Grantovac Explained

Grantovac
Native Name:Грантовац
Native Name Lang:sr
Settlement Type:Urban neighbourhood
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Belgrade
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Serbia
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Belgrade
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Vračar
Unit Pref:Metric
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:CET
Utc Offset1:+1
Timezone1 Dst:CEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:+381(0)11
Blank Name:Car plates
Blank Info:BG

Grantovac (Serbian: Грантовац) was an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It was located in the Belgrade's municipality of Vračar.

Location

Grantovac was located along the Njegoševa street.

History

Originally, it was a vast cornfield, full of reeds and stubble. When U.S. consul Edward Maxwell Grant bought the land in the area and built his house, urbanization began and the newly formed neighborhood, extension of Istočni Vračar from Cvetni Trg to Kalenić, was named Grantovac after the consul.

Characteristics

Neighborhood was known for many restaurants, barrooms and cafes in the Njegoševa street at the beginning of the 20th century, including one with the same name as the neighborhood (Grantovac). However, the name of the neighborhood, just like the adjoining Krunski Venac, later fell into obscurity and it is not used today.

However, local residents still refer to the residential block bounded by the streets Smiljanićeva, Njegoševa, Krunska and Kneginje Zorke, as Mali Grantovac ("Little Grantovac").[1]

At the corner of the Beogradska and the Njegoševa streets, a kafana Vardar was located. One of the shareholders of the venue was the king of Yugoslavia himself, Alexander I Karađorđević. The Vardar was famous because one of the most popular Serbian singers,, was hired to entertain the guests.[2]

References

44.8054°N 20.4661°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Nenad Milićević . Čuvamo od zaborava: Mali Grantovac . Keeping from oblivion: Mali Grantovac . . 20 . sr . 12 October 2021 .
  2. News: Goran Vesić . Прва европска кафана - у Београду . First European kafana - in Belgrade . Politika . 12 . Serbian . 14 September 2018.