An idea of establishing the first service for protection of cultural monuments in Belgrade appeared just before the Second World War in 1939 at one of the sessions of the City Municipality when a proposal of forming a Department within the cultural Department of the Municipality for research of Belgrade's past was given.

Yet, thirteen years after foundation of the Institute for protection and scientific research of cultural monuments of the National Republic of Serbia (1947), the National Committee of Belgrade founded the Institute for the protection of cultural monuments of Belgrade on May 27, 1960 («Beogradske novine» No. 13/60).

Jovan Sekulić was appointed Director of the Institute in October, 1960, and the Council of the Institute, which consisted of the following members-Stojan Simić, a retired minister, Bogdan Ignjatović, an architect and Svetislav Mandić, a painter-conservator, was established in November the same year.

A group of Belgrade professors and architects comprising of Miša Radovanović, Branislav Kojić, Ivan Zdravković, Bogdan Ignjatović, Dimitrije Leko, Oliver Minić and Bogdan Nestorović, launched an initative by the end of autumn 1960 that the Institute was to protect the house of Jevrem Grujić immediately.

Bojan Stupica was just about to finish his preparations for starting with construction works of Atelje 212 in Lole Ribara Street, and after his design the house of Jevrem Grujić was supposed to be taken down and the free space was supposed to be used for construction of Atelje.

"We couldn't afford to wait any longer. We had to decide quickly on protection of Jevrem Grujić's house and I had no knowledge of it.

Neither how the decision was to be made, the procedure after it had been made, nor about registering into some kind of registry of cultural monuments which still had not existed in the Institute" wrote Jovan Sekulić in his book On the paths of protection of cultural monuments, Belgrade, 2001.

Thus, by saving the house of Jevrem Grujić from its disappearing in 17 Lole Ribara Street, the first decision on protection of cultural monuments in Belgrade was made (ovde klik na 1.1).

The first associates of Director Sekulić, starting from March 1961, were archaeologist Gordana Marjanović, art historians Antica Pavlović and Milorad Dželebdžić, while the first architects-Ratislava-Gita Mađarević and Mila Vulović joined them a month later. Vladimir Brguljan, a jurist, was appointed Secretary General of the Institute in April, 1961.

The first official premises of the Institute were located in 5 Kumanovska Street in a «dilapidated ground floor building, rather a shed than a building, in the courtyard of the Service for vehicle maintenance, full of debris and other kind of rubbish-in two little dens with some joint tile stove between them».

First urgent works regarding technical protection were performed on the Tower Nebojša (which was in great danger of a complete collapse) and on the Bajrakli mosque in Gospodar Jevremova Street.

«Comprehensive exploring, architectonic and other surveys and researches, managed by architect Gita Mađarević in association with eminent professors of the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty for Civil Engineering in Belgrade, enabled, based on special expertise on ways of protecting the Tower Nebojša from further deformations, to secure the lowest parts of the Tower Nebojša with reinforced concrete and the fundaments of the tower as well, and then to secure upper areas of the ring structure with prestressed concrete and finally to perform conservation and restoration works on apertures and facade as well as to re-establish the wooden mezzanine construction within the tower itself» (Jovan Sekulić, On the paths of cultural monuments protection, Belgrade, 2001).

Urgent conservation and rebuilding works on minaret and rebuilding of calotte were performed on the Bajrakli mosque as well as spatial interior and exterior arrangement of the mosque. The works were managed by architect Mila Vulović.

The Institute for the protection of cultural monuments of Belgrade is presently located in the building of former Military Museum in Gornji grad (Upper town) of Belgrade Fortress.

During the first years of existance, beside decision-making on cultural monuments protection, the Institute was also performing conservation and restoration works on the most endangered architectural and archaeological heritage, recording new archaeological sites, single architectural objects, ambient urban and rural wholes, public monuments and collections, important places.

A priority in program orientation was given to publishing the knowledge of cultural heritage of Belgrade, because this activity was considered to be the most effective way of cultural heritage protection.

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A specially productive period was from 1970 till the early 1990s. An outstanding team of experts from the Institute for the protection of cultural monuments of Belgrade succeeded in imposing their competent knowledge on wider public and City Authority as well. This was the period of the most successful researches, work methodology development and the greatest conservation activities performance. All knowledge and experiances gained were conveyed to the Centre for Documentation which became, due to the Institute, one of the leading institutions for protection of cultural heritage in the country.

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The overall crisis of the 1990s had a serious impact on work of the Institute. Illegal construction, numerous constructing additions, demolitions, the so called «temporary structures» etc., changed considerably the look of our city.

The service for protection of cultural properties was marginalised and the value system was distorted. Common isolation of the country was being reflected onto negligence and anxiety of the instututions, too.

Nevertheless, the Institute was intensively engaged in preparations of a number of exhibitions on cultural heritage of Belgrade, trying to maintain and develop contacts with Europe by showing the exhibitions in country and abroad.

