History & Design:

Serbia was originally represented in the Yugoslav Cultural Garden, but after the Republic of Serbia gained its independence, Cleveland’s Serbian community created this unique Serbian Cultural Garden. As of 2024, there were nearly 4,800 people of Serbian ancestry living in Greater Cleveland.

A central terrace features a cube with a Serbian crest. Each of its quadrants features the letter “C” which, in the Cyrillic language, declares “Only Unity Saves The Serbs.” The pebble mosaic surrounding the cube is a reproduction of mosaics found at the Hilandar Monastery in Greece and at the Patriarchate of Pec and Zica Monasteries in Serbia. A bronze icon of St. Sava, patron saint of the Serbian people, was dedicated at the terrace on September 9, 2009. Sava was a 12th Century prince and diplomat, educator, the founder of Serbian law and an Orthodox monk.

Statuary/Busts/Reliefs/Monuments:

A trail meanders south from the plaza, parallel to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and ends at another plaza. This trail has busts of Serbian icons, and many of the busts were sculpted by Serbian craftsman Ivan Falker. The statue of Petar Petrovic Njegos was the only installation repurposed from the former Yugoslav Cultural Garden.

The busts include engineer and genius Nikola Tesla; Mileva Marić, physicist and mathematician and wife of Albert Einstein; Novak Djoković, tennis champion and humanitarian; Jovan Dučić, poet, academic diplomat and patriot; and Desanka Maksimovich, Serbian poet and member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

In 2022, a memorial plaque was dedicated for George Victor Voinovich, who was born of Serbian and Slovenian descent. Voinovich spent more than 46 years in public service — including terms as mayor of Cleveland, governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and U.S. senator from Ohio.