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Aleksa Krsmanović House

- Terazije 34 -
The one-story residential building was built in 1885 according to the design that came from the hand of the Serbian architect . It was built for the merchant Marko Marković and his family, but they were not able to afford the house due to debts and it had to be sold. In 1898, the building was bought by the Krsmanović brothers and became the property of the Serbian merchant and endowment fundraiser Aleksa Krsmanović, who lived in it until he died in 1914. Aleksa was born in 1842 in and started his studies at the primary school in and , and later on, he studied commercial sciences in . Together with several members of his family, he set up the trade and export shop called Krsmanović Brother and Paranos, which was moved from Tuzla to Belgrade in 1858. The trading company was engaged in the export of prunes to Western European countries and America. After the death of Aleksa Krsmanović, the house was inherited by his wife Linka Petrović.
Aleksa Krsmanović
After the First World War, from 1918 until 1922, the building served as the palace of the Kingdom of Serbia, where the Regent Karađorđević resided, since the royal palace was significantly damaged and since Krsmanović's house had a sufficiently representative character. On December 1, 1918, the document on the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was signed. After the old Palace was restored to its former glory in 1922, Aleksa Krsmanović's house was returned to his charitable foundation and was rented out for various purposes. One of the tenants was the restaurant with the name Kleridž, and in May 1930, the basement, garden, and one hall were transformed into the elite cinema with the name Adrija.
Some of the delegates on December 1, 1918
The building was also in use by the Auto Club, and at the same time, the basement housed a workshop and a shop of Persian, Qalman, and Caucasian carpets owned by Mahmud Safikjurdli. In 1934 the patriotic Yugoslav Sokol society moved in and became the location of some of the first anti-Nazi protests in Yugoslavia. During the , on August 14, 1941, during the Nazi occupation of Belgrade, the massive decorative lampposts in front of the house served as sites of macabre punishments by the Nazis against the rebellious Belgraders. The building itself was used as a club for the Nazi officers. After the war, until 1979, it served as the House of the Protocol, housing socialist bureaucrats organizing all of the protocolary duties in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and was also a club for Belgrade's diplomats.
The building shown in an old postcard
The roof of the Neo-Renaissance building is adorned with foliage, which also counts for the part underneath the roof, which also includes a and various . Underneath the roof , you see different types of that alternate with . The that are placed above the windows are also supported by corbels and contain another cartouche, which is surrounded by two . The windows are flanked by , which at their base contain a cartouche and at the top an Ionic . Above the main entrance door, you can admire another cartouche and even more acanthus foliage, but also several .
Interior detail drawn by Jovan Ilkić