Park Topcider

Topčider is a park and urban district in Belgrade. The park covers an area of 111,336 square meters. The name “Topčider” is of Oriental origin, borrowed from the Persian language, and it means “gunpowder valley.” The origin of the name dates back to the 15th century when artillery camps were established here, where the Ottomans cast their cannons. The area also contained buildings owned by the Belgrade Pasha, while the meadows were used for grazing horses in the Topčiderska River valley, making it a beloved destination for Belgraders for 150 years.

In the early decades of the 19th century, this area was full of vineyards and summer houses belonging to wealthy individuals. In this marshy area, full of reeds and bulrush, the first park in Belgrade emerged. There is evidence of the park’s beginnings in an interesting document – a letter dated February 24, 1831, which states, among other things: “Do not allow any carts to pass through Topčider, to preserve the meadows.”

Atanasije Nikolić, a professor of mathematics, “načertanija” and “zemljomerija” and the first rector of the Lyceum in Kragujevac, was responsible for designing the park. In the then-modern English style, he created the first park area in Belgrade with winding paths, lush vegetation, the use of water in the form of streams and small lakes. Over time, the park was enriched with sculptures, fountains, and drinking fountains. Between 1831 and 1833, plane trees were planted around knez Miloš’s Residence, and they are still preserved today. The successful park design in Topčider served as a model for the creation of parks in other cities within the Serbian state.

Within the residential complex of the Obrenović family, as the oldest organized section of Topčider, there are six cultural monuments: knez Miloš’s Residence (a cultural monument of exceptional importance), the Topčider Church, the Church Residence in Topčider, the Žetelica sculpture, the Obelisk, and the Archibald Reiss Monument.