GOSPODARSKI KONAK: THE FIRST PRINCELY COURT OF PRINCE MILOŠ OBRENOVIĆ IN BELGRADE

This article examines the Gospodarski konak, the earliest Belgrade residence of Prince Miloš Obrenović, as a foundational site in the spatial articulation of modern Serbian statehood. Drawing on archival documentation, travel accounts, and the only surviving historical drawing of its façade, the study reconstructs the architectural form, functional organization, and symbolic program of this now-lost building. Although modest in scale, the konak embodied a hybrid architectural vocabulary rooted in Ottoman-Balkan residential traditions while simultaneously serving as the proto-courtly seat of a new Serbian polity. Its spatial configuration, ceremonial functions, and visual markers, most notably the juxtaposition of the sultan’s tughra and the Serbian coat of arms,—revealed the negotiated coexistence of imperial authority and emerging national autonomy. Through interior analysis, the article highlights the political and cultural significance of key spaces such as the Šarena Room, the haremlik quarters, and the administrative office, emphasizing how domestic interiors participated in the performance of sovereignty, sociability, and bureaucratic formation. By situating the konak within frameworks of political theology, representational publicity, and spatial theory, the study argues that this residence operated as a dynamic arena in which authority was materially enacted and continuously made visible. Although demolished in 1847, the Gospodarski konak remains essential for understanding how architecture mediated the transition from dynastic rule to institutional statehood in nineteenth-century Serbia.