Serbian societies in Dubrovnik at the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

In the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. Dubrovnik was the center of the coastline Serbs, both Catholic and Orthodox. National activities of the Serbs developed through cultural and economic societies. The educational-economic society Srpska Zora (Serbian Dawn) was founded in 1901 in Knin. It encouraged the establishment of agricultural co-operatives in villages and savings banks in towns. After the initiative of Srpska Zora, The Alliance of Serbian Economic Co-operatives at the coast was founded in 1905. The main activity of Srpska Zora was to strengthen the Serbian intelligentsia by helping the poor pupils. It helped financially the work of Serbian singing societies at the coast. Matica Srpska in Dubrovnik was founded in 1909 as an endowment of the merchant Konstantin Vuckovic. The first gymnastics (chivalrous) societies at the coast were founded in 1907, Dusan Silni (Dusan the Great) in Dubrovnik and Srpski Soko (Serbian Falcon) in Risan. The chivalrous education was at the same time physical, moral and national. The Srpski Soko center at the coast was founded in 1911 in Herceg Novi. The center was a part of the Association of the Serbian Soko Movement in Belgrade. It held a spots rally in Dubrovnik in 1913 and in Knin in 1914. After Austria-Hungary declared war to Serbia in 1914 all Serbian societies were banned. The coastal Serbs tried to defect and to join the army of the Serbian states as volunteers. The Serbian army entered Dubrovnik on November 13, 1918. On the Unification Day, December 1, 1924, the monument to the King Peter I was unveiled. In 1925, Dubrovnik was visited by the King Aleksandar and Queen Maria. With very modest resources and with devoted work, the national entrepreneurs managed to gather, inspire and lead to coastal Serbs to the fight for liberation and unification.