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Vlachs of Serbia
Vlachs (Vlach/Romanian: Rumâni, Serbian: Власи or Vlasi) are an ethnic group of Serbia, culturally and linguistically cognate to Romanians.
They mostly live in eastern Serbia, mainly in Timočka Krajina region (roughly corresponding to Bor and Zaječar districts), but also in Braničevo and Pomoravlje districts. Some Vlachs also live around Vidin in Bulgaria. Also a small Vlach population exists in Smederevo and Velika Plana (Podunavlje District), and in the municipalities of Aleksinac and Kruševac (Rasina District), as well as in the South Banat District in Vojvodina.
Religion and language
Most Vlachs are Eastern Orthodox Christians by faith and they speak the Vlach (Romanian) language. The language spoken by one major group of Vlachs is similar to the Oltenian dialect spoken in Romania while that of the other major group is similar to the Romanian dialect of Banat.
The Serbian Vlachs belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. However, by the canon of Orthodox church, no other local Orthodox church is allowed to operate within its territory. The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious rites that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Like the Serbs, Vlachs celebrate the 'slava', though its meaning is chtonic (related to the house and farmland) rather than familial.
Although the Vlachs of the Timočka Krajina are culturally and linguistically cognate to Romanians, their history since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century has significantly affected their political and cultural orientation towards the Serbian state and church.
Subgroups
Vlachs are divided into four different groups, each speaking their own distinct dialects:
the Carani (Ţărani)
the Ungurjani (Ungureani / "Ungureni")
Ungurjani-Munćani (Ungureani-Munceani / "Ungureni-Munteni")
Bufani.
Of these, the Ungurjani or 'Ungureni' of Homolje are related to the Romanians of Banat and Transylvania, since 'Ungureni' (compare with the word "Hungarians") is a term used by the Romanians of Wallachia to describe their kin who once lived in provinces formerly part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The connection is evident in the similarities of dialectal phonology and folk music motifs as well as in sayings such as "Ducă-se pe Mureş" (May the Mureş take it away), a reference to the Transylvanian river.
The Ţărani (Carani) of the Bor, Negotin and Zaječar regions are closer to the Olteni in their speech and music. The Ţăran saying 'Nu dau un leu pe el' (He's not worth even a leu) can possibly show their Romanian origin since the leu is a Romanian monetary unit. However, it can also show a possible trade connections between Carani and the Romanian population that lives just across the Danube.
There has been considerable intermixing between the Ungureni and Ţărani so that a dialect has evolved sharing peculiarities of both regions.
There is also a group of Vlachophone Roma centered around the village of Lukovo, as well as a few Aromanian families who live in Knjaževac, but they form a tiny migrant group.
Origins
Some of the Vlachs of East Serbia were settled there from regions north of the Danube by the Hapsburgs at the beginning of the 18th century. The origins of these Vlachs are indicated by their own self-designations: Ungurjani (Ungureani), i.e., those who came from Hungary (that is, Banat and Transylvania). The Carani (Ţărani) are either an autochthonic Vlach population of the region (their name means "people of the country" or "countrymen"), or they came from Wallachia (in Romanian, Ţara Românească - "Romanian State").
The area roughly defined by the Morava, the Danube and the Timok rivers where most of the Vlachs live became part of modern Serbia starting from 1830. Prior to that, the land was part of the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire (Pashalic of Vidin and Pashalic of Smederevo).
The second wave of Vlachs from present-day Romania came at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1835 feudalism was fully abolished in the Principality of Serbia and a large number of individuals and smaller groups from Wallachia came there to enjoy the status of free peasants.
Thus the idea that all Vlachs of Serbia are descendants of the original Romanized population of the Balkans that never moved from this region is incorrect. However, it is likely that some of them can trace their ancient roots to this region. The present geographic location of the Vlachs is near the medieval Bulgaro-Vlach empire of the Asens, suggesting their continuity in the area. In addition a Vlach population in the regions around Branicevo (near the ancient Roman city of Viminacium) is attested by 15th century Ottoman defters (tax records). The modern Vlachs occupy the same area where in antiquity the Romans had a strong presence for many centuries: Viminacium and Felix Romuliana. In addition, the Vlachs from the area around Vidin in Bulgaria, with whom the Vlachs of Timok form a continuous group, separated only by the Danube by the Romanians, are natives to the area, not being the result of recent colonization or emigration.
