RITAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CITY
The book continues shining in this darkness The public library is the most important cultural institution of our language. It is, or can be, both a gallery and a theatre, or a concert hall and a cultural centre. It is the embassy of our culture I n recognition of his standing, talent, enthusi- asm and creativity, Serbia has entrusted the key to the National Library of Serbia to writer and professor Vladimir Pištalo, who became the act- ing administrator of this institution this Febru- ary. It was actually founded in February, although way back in 1832, after publicist, journalist, constitution- al writer, diplomat and politician Dimitrije Davidović sent a letter to Prince Miloš Obrenović suggesting the establishing of a library. “This is the most important cultural institution of our language. It procures, catalogues, protects and re- stores books. It is, or can be, both a gallery and a thea- tre, or a concert hall and a cultural centre. It is the em- bassy of our culture.” VLADIMIR PIŠTALO, NEW GUARDIAN OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY
What has the Library meant, and what does it mean today, to Serbia, the Balkans and the world? “The National Library of Serbia isn't just a beauti- ful building in Vračar. It is also the umbrella institution of the system of Serbian libraries. There are places in Serbia that don't have a bookshop, but they all have a library. In some places there are also library-buses that visit the villages. The pandemic has shown how impor- tant the library is. When theatres fell silent and gal- leries went dark, the book continued to shine. It pro- vided company for increasingly lonely people. In Niš the library opened a branch in an improvised COVID hospital. The book is there, in both normal times and times of crisis, for the healthy and the sick.” Why was it built in Vračar specifically? “I remember - and that says something about my age - when only foundations existed on the site of to- day's Church of Saint Sava. And the site of the library was occupied by running tracks of the Faculty of Phys- ical Education, DIF, where young athletes trained their bodies like students today train their minds. It was there that the mortal remains of Saint Sava were al- legedly burned, with the wind carrying the ashes to- wards beggars. And ten blind people gained the pow- er of sight. Erected there is a sculpture of Saint Sava, who was the founder of the Serbian school and church. The Vračar plateau symbolically spreads intellectual en- lightenment and spirituality.” How many precious books does it have and what are the oldest manuscripts? “Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí said: creation con- tinues incessantly through the media of man. But man
Elektronski katalog Biblioteke sadrži oko dva i po miliona zapisa / The Library's electronic catalogue contains about two and a half million entries
does not create...he discovers. Every book is precious if it helps us in that process of discovery. The list of the library's well-known precious works is long. There are Miroslav's Gospel from the 12 th century, manuscripts from the Peć Patriarchate, Mercator's Atlas from 1631 and books by Vuk Karadžić, Dositej Obradović, Milutin Milanković, issues of Politika news- paper from 1903 to 1941, avant-gar- de magazine Zenit, the photographs of Branibor Debeljković, the legacy of Miloš Crnjanski etc.” But priceless treasures were still lost during the bombing of 1941… “It was at dawn on 6 th April that the library was hit by incendiary bombs. Among the items destroyed were a book fund of 500,000 volumes, a collection
58 | Beograd » Belgrade
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