Belgrade Residents Fear Being "Walled In" by Church Construction; Petition Submitted

Residents of Belgrade are fighting a planned construction project by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) near their building at Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 17, close to the Church of Saint Mark. They fear the new building will obstruct their access and "wall them in." In response, activists from the "Belgrade Stays" initiative and citizen groups have rallied to their support. Together, they collected over 500 signatures on a petition submitted to authorities within 24 hours, hoping to halt the construction. Residents learned of the plans in late June for a building in the area bordered by Takovska Street, Arhiepiskopa Danila Street, Bulevar kralja Aleksandra, and Tašmajdan Park. They claim they have land use rights that require their consent for such construction, but feel ignored by institutions. Concerns also exist about the site potentially being a mass grave. Đorđe Miketić from "Belgrade Stays" stated their goal is to protect the Church of Saint Mark itself from the SPC's development plans. He pointed to other SPC luxury residential projects in the city, such as one in Dorćol with square meter prices up to 10,000 euros. Miketić proposed an alternative: building a parish home for church needs instead of a large residential complex. He believes this would be acceptable to residents and would preserve the Tašmajdan Park and the Church of Saint Mark's cultural monument status and open space. The initiative is preparing further legal complaints and actions, emphasizing that issuing permits without resident consent would be "legal violence."

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Our desire is to preserve that magnificent sacred object, even from the SPC itself, which is the investor, and in that sense, we have proposed a solution.