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When, in 1882, an imposing monument to Prince Mihailo Obrenović was erected in the then Theater Square, the current Republic Square, its author, clients and the assembled saint who watched the scene with admiration, he could hardly have imagined that this it would become the epicenter of all capital events and a favorite venue. gathering of all those who would like to be seen and seen in Belgrade. Still, that’s exactly what happened!
In that former Belgrade, the people of the capital at the time just wanted to pay tribute to the tragically assassinated Prince Mihailo Obrenović, a statesman who finally freed Serbia from Turkish discipline and gave it independence.
The first initiative for the construction of the monument came in the form of the creation of the “Main Committee for the Collection of Contributions for the Monument to the Blessed Memory of Prince Mihailo M. Obrenović III”, on June 2, 1868.
Under that initiative, it was planned to build a monument in the city center and a memorial chapel at the place of Prince Mihailo’s death in Kosutnjak, says Neda Kovacevic, a writer and woman from Belgrade who listed all the monuments in the capital. .
In the end, the chapel in Kosutnjak was abandoned, where only one monument was erected, but the monument remained on the plan. After the announced international competition for production, much criticism and controversy, the work was entrusted in 1873 to the Italian sculptor Enrico Pacio.
Where the prince points
Although they have passed the monument countless times, many Belgraders do not know that it actually symbolizes the liberation of Serbia from Ottoman rule. Prince Mihailo points to the Serb regions not yet liberated.
For the monument, the position of the horse and the position of the figure of the prince, Paci found a model in two equestrian monuments: Cosimo and Ferdinand Medici in Florence.
The monument was unveiled on December 19, 1882 in Saint Nicholas, the glory of the Obrenović dynasty. The author also attended the ceremony, who on that occasion received the Order of the Knight of the Order of the Second Degree of King Milan Obrenović.
However, the people of Belgrade had some objections …
After Paci’s departure to Florence, it was said in the capital that someone at the monument’s inauguration rebuked the sculptor for showing the prince without a hat. Rumor has it that the sculptor committed suicide because of that mistake! However, historical data says that Enrico Paci died a natural death in 1899 in Florence.
Prince Mihailo Obrenović was a successful diplomat and won the return of the Ottomans to the Serbian cities of Belgrade, Smederevo, Kladovo, Soko, Užice and Šabac. Knowing that, Paci presented the prince not as a winner on the battlefield, but on the diplomatic field, and the names of these cities are on the pedestal of the monument, Neda Kovacevic concludes.
(Kurir.r / Historical artist)
Delivery courier
Author: Delivery courier
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