Ruins of the National Library of Serbia

About Ruins of the National Library of Serbia

These are the ruins of the former National Library of Serbia on Kosančićev venac, not the operating library on the St Sava Plateau. The National Library’s own history says the institution acquired a former cardboard-factory building here after 1920. That building burned to the ground during the bombing of Belgrade on 6 April 1941.

The loss went far beyond the structure. Serbia’s government records that about 500,000 volumes, 1,424 Cyrillic manuscripts and charters, 1,500 cartographic and graphic items, 4,000 journal titles and 1,800 newspaper titles were destroyed. The site therefore marks the destruction of a national collection as well as a wartime ruin.

The present National Library opened on the St Sava Plateau in 1973. At Kosančićev venac, the Ministry of Culture announced reconstruction planning in April 2026 and said a future building should include a memorial centre. Until that work changes the site, plan this as an outdoor historical stop among the remaining foundations rather than as a working library with reading rooms or exhibitions.

Sources

• nb.rs
• www.kultura.gov.rs
• www.srbija.gov.rs

Checked 2026-09-07

Where it is

• 30 min

  1 min walk · Stari Grad

  High School of the Serbian Orthodox Church for Arts and Conservation

  • Notable
  • Place of worship
• 45 min

  2 min walk · Stari Grad

  Obelisk of the Non-Aligned Countries

  • High
  • Historic monument
• 1 hour

  2 min walk · Stari Grad

  Princess Ljubica's Residence

  • Must see · Heritage site
  • Museum

External links