“Medieval castle” of the Students’ Cultural Center (SKC) in the very heart of Belgrade is the most significant gathering place of young representatives of contemporary art and culture in nation’s capital, while between two world wars it was home to officers’ balls and the center of the urban culture.
Students’ Cultural Center, better known among Belgraders as SKC, is one of the most significant cultural institutions in the capital. It is located in the shadow of Beogradjanka in the very city center.
Yellow brick building with a corner tower built in the style of the Romanticism resembles more a medieval castle than a modern cultural center that nurtures revolutionary artistic spirit. Actually, this unique building with martial symbols of the façade was built as an Officers’ club, known as Officers’ House.
Today it is home to numerous exhibitions, concerts, plays, performances, workshops…
For decades Students’ Cultural Center has been the center of new ideas and tendencies. First rock’n’roll parties and screenings of films from the West were organized here. Furthermore, during the 70-ties of the last century conceptual music was initiated here.
As an institution, SKC was opened on Students’ Day in 1971, but the rich history of the building reaches far in the past.
The building intended for army was built by the ordered of King Aleksandar I Karadjordjević. The project was entrusted to Jovan Ilkić, one of the most prominent architects of the time, who among other works also projected the building of the National Assembly in Belgrade.
Officers’ House was opened on king’s birthday, on August 14th, 1895. Ironically, in 1903 a group of officers led by Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis left the Club in order to assassin King Aleksandar and Queen Draga.After this event in history known as “The May Owerthrow”, the Serbian throne was passed to the Karadjordjević dynasty.
Till the World War I and after it, the Officers’ Club was the center of urban culture where officers’ balls and humanitarian manifestations were organized.
Great hall of the ex Officers’ Club and today’s Students’ Cultural Center is decorated with high ceiling and colonnades, and it still remembers balls that stood out with prestige and elegance.
Till the World War II protocol, high officials, ceremonial uniforms, polished boots, white glows, elegance and opulence of the Belgrade ladies were representation of time that wrote famous pages on building’s history in the heart of Belgrade.
How to get to Students’ Cultural Center?
SKC is located in the center of the city, in Kralja Milana 48, just across the building of Palace Belgrade, better known as Beogradjanka, and next to the building of Yugoslav Drama Theatre. You can get here by public transport – tram 7 and 12, trolley 19, 21 and 29, and bus 31 and 74. All stops are located just in front of Students’ Cultural Center or just near it. If you prefer sightseeing on foot, take a walk to SKC that is 10-15 minutes far from the city center. –it’s a 10minutes’ walk from the city center.
