transforming it into its headquarters. Not liking its references to Russia, they also renamed it Hotel Velika Srbija, after the original inn. The hotel re-opened on 20 October 1945, the first anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of Belgrade from Nazi control. In the post-war period, the hotel went right back to being the cultural elite's favorite congregation spot. Hotel Moskva is one of the oldest currently operating in Serbia and welcomed a lot of celebrities over the years.
An old colorized postcard that shows the building
On top of the northern facade of the Art Nouveau building, which is lavishly decorated with ceramics, you can see a sign stating Hotel Moskva flanked by two lantern towers. On this side of the building, you can also admire two covered with a bell-shaped dome crowned with a , as well as two . The building is richly decorated with all sorts of floral ornamentation, including , garland wreaths, and . Above the main entrance door, you can see two and a containing a statue of a female figure surrounded by three children. On the eastern side of the building, between the two oriel windows, sculptural composition predicts the Glorification of Russia.
Another old colorized postcard that shows the building