Medieval fortresses represent an important tangible heritage of a nation’s culture and a valuable development asset for a particular destination on which its place-branding strategy for tourism could be built upon. Traditionally in Serbia, heritage protection and conservation have been mainly concentrated on the tangible aspects of cultural sites and monuments. Nevertheless, with the advent of urban heritage integration in the local sustainable development processes and place-branding strategies, a greater appreciation of the spirit of the place and its intangible components, as well as the need to adapt it to local contexts with more participatory forms of heritage planning, have started to emerge. A wide range of stakeholders brought the involvement and participation of both the local government and community members, including residents, as an indispensable element of the protection actions and broader urban development policies. The paper aims to validate the correlation between both intangible and tangible cultural heritage and its contemporary use for place branding and tourism development. In doing so, we have employed the case study method on the two fortresses on the Danube in Serbia to show the ways in which local stakeholders have mobilized their forces in cooperation with the university to use their cultural heritage assets for tourism and more extensive sustainable territorial development. We have found that despite new inclusive forms of governance, which is attracting the attention of planning and heritage practitioners in Serbia, the contemporary approach of integrative protection and the intangible aspects of cultural heritage are still not fully utilized. For this reason, in this study, we consider methods based on environmental aesthetics approaches to cultural heritage that point out the significant inclusion of immaterial intangible cultural heritage in an unbreakable bond with material tangible heritage. The most remarkable result of our research is that while a vast number of stakeholders with local knowledge and sense of the spirit of the place have been involved in the planning process, intangible aspects of the analyzed heritage cases are present in educational projects, and are only partially present if it comes to implementation. This clearly demonstrates that the focus on tangible aspects and spatial interventions of the place branding of cultural heritage is still dominant in Serbia, despite acknowledgment of the economic and social aspects of sustainability in the planning phase in educational projects.

This paper aims to explore industrial heritage of Belgrade that is located in the city center and therefore, has considerable potential for future architectural and urban development of the Serbian capital. The whole Belgrade riverfront area along the Sava and the Danube Rivers has a large number of abandoned industrial buildings that have significant value and need to be preserved and revitalized. This paper represents a research project conducted by lecturers at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade in the course History and Theory 1—Visual Culture in Architectural Theory and Practice. In order to provide productive research, we have employed the case study method based on the old Mint “A.D.”, which we have chosen as a characteristic example of Belgrade’s industrial heritage architecture. An important goal of this research is to provide professional information and raise public awareness about the importance and potential of industrial heritage for the future economic, cultural, social and tourist development of the city. This paper analyzes possibilities to comprehend the problems of the city’s industrial heritage protection regarding its historical and urban context, its genesis, authenticity, identity, cultural, architectural, economic, social, productive, creative and environmental values. According to that, the main goal of this research is concentrated on the sustainable preservation of specific cultural tangible and intangible values, spirit of the place, city identity and historic cityscape values that characterize industrial heritage in the social, cultural, natural and built environmental systems.

This study explores spiritual resilience as a mechanism for sustaining cultural landscapes, focusing on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Studenica Monastery (Serbia). By analysing the monastery’s sacred network, which includes monasteries, hermitages, and churches, the study demonstrates how material heritage (architecture, art), intangible practices (monastic life, liturgy, traditional crafts), and the natural environment (UNESCO MaB Golija–Studenica Biosphere Reserve) form a cohesive system of resilience. The concept of spiritual resilience is examined as a dynamic process that links sacred architectural structures and enduring religious practices with authentic land use preserved over centuries. We have utilised a methodological framework combining historical mapping, GIS viewshed analysis in spatial planning, and multidisciplinary data synthesis (historical, architectural, artistic, ecological, ethnographic) with resilience indicators aligned with the UNESCO’s Cultural Landscape approach. The findings reveal that Studenica’s sacred network operates as a coupled socio-ecological system. Spiritual practices, including annual processions and land stewardship rituals, have been identified as key factors in enhancing biodiversity conservation while mitigating land-use conflicts. Historical mapping has been used to highlight the overlap between sacred sites and protected ecological zones, reflecting traditional stewardship practices. By reframing heritage as an adaptive process where spirituality serves as a conduit between tradition and innovation, the study proposes replicable strategies for UNESCO sites worldwide. The concept of sacred landscapes as resilience hubs is furthered by alignment with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Faced with contemporary environmental, social, political and economic challenges, architectural heritage of past centuries is the target of transformation and disappearance. The paper investigates the rapid disappearance of the architectural heritage created between the two World Wars on the example of the extremely large and valuable architectural work of the architect Milutin Borisavljević. Between 1927 and 1941, Milutin Borisavljević has built 123 buildings in Belgrade, of which 114 are examples of residential architecture that were made for private clients. Borisavljević's architectural oeuvre is recognized as a very valuable cultural heritage that inherits the principles of academicism - where the French Renaissance style and classicism prevail, respecting the principles of Borisavljević's scientific aesthetics of architecture - the original aesthetic theory conceived by Milutin Borisavljević in the twenties of the 20th century. The main goal of the paper is to review the changes in the urban image of Belgrade today and in the time between the two World Wars - when Borisavljević built buildings at Neimar, Vračar, Stari grad, Senjak and Pašino brdo - forming authentic urban environments whose atmospheric essence still endures today. The fact is that many of Borisavljević’s beautiful houses built in these urban areas were demolished under the pretext that they were dilapidated buildings (low-rise buildings), and in their place were built high-rise buildings because of the economic profitability. In the last twenty years, more than 30 Borisavljević’s building were demolished, while on the other hand, their aesthetic beauty was the main reason behind the purchase of these buildings by the private individuals and public companies that renovated the buildings, but often not in accordance with the cultural heritage protection measures, and also neglecting the principles Borisavljević's scientific aesthetics of architecture. The paper discusses the irony and discrepancy of the ethical attitude of the architectural profession towards its historical cultural heritage, which is disappearing for various reasons, whether it is completely destroyed or transformed by the application of inadequate forms of reconstruction.

Our global society is encountering different challenges of the twentyfirst century. Our cities are in the process of constant transformation influenced by urbanisation, globalisation, advanced technologies, environmental and ecological changes, social, political and economic crises. While corporative capitalism has flourished, world population is growing and our cities are sprawling, architecture is reaching almost utopian visions and the boundaries of aesthetics are becoming more and more loose and permeable. Today our contemporary society lives and acts aesthetically. From art, architecture, music, religion, politics, communication, technological gadgets, homes, gardens, clothes, cuisine to sport and life coaching, everything is a subject to aesthetical consideration. Aesthetical consideration of architecture and urbanism in a constantly changing world demands critical and interactive approaches, that will not only deal with theoretical aesthetic opinions, but also the practical ones. Accordingly, this paper seeks to discuss aesthetical problems of contemporary architecture and urban planning from global, environmental, technological and social points of view. Nature is no longer seen as a paradigmatic object of aesthetic experience, but as our unique collective environment upon which we humans depend. Therefore architecture emerges etic and aesthetic approaches in order to reconsider burden of our cities and possible ways of their future development.

This paper studies significant and forgotten, but not less important, built and unrealised designs by Serbian architect Aleksandar Deroko. It seeks to achieve a continuous view in dealing with Deroko`s architectural work versus the historical discontinuity of political, territorial-geographic and social circumstances. It is impossible to separate Deroko as an architect from Deroko as a scholar, researcher, historian of architecture and art, an academic professor, painter, artist, writer, chronicler of his time, protector, conservator and historiographer of Serbian cultural heritage. The main aim of this paper is to apply comprehensive research approach within which his work in the field of architectural design will be considered in a complementary and pluralistic way. Deroko's architectural projects examined in their details and altogether represent distillate of Deroko's erudite personality, which casts shadow on relevant questions of Serbian history of architecture placement: How to understand it, observe and examine it, from Yugoslav or Serbian perspective, from the position of continuity or discontinuity, through characteristics of general or particular?