Icarus on the Air Force Command Building – Belgrade, Serbia - Atlas Obscura
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Icarus on the Air Force Command Building

Belgrade, Serbia

An Art Deco Icarus statue adorns this abandoned gem of Yugoslav Modernist architecture.  

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Icarus statue at night Lana Velkov (Atlas Obscura User)
Icarus statue at night Lana Velkov (Atlas Obscura User)
The Air Force Command Building Nicolo/CC BY 3.0 RS
Main gate of the Air Force Command Building Андријана/CC BY-SA 4.0
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No feathers or wax can be seen on the Icarus statue which adorns Serbian architect Dragiša Brašovan’s masterful piece of Yugoslav Modernist architecture: the Air Force Command Building in Belgrade. The building is five floors tall, and its central tower soars almost 120 feet into the air.

Mythological figures often feature in Yugoslav buildings. This Icarus statue, designed by sculptor Zlata Markov, stands out on the building’s eastern facade, which can be seen from Glavna Street, and the building itself is hard to miss. The grey monstrosity stands out in the Zemun neighborhood, where one mainly sees the stylistic influences of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

In the 1990s, this building was one of the many damaged in NATO bombing campaigns. Although it has since been abandoned, the Air Force Command Building or komanda ratnog vazduhoplovstva is an absolute must-see, not far from Novi Beograd.

Know Before You Go

Because of damage from NATO bombs, there is no way to go inside the building. The entire building however can be viewed from the Avijaticarski Trg, Glavna, Viktora Bubnja and Akademska streets. In Aviator Park, which the building faces, you can also find mementos and statues dedicated to the Yugoslav Air Force, including for those who lost their lives in the building's bombing.

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