House of the National Assembly

The House of the National Assembly stands at Trg Nikole Pašića 13 in the Stari Grad municipality of Belgrade, Serbia, and is the seat of the Serbian parliament. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 under King Petar I Karađorđević, with a design by the architect Konstantin Jovanović, which was revised by Jovan Ilkić after Jovanović's death. Construction was interrupted by the Balkan Wars and the First World War, and the building was completed only in 1936, when the first session was held in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The style is Academic Neoclassicism with Baroque influence, with a monumental facade, a portico of Ionic columns and a central dome, and the sculptural group by Toma Rosandić and Đorđe Jovanović shows horses held by tamers on the main steps. The interior is large, with a central hall in marble, a grand staircase, a domed rotunda and decorative wall paintings and stucco, and the chamber where parliament sits. Murals and works of art line some of the halls. The building was used by the Yugoslav federal parliament after 1945 and again by the Serbian National Assembly after the breakup of the country. It was damaged during the Second World War and later restored, and the 2000 protests that preceded the fall of Slobodan Milošević took place in front of it. Guided visits are offered on selected days and need to be booked in advance through the Assembly website, with free entry. A tour takes about 45 to 60 minutes and covers the main halls. Identification may be required. The square in front is a regular site of public gatherings.