Return to glorious period of the Nemanjic will total EUR 40 - Preliminary design of Kraljevgrad implies construction of museum, church, hotels, restaurants, markets, conference halls...

(Preliminary design of Kraljevgrad)

On some twenty kilometers from Kraljevo, near the Nemanjic place, next to Maglic fortress, a specific middle-age building, the Kraljevgrad settlement,could emerge soon.

Nebojsa Simovic, a creator of Kraljevgrad, says in his conversation with eKapija, that it is a replica of middle age city which would be built near the Maglic on 4 hectares.

- A separate tower will be paid to each one of seven Serbian kings with exhibits from that period such as swords, crowns, uniforms, jewelry. Museum would be dedicated to the Nemanjic dynasty.

A church would be placed in one part of the complex. Apart from that, traditional hospital, a drug store, crafts school and a market, with a well would also be included.

- There will be 800 beds for accommodation, suites with wellness and fitness centers as well as a number of catering facilities such as old inns, cake shops, wells with vines, etc - Simovic points out.

Since the complex is made for tourists, apart from hotel and catering facilities, there would be a sounir shop as well as an info desk.

The open space on 12.000 square meters would comprise stable of horses which would include a school of horse riding as well as an arena with marital arts typical for middle ages, sports courts with some 500 places for spectators.

Offices of management would also be placed in the settlement as well as other business premises such as congress center with a conference hall of 1.000 square meters.

It is interesting that all facilities would be built in line with the middle-age lifestyle. The city would offer different facilities typical for middle ages.

- Trading would be possible in coins with a face of King Radoslav because during his reign, the first Serbian coin appeared and trading would be carried out in all facilities but also in a large open market where domestic products from this region, brandy, honey, wild blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, forest mushrooms... - our collocutor says.

- Kraljevgrad will be who will the largest factory under the open sky - Simovic claims adding that it will operate 365 days in a year, it will employ hundreds of people and attract more than 400.000 tourists per year who will enjoy the center of literary, painting, music and poetry culture.

At the recent presentation of preliminary design which was generated by architects Jelena Krstovic-Nikolic and Goran Nikolic, we were told that the construction method as well as choice of construction material will be in the middle-age manner.

-There are certain specific points because local stone will be used and traditional manner of construction but also modern materials and technologies are present such as steel bars, structural glasses - creators of preliminary design say.

The preliminary design was developed in cooperation with the Directorate for construction land of the city of Kraljevo, spatial plan was defined where a settlement would be located and it will be necessary to solve infrastructure problems such as parking security, sufficient water or electricity quantities.

The project totals some EUR 40 mil and the City administration says that they are ready for cooperation and all funding options, from private capital investment to public private partnership.

A famous director, Emir Kusturica, who was at the spot and helped in determining location of this settlement is among a number of public personalities who supported this project.

Although Kraljevgrad reminds of Kusturica's Drvengrad, creators of preliminary design say that the idea is basically the same. While Drvengrad is designed as an environmental village, Kraljevgrad will be the first revived middle-age town in Serbia.

Irina Milosevic