was unofficially called New Belgrade. It was decided to build the fairgrounds complex adjoining to the already existing settlement. The foundation stone was ceremonially placed on 6 June 1937. It was built in three months and the facility was open on 11 September 1937. It was the site of the new Belgrade fair (hence the name) with modern and artistic buildings and constructions, including high metal spike construction, which became known as the Central Tower. Designed by the architects Milivoje Tričković, Rajko Tatić and Đorđe Lukić, it was envisioned as the monumental modern complex, with the Central Tower as the domineering motif. Around it, pavilions for the exhibitions were built: five Yugoslav, one for the “Nikola Spasić Foundation” and national pavilions of Italy, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary and the Dutch company Philips. The complex included: of roofed exhibition space, of open exhibition space, of lawns and flower beds and of roads and paths. It hosted international fairs, with task of promoting the economy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well. On the first exhibition from September 1937, there were 883 exhibitors, 493 Yugoslav and 390 foreign (17 countries from Europe, America and Asia). It had 310,000 visitors, while at the 1931 census Belgrade had a population of 266,849. In September 1938 one of the exhibitions on the fair was the first presentation of television in this part of Europe (it will be 18 years before first television station in communist Yugoslavia will appear), by Philips. The first motor show, 1938 Belgrade Car Show, was held in March 1938. After Yugoslav government signed a deal with the Czechoslovakian Škoda Works for the purchase of 300 tanks in 1937, as a gesture of thanks, the company decided to donate the towering construction as the parachuting attraction. The "parachutists tower" was opened on 2 June 1938, dedicated with lavish ceremony. The latticed steel construction was tall, becoming the tallest structure in Belgrade. The tower was an imposing and domineering structure, which, due to its height and position in the flat and low terrain, was visible from all parts of Belgrade from across the river. It was claimed that the Škoda Tower was the tallest facility of its kind in both Europe and the world. It was used both for the professional training of the parachutists, but also for the amateur jumps by the fair visitors. Construction of Staro Sajmište was an important, almost pivotal