Belgrades Hotel Yugoslavia‚ once a proud symbol of socialist progress stands silent and abandoned today awaiting its likely demolition. The iconic structure built in the 1960s (a symbol of modernist architecture) has fallen into disrepair its future uncertain amid debates over its historical significance and the push for urban development
The hotels white facade once gleaming and inviting is now marred by crumbling concrete and graffiti. Inside debris litters the once-pristine red carpeted floors while scattered pieces of broken furniture hint at its former opulence: faded velvet armchairs torn bed mattresses sagging curtains and broken windows are all that remain of its past luxury. The wood-paneled presidential suite where top dignitaries once stayed is now home to pigeons that fly in through the shattered glass
In its heyday after receiving its first guests about 55 years ago‚ it was a five-star hotel boasting one of the worlds biggest chandeliers made of 40‚000 Swarovski crystals and 5‚000 bulbs. Its guest list included Queen Elizabeth II‚ US Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter‚ astronauts including Neil Armstrong‚ and Belgian and Dutch royals
The hotel with a spectacular view of the Danube River in the capitals New Belgrade district was damaged in NATO bombing roughly 25 years ago. Only parts of the hotel were fully renovated and it kept receiving guests until a few months ago when private investors announced plans to demolish the structure and build a new one in its place
Two 150-meter-tall towers containing a luxury hotel offices and private apartments will be built according to the new owners. Zivorad Vasic‚ a spokesperson for the investors explained the reasons for complete demolition: “One is during the bombing in 1999‚ quite a lot of parts of the hotel were destroyed. Second‚ the hospitality industry completely and tremendously changed. When you look at hotels now and how they looked before‚ they were completely different“
Matija Zlatanovic‚ an architect and tourist guide who often takes tourists to the hotel to explain its rich history said the plans for the new hotel are “quite controversial“ especially because “there are valid concerns about the size of the buildings that are going to be erected here“
Half the world came to this hotel‚ from actors‚ musicians‚ politicians‚ writers
Neighbors who face living in the future shadows of the planned skyscrapers are not happy. Some are holding weekly protests against the new project saying they will stop the demolition with their bodies if necessary