The Knez Mihailova

One section of the pedestrian-only Knez Mihailova

In 2013, when New York City announced plans to close Greenwich, Vesey, and other streets around the World Trade Center site to unauthorized vehicle traffic, I expressed concerns about the viability of pedestrian-only streets in the United States. But seriously, with up to 15,000 people per hour using the busiest block before the pandemic (Dobnik 2014), New York's probably going to be okay, and the success of pedestrian zones in university towns has also been encouraging. 

A recent Tweet from Florence by Lava Sunder...

Car-free street in Florence

Thoughts and prayers to all the businesses suffering because of this decision pic.twitter.com/GYLUnkWGnk

— Lava Sunder (@LavanyaSunder) May 11, 2022

...produced reports from Belgrade (my picture above), Bologna (on certain days), Brussels, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Mexico City, and the entire town of Pontevedra, Spain.

The 750 meter long pedestrian-only street in downtown Belgrade known as Knez Mihailova--named for a chieftain in the early 19th century--is the spine of a no-car zone including all streets that lead into it from where it splits off from the busy boulevard Terazije until it ends at the Pariska highway across from Kalemegdan Park, and including portions of parallel streets as well. The souvenir shops along with some of the restaurants and other attractions may be more oriented to visitors than residents, but either way there's always a crowd--even on the Monday midday when I took these pictures.

The Knez Mihailova begins where it splits off from the Terazije:

Southern end of the Knez Mihailova

It can also be accessed from the landmark Trg Republike (Republic Square)...

the Knez is past the big building on the left

 

...and from the lovely Studenski Trg (Students Square) by the University of Belgrade:

Alley access from Studenski Trg 

Buildings along the Knez Mihailova are just the right height to provide enclosure, and there's just enough bend in the street to provide intrigue.

Looking northward

Blocks are anchored by historic buildings, like this one which houses the Institut Francais de Serbie:

Zmaj Jovina 11

Fancy hotels like the Indigo give it a touristy feel:

Kneza Mihaila 20

Geca Kon's bookstore is the oldest bookstore in the Balkans

Kneza Mihaila 12

Al fresco dining is widely available:

Adventure Caffe 2, Zmaj Jovina

While commerce is dominant, there are obvious signs of a residential population:

Akademski Plato 35

Not all apartments are that fancy, though probably the primo location allows for premium pricing:

Down Dure Jaksica

Portals add intrigue to your walk, even if this one goes to a parking lot:

Kneza Mihaila 48

Another portal leads to a Handmade Market:

Entrance to the market

There are museums in the district, including the Zepler Museum of Contemporary Serbian Art:

42 Kneza Mihaila

Street musicians rotate at what seems to be a designated spot. Not all have rabbits.

Intersection with Nikole Spasica.
Steakhouse behind her (Kneza Mihaila 49) advertises halal food

There are wayfinding signs...

Intersection with Kralja Petra

...maps with 5- and 15-minute walk radii...

Wayfinding sign with 15-minute walks from Trg Republike

...and for the globally-minded, a latitude-longitude marker:

a.k.a. Kneza Mihaila 36

Toward the north end of the Knez Mihailova, there is... a mall? Really? It has a Starbucks, WiFi, restrooms, and an information booth that testily stresses it is not a "park ranger" i.e. is only for mall shoppers.

Kneza Mihaila 54

At the approach to the Pariska highway and Kalemegdan Park are two landmark buildings. On the west (left) side is the Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, built in 1937.

Pariska 14

Between the Salon and the Pariska, poet and government official Milan Rakic (1876-1938), a native of this very street, tends his garden:

Park Milana Rakica

Across the street is the Belgrade City Library, built in 1867 for a hotel:

Kneza Mihaila 56
(formerly Hotel Srpska Kruna, built 1867)

It has books...

Familiar titles in an unfamiliar alphabet

...and art!

Work by Tamapa Zderic is on display through May 30

The Knez Mihaila ends at the busy boulevard Pariska, across which is the entrance to Kalemegdan Park. 

Wait for the green! The Pariska is wide and cars move fast

We've encountered pedestrian zones elsewhere on our trip, smaller but still ambitious, in the Belgrade municipality of Zemun and in Novi Sad, capital city of the autonomous province Vojvodina. 

As in Belgrade, Novi Sad's downtown zone is anchored by a large square, in this case commanded by a Roman Catholic Church:

Church of the Name of Mary 

On two blocks of Dunavska (street), and then bending around onto Zmaj Jovina, there are long blocks of retail establishments. Some buildings date from the post-1849 reconstruction.

More intriguing portals!

Pedestrian zones serve as popular gathering places, and in cities where housing density and public transit enable many people to have access to them seem to be successful--even on Mondays!

SEE ALSO: "Open Streets DC 2021," 7 October 2021

Thanks for your devotion to this blog!

Bridge over the Danuv, Novi Sad