brutalist belgrade
date
- 02.08.2025 - 03.08.2025
type
- travel photography
equipment
- leica d-lux 8
- fujifilm x-t4
- fujifilm fujinon xf 10-24mm f4 r ois
post production
- adobe lightroom
- customized preset for a cinestill 800 tungsten film look
communist and, in particular, yugoslavian architecture has shaped entire cities since the 1960s. today, only a few artifacts of this brutalist architecture remain. they are mostly giving way to new buildings. as long as they are still standing, they offer an impressive but also challenging motif. reason enough to spend a weekend in belgrade and photograph the buildings that still exist.
avala tower and eastern city gate
the avala tower is located just outside belgrade and is a telecommunications tower that was completed in 1965, destroyed by NATO bombing in 1999, and rebuilt in 2010.
eastern city gate is a complex of three large residential buildings on the eastern outskirts of belgrade. opposite it is western city gate, the Genex Tower (see below). the residential buildings were constructed in the 1970s and are named rudo 1, rudo 2, and rudo 3.
other buildings in the old part of belgrade
belgrade is located at the danube river. in the dorcol district, you can stroll along the promenade and come across a very striking building that is part of the milan gale muškatirović sports and recreational center. also worth mentioning is the toblerone residential building, officially called the karaburma housing tower. while driving through belgrade, I also came across the military geographical institute, and while walking through the city - photography was difficult due to several no-photo zones, which were also monitored - i noticed several other buildings and a very old-looking tram.
sava centar
sava centar is the largest audience hall in serbia used for international congresses as well as cultural and business events. it is located in the novi beograd district, where you can find a lot of brutalist buildings. this part of the city, which was planned and constructed starting 1948, is on the left bank of the Sava river, connected to the old part by the ada bridge.
genex tower
genex tower, a residential building, is also known as the western city gate. located in the western part of novi beograd the tower with its 36 floors is above the other residential buildings and is visible from afar. this dominant landmark was built in 1977 and today it is not in good condition. obviously, part of it is no longer inhabited and might be renovated.
novi beograd
a large part of novi beograd consists of large residential complexes, which are organized and named in blocks. in the midst of these blocks are individual small jewels of brutalist architecture, including government buildings, which were a bit of a gamble to photograph.