At the same time, new technologies and the first computer sofware for cultural monuments data processing were introduced.

Moreover, several important editions were published with great efforts and publishing the magazine «Nasleđe» (Heritage) was initiated at this time, too.

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The changes in the country in 2000 have had an impact on the Institute's work, too. The paths of protection services that were defined long time ago are being followed again.

Aspirations of the whole society towards faster integration into European institutions are becoming the priority in work of all governmental institutions and of the Institute for the protection of cultural monuments of Belgrade as well.

Employees:

During the last 45 years of work of the Institute for the protection of cultural monuments of Belgrade, the following people gave their active contribution to this culture institution:

Jovan Sekulić, Olivera Nikolić, Nadežda Milovanović, Gordana Marjanović,
Antica Ivančević, Milorad Dželebdžić, Mila Vulović, Vladimir Brguljan
Ratislava Madžarević, Natalija Dimitrijević, Milinko Ivanović, Danilka Vuletić, Danica Blagojević, Radovan Lazarević, Verica Vujić, Đurđica Bošković, Milanka Milović, Željko Škalamera, Vojislav Vasić, Marija Bogojević, Milka Grba, Branko Vujović, Gordana Gordić, Milojko Gordić,
Mahalbašić Paša, Mirjana Popović, Sreten Vujić, Zoran Jakovljević, Miroslav Dedić, Marko Popović, Dušanka Medenica, Milivoj Adamović, Branka Bremec, Danilo Radojević, Vera Motić, Branislav Vasiljević, Miljan Stevčić, Olivera Kobali, Svetislav Vučenović, Slobodan Nikolić, Jasmina Aleksić, Milorad Panić, Mileta Milić, Zoran Manević, Radojka Božović, Slobodan Popović,
Darinka Andrić, Svetlana Ivančević, Zoran Ilić, Julijana Mora, Milica Lovčević, Savo Miladinović, Nikola Stojanović, Julijana Moro, Bazić Stanimir, Svetolik Milosavljević, Marko Marković, Jovan Radović, Bafti Bafćari, Radojko Obradović, Josip Magdu, Radmilo Živković, Zlatibor Stojanović, Velimir Trojanović, Slobodan Stojanović, Danica Šumonja, Verica Rakočević, Milenko Tomić, Slobodan Mitrović, Mirjana Dedić, Gordana Janković, Aleksandar Veličković, Radomir Dojčinović, Vojislav Milošević, Rade Kostić, Miroljub Momčilović, Svetislav Kovačević, Aleksandar Đokić, Darinka Ubović, Miloš Popović, Radmila Milinković, Nikolić Aleksandar, Zoran Simić, Miodrag Petrović, Dragan Živanović, Branislav Perc, Dušan Petrović, Dragiša Stojanović, Radosav Stanojević, Svetlana Starec, Nebojša Apostolović, Renata Stojanović, Ljubomir Marinković, Siniša Momčilović, Desanka Novaković, Verica Nedeljković, Mile Miltenović, Milomir Radosavljević, Aleksandra Banović, Sava Starčević, Lilijana Ratković, Predrag Mišić, Aćim Ikač, Miladin Mladenović, Jovan Niković, Petar Brkić, Vladimir Jović, Gordana Kocić, Irena Logo, Sonja Petković, Vera Pavlović-Lončarski, Dušica Vasić, Jelena Kirovski, Ljiljana Radosavljević, Radiša Popović, Milutin Radosavljević, Dragutin Pešić, Milivoje Radulović, Vesna Matičević, Branko Gržetić, Dragan Gojković, Vukola Milašinović, Lidija Stojanović, Željko Rukavina, Đoko Vojnović, Srđan Petrović, Suzana Lazović,
Slobodan Klikovac, Nada Živković, Zlatko Uzelac, Olivera Milić, Stanislav Dojčinović, Jasna Sandić-Joksimović, Maja Škopelja, Branislava Marić, Ljiljana Marošević, Marija Ivanović, Aleksandra Fulgosi, Oliver Cvijović, Olivera Stojanović, Dragana Aleksić, Milica Todorović, Ljiljana Janković, Zoran Filipović, Aleksandar Ivanović, Tatjana Jakšić, Aleksandra Dabižić, Marina Nešković, Tatjana Videnović, Savo Armuš, Branislav Stojkov, Irena Miljević
Mirjana Milenković, Maja Marković, Zoran Tucić, Bojan Bojanić, Ljiljana Tomić, Milina Marković, Snežana Negovanović, Svetlana Dimitrijević-Marković, Nela Mićović, Katarina Lisavac, Ksenija Živanović, Hajna Tucić, Natalija Marković, Nikolina Ilić, Slađana Tornjanski, Aleksandra Šević, Marina Pavlović, Bojana Ibrajter, Biljana Mišić, Jasna Cvetić, Svetlana Marković, Milana Jočić