Memorial complex Slobodiste u Krusevac is a cultural asset, a famous place of great importance. It was built according to the project of Bogdan Bogdanović in the place where there was a fascist camp, an execution ground for more than 700 people.
Now two conflicting things are taking place regarding Slobodiste: the City of Kruševac threatens it, and the state invests in it.
The city of Kruševac digs in Slobodiste
Namely, first the City of Kruševac announced a tender for contractors who will build the Military Equipment Exhibition Park at the Slobodiste Memorial Site without an architectural-urban planning competition or public discussion.
The tender was completed at the end of April, and according to local media Odjek from Kruševac, the excavation of Slobodiste began on May 21, after which part of the professional and opposition public reacted.
Citizens, among whom were several opposition councilors, protested in front of the Kruševac City Assembly building, Odjek announced and Mašina reported. Since then, several actions and gatherings have been carried out.
The state donates Slobodište
And then, five days ago, the minister for labor, employment, veterans and social affairs arrived in Kruševac. Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski and announced an investment in Slobodiste.
She said that the Ministry will allocate five million dinars to the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in Kraljevo, which is in charge of taking care of this memorial complex, while another amount will be allocated for the reconstruction of the amphitheater in Slobodiste, with the aim of performing performances at this place again. She also stated that the two mounds should be appropriately marked by re-igniting the eternal fire, so that it would be "a place of reunion not only of the people of Krušev, but of all those who celebrate freedom, for the joy of the living and for the respect of the dead."
Photo: monumentdatabase.orgFreedom
In particular, she underlined that "by investing in maintenance, investing in this memorial complex, we are raising awareness of the importance of this place itself".
Those present say that during that time they could hear machines digging in Slobodiste.
What do the people of Kruševac say?
The people of Krušev claim that they found out about everything only from the tender. Although they have nothing against the exhibition of military equipment, they say that it has no place in an area with anti-war symbolism, and in an area that is a cultural monument.
They ask on what basis the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in Kraljevo gave consent for the works, as well as whether the recent donation from the Ministry of Labor contributed to the granting of the permit.
The Slobodiste space is managed by the Kruševac National Museum. The director of the National Museum, Nikola Pantelić, told Odjek that the work on this complex is decided by experts, not the general public. He also said that the works cost 35,6 million dinars, they are financed from the budget of the Museum approved by the city of Kruševac.
The member of the SRCE movement in the Kruševac City Assembly, Dušanka Milosavljević, told Mašina that they are trying to find possible legal omissions and challenge permits that we believe may not be complete, and she announced the organization of a petition.
Man, stand up straight.
He was among the first to raise his voice against construction in Slobodiste artist and architect Andrej Josifovski Pianist, who with a professor from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Belgrade, Milica Milojević, made an inscription on Slobodište from freshly cut grass, which is otherwise carved in this Memorial Park: "Under this sky, man, stand up".
Photo: Pianistasajt"Under this sky, man, stand tall." Pianist
The Association of Architects of Serbia also announced these days.
In a statement, their Board of Directors reminds that the work of the architect Bogdan Bogdanović is a complex of national importance, and that its entire space must be preserved in its entirety without changing or adding any physical structure or placing other contents in its spatial framework - the plot.
"Such contents are defined by public architectural competitions, and this is the main objection to this ongoing undertaking, from the administration of the city of Kruševac. The competition of ideas is irreplaceable in reaching the high spatial and form level necessary for memorial complexes, especially those financed from the budget - with public money," they wrote in the statement.
However, the machines are still at Slobodiste.
Bradić on the Freedom Celebrations
Director Nebojša Bradić, a native of Kruševlja, told Odjek about the Freedom Celebrations, a festival that brought together artists and audiences from Yugoslavia, and took place at Slobodiste.
"The freedom celebrations started on Vidovdan and lasted until the Day of the Uprising of the People of Serbia. It was a manifestation that made the city recognizable on the cultural map of the country. It gathered numerous theater artists from Yugoslavia for ten days and allowed the audience from Kruševac, the surrounding area and guests of the city to see exceptional artistic achievements."
Photo: FB "From the time of old Kruševac"Freedom celebrations
Bradić states that "the audience flocked to Slobodiste from the first editions, back in the sixties. As a boy, I walked in an endless crowd of people. It was not organized by directives, school, communal or political. People came because they wanted to be part of that great event. The performances on the stage of Slobodiste were unique. First-class pieces and true masterpieces were performed. I remember great plays like Ćosić's Discoveries, Krležin Kraljeva, Shakespeare Winter fairy tales, ancient dramas and numerous contemporary plays. Later, plays that I staged were also played at Slobodiste, such as Lazar, Grand Duke, a big spectacle produced by the Kruševac Theatre, then Damn yards. At Slobodiste, a large audience could experience something that they could not experience anywhere else."
Bradić states that the Celebrations of Freedom lost their importance with the collapse of the country and although he knows that "restoring them is an impossible mission", he believes that "the memory of the Celebrations of Freedom should be preserved because "modern Kruševac would not be possible without Freedom and the Celebration of Freedom".
Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!
