(Od)onomastics of Ljubljana and Belgrade - indicator of Serbian-Slovenian ties in recent past

Abstract

Naming and renaming of streets and other public spaces is an area of research interest of several social sciences; street names (odonyms), particularly official street names, are seen as symbols in urban space which cater for various politics of identity and memory. This paper compares odonomastic landscapes (urban onomastic landscapes) of Ljubljana and Belgrade, more precisely their segments which commemorate Slovenia and Slovenians in Belgrade, and on the other side Serbia and Serbian persons in Ljubljana. The focus of discussion is street (re)naming in capitals of Serbia and Slovenia from the 19th century till present (encompassing the periods of the long nineteenth century, interbellum Yugoslavia, World War Two, socialist Yugoslavia, and present independent states). Streets and squares named after members of these two nations, and after terms and toponyms from these two countries (which are a part of the urban nomenclature of the two capitals), indirectly point out to types of symbolic connections established between Serbia and Slovenia in the last hundred years or more.