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All Serbia Belgrade Icarus on the Air Force Command Building
AO Edited

Icarus on the Air Force Command Building

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

Belgrade, Serbia

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Lana Velkov
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Icarus statue at night   Lana Velkov / Atlas Obscura User
  dejandanailov/CC BY-SA 3.0
Main gate of the Air Force Command Building   Андријана/CC BY-SA 4.0
The Air Force Command Building   Nicolo/CC BY 3.0 RS
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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.

Related Tags

Abandoned Mythology Statues Architectural Oddities Architecture Soviet Soviet Architecture

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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Added By

Lana Velkov

Published

May 25, 2023

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  • https://architectuul.com/architecture/royal-air-force-command-building
  • https://www.russianartandculture.com/art-deco-moscow-and-belgrade/
Icarus on the Air Force Command Building
Avijatičarski trg br. 12
Belgrade
Serbia
44.841509, 20.413085
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