- “Pobednik”(“The Victor”) is the monument that was erected in 1928 in the Upper Town of the Belgrade Fortress. It was built to commemorate Serbia’s victory over Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire during the Balkan Wars and the First World War.
- “Pobednik” is one of the symbols of Belgrade.
- The monument is the work of sculptor Ivan Meštrović.
- It consists of a bronze male figure with a falcon in the left hand and a lowered sword in the right.
- In 1912, Meštrović designed a monumental fountain which was to be placed in Terazije, to honour the final victory over the Ottomans.
- At the centre of the basin was to be a marble column surmounted by the 5 m tall statue of the Victor. The column was to have 5 segments, representing 5 centuries of Ottoman occupation. When the First World War broke out, the construction of this project was abandoned. Finally and after much debate, the statue of Victor was placed on Kalemegdan.
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