Below the modern monument and railway station, there is an underground water well, sort of a "twin" of the better known Roman Well in the Belgrade Fortress. The well was built on the same principle and being about the same depth as its fortress counterpart, which was is not "Roman" but was actually built by the Austrians in the first half of the 18th century. The area of the future Vukov Spomenik was the location of the first Serbian hippodrome. It was moved to the neighborhood of Marinkova Bara in the 1890s. Area of the former race tracks was turned into the park in 1907. It developed into the modern Park Ćirilo i Metodije in 1928, projected by Sava Nikolić. The park was named after one of the first Slavic enlighteners, Cyril and Methodius. The park was renovated in May 2017 when seedlings of horse-chestnut, red horse-chestnut and the weeping birch were planted. The area formed an eastern outskirts of Belgrade until the 1930s. A football field was set in the area and the oldest campus in Serbia was built here, too, in 1928. A donor of the campus was king Alexander I of Yugoslavia, so the campus was named "King Alexander the First". Prior to World War II, the campus was used as a seat of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia's Freemasons. In 1937, on the corner of the Bulevar kralja Aleksandra and Ruzveltova street, a monument to Vuk Karadžić, a major reformer of Serbian language, celebrating 150 years of his birth, was erected. After the monument, the entire neighborhood got its name. The entire neighborhood developed into an academic area, as University Library, Archives of Serbia and Technical faculties are located here.
Characteristics
Apart from its academic function, Vukov Spomenik is one of the busiest traffic spots in Belgrade, being on or near the crossroads of some of the most frequently used transportation routes. Additionailly, "Vukov Spomenik" is also one of the underground train stations of the future Belgrade Metro, which for now operates as part of the Belgrade-Pančevo railway, Belgrade and Pančevo. One of the landmarks in the neighborhood is the "King Alexander I Student residence". The three-storey building was constructed in 1927 and designed by the Russian white émigré architect Đorđe Kovaljevski. Massive, white building at 75 Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra, is designed in the AcademicEmpire style. The edifice is too pompous for the students' dormitory. Risalit is ornamented with four columns and two pilasters, all with Ionic capitals. Ornamented garlands divide the façade and architrave beam is cut in order to enhance the Empire style gable. The top arch is bordered with reliefs and marked by two antique amphoras which "guard" the arch. Sides are less decorated, but the ornaments are massive. Back façade faces the park and is lightened with the restaurant's terrace. In terms of architecture, the building is designed outside of the vogue of the day, appears "too heavy" and shows weaknesses of the Russian architectural schools. The building was declared a cultural monument. Administratively, Vukov Spomenik is a local community in its Zvezdara section, with a population of 9,529 by the 2011 census. Since the 1980s it includes the local community of Stari Đeram. Additionally, it is a main administrative center of the municipality of Zvezdara as a whole, as the Municipal assembly of Zvezdara is located here.
