PARC JOVAN-DUČIĆ

This 2.8 ha wooded park (Gradski Park Jovan Dučić/Градски Парк Јован Дучић) was created by the Austro-Hungarian authorities in 1890. Since the end of the last war, it has been dedicated to the Serbian poet and diplomat Jovan Dučić (1871-1943), a native of Trebinje. He died in exile in the USA, but bequeathed his estate to his hometown. Since 1997, a bronze statue of him has adorned the entrance to the park, south of Place des Platanes. A little further on is that of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (1813-1851), a Montenegrin poet and philosopher who was Prince-Bishop of Montenegro. This statue was financed by Jovan Dučić and realized in 1934 by Serbian sculptor Toma Rosandić (1878-1958). Finally, a fountain features a statue of the imaginary god Plakir, a sort of Cupid invented by the great Croatian playwright Marin Držić (1508-1567). Originally from Dubrovnik, this "Shakespeare of the Balkans" had a considerable influence on South Slavic literature. In the south-western part of the park, the large "Fighters' Square" honors the partisans who died in the Second World War, with a monument bearing a composition of five figures by the Serbian-Jewish sculptor Nandor Glid (1924-1997), responsible for Shoah monuments in Dachau, Mauthausen, Belgrade, Thessalonica and Jerusalem. The southern part of the park is occupied by the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord and a 1960s complex housing the city's theater and cultural center.