The Apiarium garden

Abstract

Belgrade is a city in the Balkan peninsula and has hosted different Empires through the centuries which formed a vivid cultural heritage. When thinking about a possible future identity, the city must cope with its complex history, present memories alive in the city and a range of different narratives that interweave with selfsame. Looking for a physical presence of Belgrade's vivid past, the Kalemegdan fortress, on the confluence of the river Sava and Danube, embodies such agglomeration. It was for centuries that Belgrade's population was concentrated only within the fortress walls. Thus, until most recent times, the fortress's history reflects on the history of Belgrade itself. Located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad, it is the oldest section in the urban tissue and symbolic its core. Besides these city-specific attributes, Belgrade's artificial environment has- as for every big city- grown to an enormous extent. Therefore, the boundary between natural and artificial, these contradictions, has frown ever-expanding. However, as every large city witnesses climate change and its aftermaths, they can no longer afford to antagonise and keep nature out. Zoos have always reflected the current relation of humans with flora and fauna. In doing so, Belgrade Zoo might need a rethinking of its initial function. Partly situated in the fortress's heritage, the moats of the zoo can become an example in the city for multi-species encounter.