Pobednik

Pobednik (Победник) is a monument in the Upper Town of the Belgrade Fortress, built to commemorate Serbia's victory over the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires during the Balkan Wars and the First World War. Cast in 1913, erected in 1928, and standing at high, it is one of the most famous works of Ivan Meštrović. It is also one of the most visited tourist attractions in Belgrade and one of its most recognizable landmarks. It is a standing bronze male figure in the nude with a falcon in the left hand and a sword in the right (as symbols of peace and war), modelled by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović, set on a pedestal in the form of a Doric column on a tall cubic base, designed by the architect Petar Bajalović. The statue looks forward across the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, and over the vast Pannonian plain, towards the very distant Fruška Gora mountain (until 1918 a domain of Austro-Hungarian empire), it is probably the most powerful, most popular visual symbol of Belgrade. The statue was removed from the column in October 2019 for repairs. It was returned on the pedestal after the restoration on 14 February 2020. The history of the monument goes back to the period between 1913 and 1928, even though the initial idea was born in 1912, when Serbia's success in the First Balkan War inspired proposals for erecting a monument in Belgrade to honour the final victory over the Ottomans. In August 1913 Belgrade city council made the decision to mark this momentous event by erecting a monument to Victory. Headed by the mayor Ljubomir Davidović, the council decided to rename the Terazije square and build the fountain with the monument in it. They also awarded the construction of the monument to Meštrović, without architectural competition. Meštrović accepted the job and quickly presented his design. The original concept was that of a monumental fountain which was to be placed in Terazije or what then was the Square of Crown Prince Alexander. The fountain was to be built of stone in the form of an oval basin, with in diameter, resting on the backs of four lions.