Vlach identity
The term "Vlach" is the English transcription of the Serbian term used to describe this group (Vlasi), while "Romanians" is the English transcription of its Romanian counterpart (român/rumân).
Despite their recognition as a separate ethnic group by the Serbian government, Vlachs are cognate to Romanians in the cultural and linguistic sense. Some Romanians, as well as international linguists and anthropologists, consider Serbia's Vlachs to be a subgroup of Romanians. Additionally, the Movement of Romanians-Vlachs in Serbia, which represents some Vlachs, has called for the recognition of the Vlachs as a Romanian national minority, giving them similar rights to the Romanians of Vojvodina. However most Vlachs of Eastern Serbia opt either for the Vlach, or Serb identity rather than the Romanian one.
Romania has given modest financial support to the Vlachs for the preservation of their culture and language, since at present the Vlachs' language is not recognized officially in any localities where they form a majority, there is no education in their mother tongue and there is no media or education funded by the Serbian state. Also there are no church services in Vlach and the giving of baptismal Vlach names is not permitted.
Family names of Vlachs are Serbian, or sound Serbian because of the late 19th century edict that all citizens of Serbia have last names ending in -ić, the base of the name usually coming from the then father's name: Nikolić, Marković, Radulović. There are a few notable exceptions where the Vlach / Romanian origin is evident, as in Jepurović (from iepure, meaning rabbit), Florić (from floare, meaning flower) or Stangačilović (from stângaci, meaning left-handed).
On the other hand, some Vlachs consider themselves to be simply Serbs that speak the Vlach language. In fact ethnic research has found that among the Serb-speaking population of Eastern Serbia, some are Slavicized Vlachs and some Vlach-speakers were formerly Slavs (such as in the village of Šljivar) or even Roma (such as in Lukovo). Most Vlachs do not see themselves as ethnic Romanians, because, while culturally and linguistically cognate to Romanians, they have lived in Serbia for generations and hence do not identify with the Romanian state, but rather see themselves as a distinct Eastern Romance people.
Many of those Vlachs who see themselves as Serbs were historically hard-line Serbian nationalists, and many fought as volunteers on the Serbian side in the wars in Krajina and Bosnia, together with Serbs from those regions whom they saw as religious and ethnic brethren. One of the reasons why Vlachs consider Serbs to be their ethnic brethren is because many Serbs have Vlach origin. The Serbian Orthodox Church has played a large role in this. In addition, during the Ottoman rule, Serbs migrated from the valleys to the mountains where they mixed with the Vlach population; thus, many present-day Serbs have both Slavic and Vlach blood.
It must be noted that Vlach is commonly used as a historical umbrella term for all Latin peoples in Southeastern Europe, including Romanians. In more recent usage, it is a synonym for Latin peoples south of the Danube, hence excluding Romanians. The old meaning is the origin for the modern Vlach ethnic identity, since Vlachs see themselves as descendants of those ancient Vlach peoples, and rather see Romanians as a subgroup of the Vlachs than Vlachs as a subgroup of Romanians. From the Vlach point of view, Romanians are those Vlachs who created their state of Romania and succeeded in gaining world acceptance for their own name for themselves, rather than the exonym term Vlach. In their own language Vlachs never use the term Vlach, but Rumân. They call their language română, but sometimes also rumâneşce/româneşte.
In some notes of the government of Serbia, officials recognise that "certainly members of this population have similar characteristics with Romanians, and the language and folklore ride to their Romanian origin. The representants of the Vlach minority sustain their Romanian origin."
Vlach is a Slavic-derived term from the Germanic word Valah/Valach used to designate the Romance speaking peoples of South-Eastern Europe: Romanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians.
While historically, it was used to refer to all Latin people of the Balkans, nowadays, this term is only rarely used to refer the Romanians, but rather to refer to the other Romanic peoples, living outside Romania.
