Skadarlija
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Skadarlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Скадарлија) is a vintage street, an urban neighborhood and former municipality of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad and generally considered the main bohemian quarter of Belgrade, styled the Belgrade's Montmartre.
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[edit] Location
Skadarlija is located less than 300 meters north-west of Terazije, central Belgrade. It begins right below the Square of the Republic and stretches along the street of the same name.
[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 The 1854 town plan of Belgrade reveals that the Gypsy hovels had been replaced by brick buildings into which artisans, caterers, petty clerks and others moved. The whole locality was referred to as the Gypsy Quarter until 1872, when the street was named after the city of Shkodër (Serbian: Skadar), which was part of the Serbian medieval state (today in Albania). Skadarska ulica, Serbian for "Skadar street" is still the official name.
Skadarlija began to acquire its bohemian character in the last few decades of the 19th century and particularly after 1901, when the well-known Dardaneli inn was demolished and its guests, prominent writers and actors, moved to the Skadarlija inns. The best-known of these were Tri šešira (Three hats), Dva jelena ("Two deers"), Zlatni bokal (Golden chalice), Bandist, East, Guild, Vuk Karadžić, Two Sergeants. First three still survive today, accompanied by some new restaurants, like Ima dana ("There will be days"), Skadarlija (demolished in 2006), Dva bela goluba ("Two white doves"), etc.
Over the years Tri šešira 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 a group of prominent artists (architect Uglješa Bogunović [b.1922], writer and painter Zuko Džumhur [b. 1921, d. 1989], painter Mario Maskareli [b. 1918, d. 1996], sculptress Milica Ribnikar-Bogunović [b. 1931], etc) which managed to preserve its existing values and introduce modern facilities without interfering with the former.
Skadarlija became a separate municipality of Belgrade in 1952, after the previous division of Belgrade into districts (rejon, 1945-52) ended. On January 1, 1957 it merged into the new municpality of Stari Grad. Population of the modern local community (mesna zajednica) of Skadarlija was 5,942 in 2002.
[edit] Present
The present Skadarlija, a short and curved street which is a remarkable Belgrade tourist attraction, includes well-known restaurants, hotel Le Petit Piaf, art galleries, antique and souvenir shops, Sebilj fountain, etc. Groups singing either Gypsy music or traditional city music and actors dressed in traditional Serb costumes perform freely down the street. Unlike other similar and popular places in Belgrade, Skadarlija is known as a place visited by the entire families with children and young couples, as Skadarlija is popular as a romantic place. Restaurants offer the typical national cuisine, most notably the roštilj (grilled meat) with pivo (beer). Skadarlija's cafes, restaurants, art exhibits and cobblestone promenade attract up to 20,000 people daily.
