BELGRADE BALKAN BUSINESS


ON THE CONFLUENCE OF THE SAVA AND DANUBE RIVERS, THE INDEFATIGABLE SERBIAN CAPITAL IS ON THE RISE AGAIN


BELGRADE’S CURRENT SPATE OF REGENERA- TION IS NOTHING NEW. Its 6,000 years of history have seen the city destroyed and rebuilt more than 40 times – attack- ers and invaders over the years have included Celts, Romans, Huns, Goths, Ottomans, Austro-Hungarians, Nazis and NATO. Architecturally, much of its rich and violent history has turned to dust – apart from the indomitable Kalemegdan fortress, parts of which date back to the 6th century. Some of the surviving buildings have gorgeous arts nouveau and deco facades from the late 19th to early 20th centuries –many are shockingly dilapidated, but an increasing number are beautifully restored.


110 BBT MAY/JUNE 2015


There’s also a smattering of intriguing architectural styles, from neo-baroque to secessionist, and Balkan-oriental. The city’s carbuncles, its brutalist Soviet blocks, remain for now, as do NATO’s gaping missile holes in the old Yugoslav Ministry of Defence building. But there is also a fresh-paint feel of


newness in the air here – of new construc- tion, investment and progress. I meet Bel- grade’s mayor, Sinisa Mali, and his team at City Hall –an elegant 19th-century former royal palace. Mali, who has an MA from Washington University, is a fresh-faced 42-year-old, and points out he’s probably the oldest on his team. This youthfulness reflects an attitude of go-getting optimism,


and also sends a deliberate message of change from previous eras’ corruption and dysfunctionality. “They are not paid well –we are state administration – but they all believe in this new story. There is so much energy and creativity – they want to make this city a better place to live,” says Mali.


THE PATH TO THE EU He is enthusiastic, but seems candidly realistic. Mali says his goal is to “re-assert Belgrade’s position as an economic, politi- cal and social centre for the region”, while admitting to inheriting “huge financial problems” which have meant a period of difficult economic reforms. But he says: “Serbia is unique, because we are on the


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