Origins of the word
The Slavic term in turn derives from Germanic: it originates with *Walha by which the early Germanic tribes called their Celtic neighbours, possibly derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy), see also Welsh.
As the Celts of Gaul were Romanized, the word changed its meaning to "Romanic people", as it is still kept in the name of the Walloons of Belgium and in the German exonyms:
Welsche, often used in the German speaking part of Switzerland to refer to the people of the French-speaking Romandy,
Walsche, often used in the German speaking part of Italy to refer to Italians,
Walsche, used in Switzerland and South Tyrol for various Rhaeto-Romanic peoples, and
in numerous placenames (but also Walnuss (Walnut)), for instance Walensee and Walenstadt, as well as Welschbern and Walschtirol (now almost always Verona and Trentino), and especially Walachen/Walachei (Wallachians/Wallachia).
The word in other languages
From the Slavs, it was passed on to other peoples, such as the Hungarians ("Oláh", referring to Romanians; "Vlachok" referring to Vlachs, generally) and Byzantines/Greeks ("Βλάχοί", "Vlachoi") and was used for all Latin people of the Balkans. It also acquired a second meaning: "shepherd", after the occupation of many Vlachs of Greece and Serbia. In Albania, the opposite occurred: çoban "shepherd" comes to mean "Vlach". In German the word "vlach" was a pejorative name for an Orthodox Christian, a Serbian immigrant.
A name used for the Southern Vlachs of Greece is "Kutsovlach" (literally "limping Vlach"; possibly a reference to the way they spoke Greek), however the Aromanians consider it quite offensive. Another name used to refer to the Aromanians (mainly in the Slavic countries: Serbia and Bulgaria) is "tsintsar", which is derived from the way the Aromanians say the word 'five': "tsintsi".
Another Balkanic ethnicity is the Morlachs or Mavrovalachi (Greek for "black Vlachs"), living in the Dinaric Alps.
Usage as autonym
The term was originally an exonym, as the Vlachs used various words derived from romanus to refer to themselves (români, rumâni, rumâri, aromâni, arumâni, armâni etc), but there are some exceptions:
the Aromanians of Greece, often use "Βλάχοι" (Vlachoi) rather than "Αρμάνοι" (Armanoi) in Greek-language contexts.
the Megleno-Romanians are the only people who use exclusively the word Vlach (Vlashi) for auto-designation. The loss of the name derived from Romanus most likely concluded in the early 19th century.
the Romanian minority of Serbia living in Timok Valley (but not those of the Banat, see Romanians of Serbia), although speaking the standard Romanian dialect, are still referred as "Vlachs". In the Yugoslavian census figures, the Aromanians of Macedonia and the Romanians of Serbia were both classified as "Vlachs".
They mostly live in eastern Serbia, mainly in Timočka Krajina region (roughly corresponding to Bor and Zaječar districts), but also in Braničevo and Pomoravlje districts. Some Vlachs also live around Vidin in Bulgaria. Also a small Vlach population exists in Smederevo and Velika Plana (Podunavlje District), and in the municipalities of Aleksinac and Kruševac (Rasina District), as well as in the South Banat District in Vojvodina.
Religion and language
Most Vlachs are Eastern Orthodox Christians by faith and they speak the Vlach (Romanian) language. The language spoken by one major group of Vlachs is similar to the Oltenian dialect spoken in Romania while that of the other major group is similar to the Romanian dialect of Banat.
The Serbian Vlachs belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. However, by the canon of Orthodox church, no other local Orthodox church is allowed to operate within its territory. The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious rites that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Like the Serbs, Vlachs celebrate the 'slava', though its meaning is chtonic (related to the house and farmland) rather than familial.
Although the Vlachs of the Timočka Krajina are culturally and linguistically cognate to Romanians, their history since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century has significantly affected their political and cultural orientation towards the Serbian state and church.
Subgroups
Vlachs are divided into four different groups, each speaking their own distinct dialects:
the Carani (Ţărani)
the Ungurjani (Ungureani / "Ungureni")
Ungurjani-Munćani (Ungureani-Munceani / "Ungureni-Munteni")
Bufani.
