Balkanska Street ( / Balkanska ulica, ) is a street in downtown Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is one of the most recognizable streets in the city and one of the oldest still bearing its original name since the first official naming of the city streets in 1872. It is located in the municipalities of Stari Grad and Savski Venac. It has been described as "one of the most popular downtown streets, where the past and present dwell simultaneously", and one of Belgrade's liveliest streets.
As the shortest route between the Belgrade Main railway station and downtown, for decades it was used by the passengers and visitors and, as the first street of Belgrade they would encounter, it was labeled as an "unofficial main transit thoroughfare of Belgrade immigrants". Due to its inclination, it was described as the "Belgrade's best known uphill".
Location
Balkanska originates at the Terazije Square, sole center of Belgrade. Its entire course, some 700 meters, is in the southern direction. It receives a short Pajsijeva street from the right and then crosses the Kraljice Natalije street, where it leaves the municipality of Stari Grad and enters Savski Venac. It then receives the Lomina street from the right and passes through the intersection where it crosses the streets of Gavrila Principa, Admirala Geprata and Milovana Milovanovića. It ends at the meeting with the Nemanjina Street, though its natural extension is the Hajduk Veljkov Venac and further, Sarajevska street.
History
The street was constructed in 1872, when it got its name it still bears today. Originally, it was routed as a connection between the Abadžijska (modern Kraljice Natalije) and Savamalska (modern Gavrila Principa) streets. This entire section of the city was projected by the Viennese architect Franz Janke. First proper building in the street was built in 1876, at the corner with the Abadžijska. In 1885, a tailor (abadžija) Đorđe Arsenijević opened his tailor store in that building and placed a plastered relief of a scissors on the building's front façade. As it was prolongued on both sides, it became the direct, and shortest, connection between downtown and Savamala, on the bank of the Sava river. In the 19th century, Balkanska was famous for its artisan shops: tailors, waxers, opančari, quilters. In the 20th century it became known for the food, as a location of some of the best pastries in Belgrade, especially known for its ice-creams and halva. At the top of the street one of the first fast-food facilities in Belgrade was open, "Leskovčanin", which used to sell Leskovačka pljeskavica. In general, Balkanska was a place where you could buy almost any type of goods. Today, only few of the old craftsman's shops survived, like pastry shops and bakeries, but as of 2015, the tanner shop, hat maker or purse tailor can still be found in the street. Some of the oldest, still operational shops are bakery "Anđelko" (est. 1920), purse tailor "Zlatko" (est. 1946) and hatter "Kapa Rade" (est. c.1949). In the 1960s, the street was known for the illegal street traders who were selling "the best English fabrics".
In order the preserve the craftsmanship for which the street was known, city government announced in July 2017 the project of adapting the Balkanska into the "street of the old crafts", not only as a tourist attraction but as a way of keeping the "spirit of Belgrade". In April 2018 it was announced that the small shops in the street will be reconstructed, the façades will be renovated and those which are empty will be offered to the artisans from other parts of the city. The reconstruction began on 10 July 2018 and is expected to last until 15 October. The asphalt concrete will be removed from the street completely and replaced with the stone slabs on the sidewalks while the street itself will be paved with cobblestone, like it was before. After the reconstruction is complete, the street will be declared a "special tourist zone".