Hotel Jugoslavija

Hotel Jugoslavija Хотел Југославија
Old Jugoslavija logo
Hotel chain	Kempinski
General information
Location	Belgrade, Serbia
Address	Bulevar Nikole Tesle 3
Opening	1969
Closed	Night of 7/8 May 1999, after direct hit during NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Owner	Greek real estate fund
Design and construction
Architect	Lavoslav Horvat
Other information
Number of rooms	258

Hotel Jugoslavija (Serbian Cyrillic: Хотел Југославија) in Belgrade is one of the oldest luxurious Serbian hotels. It is located in the Novi Beograd municipality.

The Zemun railway station was located next to were the modern hotel is. It was built in 1883 during the rule of Austria-Hungary, when the railway, which connected Zemun to Novi Sad, was finished. In 1884 the railway was extended across the Sava into the Kingdom of Serbia as the first railway in the country. The very first train from Serbia, with the passengers including King Milan, Queen Natalija and Crown Prince Alexander, stopped at this station on its way to Vienna.

The station was operational until 1970. To commemorate it, architect Milun Stambolić designed a memorial complex which consists of 5 pillars, which used to hold the station's overhang, and several meters of railroad tracks. The complex is placed on the plateau next to the hotel, on the small elevation above the promenade along the Danube.

According to the original concept, the hotel was to be named "Belgrade". Famous architects Mladen Kauzlarić, Lavoslav Horvat and Kazimir Ostrogović, 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 Pantović, Vladeta Maksimović and academic Ivan Antić took part in designing of the hotel and the interior.

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 who stayed in the Hotel Jugoslavija include Queen Elizabeth II, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, U Thant, Willy Brandt, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Tina Turner, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin.