The Ghost Matrix of Belgrade’s City Centre - Tracing the Urban Memory in the Contemporary Urban Tissue of the Dorćol Settlement

Abstract

The constant development of Belgrade’s centre from ancient times until the present day has left significant traces in the morphology of the city, which remain unmarked today. By using a palimpsest method in the area of Dorćol settlement, which is one of the oldest continually inhabited zones of Belgrade, it is possible to locate the spatial elements from different chronological periods, which have determined the boundaries of the present-day urban matrix. The research is based on the overlapping of the historical and archaeological plans and maps of Belgrade, as well as mapping of the places of historical everyday life described in the various sources, which help determine the spatial and functional continuity of traces of urban elements from the past scattered throughout the contemporary urban tissue. Overlapping of the spatial elements from the past gives a new insight into the sites of urban memory artefacts and understanding the way they have directly influenced the location, position, volume and use of contemporary buildings and streets. The paper will identify and locate the layers of urban memory in the territory of Dorćol and its immediate surroundings to determine the (in)visible urban memory element – the Ghost Matrix, as a significant element of Belgrade’s heritage. The results of the research emphasize the continuity of the urbomorphological development of Dorćol, pointing out the precise locations of the (in)visible past within the city and their impact on everyday life today.