A nother April will see the resi- dents and guests of the Serbi- an capital treated to the tradi- tional Days of Belgrade event, organised by the City Assembly. This time, the occasion for concerts, exhibitions, per- formances, walking tours and other activi- ties is represented by an historic anniversary – 150 years since the last Turkish command- er of the Belgrade fortress, Ali Riza Pasha, surrendered the keys of Belgrade to Prince Mihailo Obrenovi ć . The handing over of the keys was a symbolic act, given that Serbia was then de facto independent and only legally part of the Ottoman Empire. Everything immedi- ately prior to that was part of the famous “Obrenovićs” diplomacy, and immediate- ly after – cause for celebration which Bel- graders, it seems, have always been known for. Just like for fighting. But here’s how it all unfolded chronologically. Long after the disappearance of the Vinca culture from the first “megalopolis” in Europe – as its epi-centre in a suburban Belgrade neighbourhood is today defined by archaeologists – and after this place was conquered by Celts, then Romans, and then ransacked by Huns, Sarmatians, Ostrogoths and Avars, when it was no longer called Singidunum but had already gained its cur- rent name (878AD), Belgrade was ruled by Byzantium. Due to its convenient position at the confluence of the rivers Sava and Dan- ube, it was an“object of the dark desires”of
SPARROW AND ARROW “The Turkish sieges were so strong that after one a sparrow was allegedly found that had been pierced by three arrows,” explains Zorica Arsić, from the Association of Tour Guides of Serbia, which is why this tiny bird is the symbol of Belgrade. Some storytellers considered that three arrows were not eno- ugh, so they exaggerated the number to six, in order for the tragedy to be even more remarkable.
be worded in today’s political vocabulary. Arriving on the scene then was the dip- lomatically skilled Prince Mihailo.“Drilling” from here, from there, he received an invi- tation from Sultan Abdul Aziz to him per- sonally, to go to Istanbul, to receive the fir- man edict on the liberation of all Serbian cities where Turks had estates. On the night of 17 th April 1867, Bel- graders awaited the prince with an unprec- edented celebration. They celebrated un- til morning. Two days later, Ali Riza publicly read the firman edict and handed over the keys of the city to the prince, who walked tri- umphantly to the Upper Town of Kalameg- dan Fortress, with all the Turkish guards re- placed by archers. Belgrade has been free ever since, with brief interruptions during the first and sec- ond world wars, in the face of new con- struction challenges. The certain degree of chaos that characterises the city today is written into its “genes”. For example, dur- ing the last handover from the Austrians to the Turks, the bastions around the for- tress were demolished, following the re- quest of the vanquished that the “proper- ty” be returned in its “previous state”, only for the Turks to rebuild them. Here even constitutions didn’t last long, with the first one, the Sretenjski Constitu- tion, from 1835, being in circulation only briefly, until it was rejected for being too democratic. Written with a view to the then recently adopted French constitution, it was
both Hungary and Bulgaria, and the reason for their friction and strategic aspirations. In the early Middle Ages, Belgrade was a haven for many Balkan peoples fleeing the Ottoman authorities, but it was itself con- quered in 1521 by the army of Suleiman the Magnificent. Settling the demolished and razed city, the Turks rebuilt it as an ori- ental town that inspired sighs among trav- el writers. However, even the latter centu- ries were not peaceful – it was taken from the Turks three times by Austria. However, on that decisive day in June 1862, it was the Turkish flag that flew above the Bel- grade fortress. “Sava Petković, a boy and merchant’s apprentice, wanted to take water from the Čukur drinking fountain (in today’s Dobrači- na Street), but he was opposed by a Turkish soldier, who considered that he had prior- ity,” says Zorica Arsić, of the Association of Tour Guides of Serbia. The boy was injured, which caused a serious gun battle between Turkish ranks and Serbian gendarmes, or the escalation of the conflict, as it would
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