Of these, the Ungurjani or 'Ungureni' of Homolje are related to the Romanians of Banat and Transylvania, since 'Ungureni' (compare with the word "Hungarians") is a term used by the Romanians of Wallachia to describe their kin who once lived in provinces formerly part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The connection is evident in the similarities of dialectal phonology and folk music motifs as well as in sayings such as "Ducă-se pe Mureş" (May the Mureş take it away), a reference to the Transylvanian river.
The Ţărani (Carani) of the Bor, Negotin and Zaječar regions are closer to the Olteni in their speech and music. The Ţăran saying 'Nu dau un leu pe el' (He's not worth even a leu) can possibly show their Romanian origin since the leu is a Romanian monetary unit. However, it can also show a possible trade connections between Carani and the Romanian population that lives just across the Danube.
There has been considerable intermixing between the Ungureni and Ţărani so that a dialect has evolved sharing peculiarities of both regions.
There is also a group of Vlachophone Roma centered around the village of Lukovo, as well as a few Aromanian families who live in Knjaževac, but they form a tiny migrant group.
Origins
Some of the Vlachs of East Serbia were settled there from regions north of the Danube by the Hapsburgs at the beginning of the 18th century. The origins of these Vlachs are indicated by their own self-designations: Ungurjani (Ungureani), i.e., those who came from Hungary (that is, Banat and Transylvania). The Carani (Ţărani) are either an autochthonic Vlach population of the region (their name means "people of the country" or "countrymen"), or they came from Wallachia (in Romanian, Ţara Românească - "Romanian State").
The area roughly defined by the Morava, the Danube and the Timok rivers where most of the Vlachs live became part of modern Serbia starting from 1830. Prior to that, the land was part of the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire (Pashalic of Vidin and Pashalic of Smederevo).
The second wave of Vlachs from present-day Romania came at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1835 feudalism was fully abolished in the Principality of Serbia and a large number of individuals and smaller groups from Wallachia came there to enjoy the status of free peasants.
Thus the idea that all Vlachs of Serbia are descendants of the original Romanized population of the Balkans that never moved from this region is incorrect. However, it is likely that some of them can trace their ancient roots to this region. The present geographic location of the Vlachs is near the medieval Bulgaro-Vlach empire of the Asens, suggesting their continuity in the area. In addition a Vlach population in the regions around Branicevo (near the ancient Roman city of Viminacium) is attested by 15th century Ottoman defters (tax records). The modern Vlachs occupy the same area where in antiquity the Romans had a strong presence for many centuries: Viminacium and Felix Romuliana. In addition, the Vlachs from the area around Vidin in Bulgaria, with whom the Vlachs of Timok form a continuous group, separated only by the Danube by the Romanians, are natives to the area, not being the result of recent colonization or emigration.
Vlach identity
The term "Vlach" is the English transcription of the Serbian term used to describe this group (Vlasi), while "Romanians" is the English transcription of its Romanian counterpart (român/rumân).
Despite their recognition as a separate ethnic group by the Serbian government, Vlachs are cognate to Romanians in the cultural and linguistic sense. Some Romanians, as well as international linguists and anthropologists, consider Serbia's Vlachs to be a subgroup of Romanians. Additionally, the Movement of Romanians-Vlachs in Serbia, which represents some Vlachs, has called for the recognition of the Vlachs as a Romanian national minority, giving them similar rights to the Romanians of Vojvodina. However most Vlachs of Eastern Serbia opt either for the Vlach, or Serb identity rather than the Romanian one.
Romania has given modest financial support to the Vlachs for the preservation of their culture and language, since at present the Vlachs' language is not recognized officially in any localities where they form a majority, there is no education in their mother tongue and there is no media or education funded by the Serbian state. Also there are no church services in Vlach and the giving of baptismal Vlach names is not permitted.
Family names of Vlachs are Serbian, or sound Serbian because of the late 19th century edict that all citizens of Serbia have last names ending in -ić, the base of the name usually coming from the then father's name: Nikolić, Marković, Radulović. There are a few notable exceptions where the Vlach / Romanian origin is evident, as in Jepurović (from iepure, meaning rabbit), Florić (from floare, meaning flower) or Stangačilović (from stângaci, meaning left-handed).
