The artisan sculpture Belgrade

As a historian I often mind that in Belgrade people do not respect their traditions enough. This is a city of newcomers, of changes, of dynamics, not a place that hangs on to its past. Only rarely will you find a location that kept the memory of what was there before its time.

One of those rare spots is the front of the building of Radio Belgrade. On the first floor of this 1930s modernist masterpiece you will notice a group of sculptures. Seemingly simple, for those who know more they tell the history of this location in the last century and a half. The man and the kid are an artisan and his apprentice, surrounded by different tools of their crafts. This reminds us that the building was originally constructed for Artisans Home, back in the days when artisans were still an important part of the city's economy. The next layer is represented in the two pigeons by their feet. This is a reminder that for a century before 1933 here stood an inn called "At Two White Pigeons" that gave the name to the whole street on its side (today Svetogorska Street).

And there you have it: three different epochs, three different stories, all told in a few memorable pieces of stone. A real delight for all history lovers. A spot to reflect upon things past.