PHOTOGRAPHY: Hotel Jugoslavija

Hotel Jugoslavija (Serbian: Хотел Југославија / Hotel Jugoslavija) translated in English to Hotel Yugoslavia in Belgrade is one of the oldest luxurious Serbian hotels located in the Novi Beograd municipality, of Belgrade.

It was opened in 1969 as one of the biggest hotels in the region. It was used as an accommodation for celebrities and high officials visiting Belgrade. Some of the famous people that stayed in the Hotel Jugoslavija include Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter , U Thant, Queen Elizabeth II, Willy Brandt, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Tina Turner, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin.

During the 1999 NATO bombings of Yugoslavia, the hotel was directly hit by 2 missiles, and the west wing of the hotel was totally destroyed. One guest got killed.

According to the original concept, the hotel was to be named “Belgrade”. Famous architects Mladen Kauzlaric, Lavoslav Horvat and Kazimir Ostrogovic, followers of the Zagreb school of modernism won the first prize at the original tender in 1947. The hotel was built according to the modified project of the architect Lavoslav Horvat. Distinguished creators and builders, architects Milorad Pantovic, Vladeta Maksimovic and academic Ivan Antic took part in designing of the hotel and the interior.

I shot these pictures in May 2010, when the hotel was being used as part of a film set , I gained access to the rooms that have remained dormant and still since 1999.