DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22262#0097
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MILENA VITKOVIC-ZIKIC
Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade
BAŁKAN CROSSROADS IN DRESS:
THE SERBIAN CITY COSTUME
For ages Serbia has been a crossroads of strategie, economic and cultural routes be-
tween East and West, North and South. Due to its geographical setting, the living
conditions in this region fostered the development of a costume style termed 'Ser-
bian City Costume'. It is composed of elements of both Oriental and European fash-
ion. In the course of gradual liberation after five centuries of the Turkish rule, the
national economy and culture were finally emancipated and the national middle
class appeared. For the Serbs this costume was not so much a functional cover or a
means of protection and decoration, as it was a symbol of their identity. They
wanted to demonstrate their distinct culture and reinforce solidarity among them-
selves. The design took on a strong national meaning.
The borders of Serbia were unstable between the First Uprising against the Turks
in 1804 and the proclamation of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1904. The beginning of
the nineteenth century was turbulent and dramatic, rocked by wars, epidemics and
poverty. In 1830 the Turkish Sułtan was forced to inerease privileges of the autono-
mous Serbian state: he recognised the hereditary rule of prince Milos Obrenovic,
enlarged his lands with six districts and the Turkish rule finally came to an end. Bel-
grade started developing as a national and cultural centrę. From 1815, the driving
force of the city's growth were craftsmen, most of them organised in guilds. Arts and
crafts flourished under a powerful influence of the Museum of Rarities founded in
Belgrade. The population of the capital city grew rapidly and the governments of
the major powers, Austria, Britain, Russia and France, opened their consulates.
Craftsmen, both local and foreign, played a major social role also in the early 1850s.
Craftsmen, merchants and military leaders became wealthy, which came through in
their expensive clothes, weapons and jewellery they ordered for themselves and their
families.
In the times of economic development accompanied by free import and export the
young bourgeoisie could indulge in a more comfortable life-style. Also, from the
1830s, the court ordered more and more artworks, most freąuently from Vienna but
also Budapest, London and Constantinople. Imported foreign goods produced by
95
MILENA VITKOVIC-ZIKIC
Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade
BAŁKAN CROSSROADS IN DRESS:
THE SERBIAN CITY COSTUME
For ages Serbia has been a crossroads of strategie, economic and cultural routes be-
tween East and West, North and South. Due to its geographical setting, the living
conditions in this region fostered the development of a costume style termed 'Ser-
bian City Costume'. It is composed of elements of both Oriental and European fash-
ion. In the course of gradual liberation after five centuries of the Turkish rule, the
national economy and culture were finally emancipated and the national middle
class appeared. For the Serbs this costume was not so much a functional cover or a
means of protection and decoration, as it was a symbol of their identity. They
wanted to demonstrate their distinct culture and reinforce solidarity among them-
selves. The design took on a strong national meaning.
The borders of Serbia were unstable between the First Uprising against the Turks
in 1804 and the proclamation of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1904. The beginning of
the nineteenth century was turbulent and dramatic, rocked by wars, epidemics and
poverty. In 1830 the Turkish Sułtan was forced to inerease privileges of the autono-
mous Serbian state: he recognised the hereditary rule of prince Milos Obrenovic,
enlarged his lands with six districts and the Turkish rule finally came to an end. Bel-
grade started developing as a national and cultural centrę. From 1815, the driving
force of the city's growth were craftsmen, most of them organised in guilds. Arts and
crafts flourished under a powerful influence of the Museum of Rarities founded in
Belgrade. The population of the capital city grew rapidly and the governments of
the major powers, Austria, Britain, Russia and France, opened their consulates.
Craftsmen, both local and foreign, played a major social role also in the early 1850s.
Craftsmen, merchants and military leaders became wealthy, which came through in
their expensive clothes, weapons and jewellery they ordered for themselves and their
families.
In the times of economic development accompanied by free import and export the
young bourgeoisie could indulge in a more comfortable life-style. Also, from the
1830s, the court ordered more and more artworks, most freąuently from Vienna but
also Budapest, London and Constantinople. Imported foreign goods produced by
95