Seismological Institute Building

About

Seismological Institute Building (Serbian: Зграда Сеизмолошког завода, Zgrada Seizmološkog zavoda) is located in Tašmajdan, a park in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Built and adapted from 1908 to 1939, it was the first public building in this part of Belgrade and the first work of architect Momir Korunović, who later designed some of the most prominent Belgrade buildings during the interbellum and was nicknamed "Serbian Gaudi". It has been declared a cultural monument in 2007.

After an earthquake, declared by the geologist Jovan Žujović one of the strongest ever in Serbia, hit the town of Svilajnac in 1893 the Geology institute of the Great School began collecting data on earthquakes. After the Great School was transformed into the University of Belgrade in 1905, the university established the Seismology Institute in 1906 and proposed to locate it in Tašmajdan.

The commitment of the then assistant, and future professor, Jelenko Mihailović, the first and for many years only seismologist in Serbia, is particularly significant for the construction of the building.

The construction took place from 1908 to 1939, in four stages. The foundation stone was laid on 10 September 1908. The original building was constructed in 1909 by Korunović, using the company of Stevan Hibner from Belgrade. The work was continued in 1912, based on a design by architect Đuro Bajalović. After another two periods of construction in 1926 and 1939, the building took the form it has today.

Originally, the building had a single storey building, approximately square in plan, built entirely of brick, with a façade devoid of ornament. It was a pavilion-type construction, designed to serve a purpose rather than be decorative. Successive additions were more ornate, with arched lintels above the windows and the regular prongs over the roof cornice.

The building of the Seismological Institute is considered an object of significant cultural, historical and architectural value. The first work of distinguished Serbian architect Momir Korunović, it is the oldest public building erected in Tašmajdan and one of the hallmarks of Tašmajdan Park today.

The first seismographs were installed in 1909, recording their first earthquake in June 1910. The entire inventory of the institution was destroyed during World War I. Until recent days [ when? ], instruments acquired in 1929 as war reparations were used.

The Seismology Institute was officially part of the University of Belgrade until 1995, but is still located in Tašmajdan.

- А. Кадијевић, Један век тражења националног стила у српкој архитектури (средина XIX – средина XX века), Београд, 1997.

- С. Г. Богуновић, Архитектонска енциклопедија Београда XIX и XX века, архитекти, том II, Београд 2005.