Skadarlija
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skadarlija (English: Skadar street) is a street and district of Belgrade, Serbia renowned as a bohemian quarter and often compared to Montmartre in Paris. Its cafes, restaurants, art exhibits, and cobblestone promenade attract up to 20,000 people each day.
Contents |
[edit] History
The history of Skadarlija began in the 1830s with the settlement of gypsies in the abandoned trenches in front of the ramparts. The whole locality was referred to as the Gypsy Quarter until 1872, when the street was named after the Albanian city of Shkodër (serb. Skadar), which was part of the Serbian medieval principality of Duklja. The 1854 town plan of Belgrade reveals that the Gypsy hovels had been replaced by brick buildings into which artisans, caterers, petty clerks and others moved.
Skadarlija began to acquire its bohemian character in the last few decades of the 19th century and particularly after 1901, when the well-known Dardanelles inn was demolished and its guests, prominent writers and actors, moved to the Skadarlija inns. The best-known of these were Three Hats, Vuk Karadžić, Two Deers, Two Sergeants, Golden Jug, Bandist, East, Guild.
Over the years Three Hats welcomed numerous famous guests such as Jimi Hendrix, George H. W. Bush, Tito, King Juan Carlos I of Spain , Anatoly Karpov, Sandro Pertini, etc.
Đura Jakšić, a well-known Serbian writer and painter, lived and died in Skadarlija. His house has been turned into a meeting place for the poets participating in the Skadarlija Evenings event. Its renovation and restoration began in 1968 in accordance with the designs made by Uglješa Bogdanović, a prominent Belgrade architect, who managed to preserve its existing values and introduce modern facilities without interfering with the former.
[edit] Present
The present Skadarlija, which is a remarkable Belgrade tourist attraction, includes well-known restaurants, hotel Le Petit Piaf, art galleries and antique and souvenir shops. You may encounter groups singing either gypsy music or traditional city music, people dressed in traditional Serb costumes (presumably supported by the local touristic organizations). This is a place for families, full of children, but also of young couples; a place to taste the typical rostilj, that is grill with a pivo (beer), and to spend an evening talking with friends.