On the other hand, some Vlachs consider themselves to be simply Serbs that speak the Vlach language. In fact ethnic research has found that among the Serb-speaking population of Eastern Serbia, some are Slavicized Vlachs and some Vlach-speakers were formerly Slavs (such as in the village of Šljivar) or even Roma (such as in Lukovo). Most Vlachs do not see themselves as ethnic Romanians, because, while culturally and linguistically cognate to Romanians, they have lived in Serbia for generations and hence do not identify with the Romanian state, but rather see themselves as a distinct Eastern Romance people.
Many of those Vlachs who see themselves as Serbs were historically hard-line Serbian nationalists, and many fought as volunteers on the Serbian side in the wars in Krajina and Bosnia, together with Serbs from those regions whom they saw as religious and ethnic brethren. One of the reasons why Vlachs consider Serbs to be their ethnic brethren is because many Serbs have Vlach origin. The Serbian Orthodox Church has played a large role in this. In addition, during the Ottoman rule, Serbs migrated from the valleys to the mountains where they mixed with the Vlach population; thus, many present-day Serbs have both Slavic and Vlach blood.
It must be noted that Vlach is commonly used as a historical umbrella term for all Latin peoples in Southeastern Europe, including Romanians. In more recent usage, it is a synonym for Latin peoples south of the Danube, hence excluding Romanians. The old meaning is the origin for the modern Vlach ethnic identity, since Vlachs see themselves as descendants of those ancient Vlach peoples, and rather see Romanians as a subgroup of the Vlachs than Vlachs as a subgroup of Romanians. From the Vlach point of view, Romanians are those Vlachs who created their state of Romania and succeeded in gaining world acceptance for their own name for themselves, rather than the exonym term Vlach. In their own language Vlachs never use the term Vlach, but Rumân. They call their language română, but sometimes also rumâneşce/româneşte.
In some notes of the government of Serbia, officials recognise that "certainly members of this population have similar characteristics with Romanians, and the language and folklore ride to their Romanian origin. The representants of the Vlach minority sustain their Romanian origin."
Vlach is a Slavic-derived term from the Germanic word Valah/Valach used to designate the Romance speaking peoples of South-Eastern Europe: Romanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians.
While historically, it was used to refer to all Latin people of the Balkans, nowadays, this term is only rarely used to refer the Romanians, but rather to refer to the other Romanic peoples, living outside Romania.
Origins of the word
The Slavic term in turn derives from Germanic: it originates with *Walha by which the early Germanic tribes called their Celtic neighbours, possibly derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy), see also Welsh.
As the Celts of Gaul were Romanized, the word changed its meaning to "Romanic people", as it is still kept in the name of the Walloons of Belgium and in the German exonyms:
Welsche, often used in the German speaking part of Switzerland to refer to the people of the French-speaking Romandy,
Walsche, often used in the German speaking part of Italy to refer to Italians,
Walsche, used in Switzerland and South Tyrol for various Rhaeto-Romanic peoples, and
in numerous placenames (but also Walnuss (Walnut)), for instance Walensee and Walenstadt, as well as Welschbern and Walschtirol (now almost always Verona and Trentino), and especially Walachen/Walachei (Wallachians/Wallachia).
The word in other languages
From the Slavs, it was passed on to other peoples, such as the Hungarians ("Oláh", referring to Romanians; "Vlachok" referring to Vlachs, generally) and Byzantines/Greeks ("Βλάχοί", "Vlachoi") and was used for all Latin people of the Balkans. It also acquired a second meaning: "shepherd", after the occupation of many Vlachs of Greece and Serbia. In Albania, the opposite occurred: çoban "shepherd" comes to mean "Vlach". In German the word "vlach" was a pejorative name for an Orthodox Christian, a Serbian immigrant.
A name used for the Southern Vlachs of Greece is "Kutsovlach" (literally "limping Vlach"; possibly a reference to the way they spoke Greek), however the Aromanians consider it quite offensive. Another name used to refer to the Aromanians (mainly in the Slavic countries: Serbia and Bulgaria) is "tsintsar", which is derived from the way the Aromanians say the word 'five': "tsintsi".
Another Balkanic ethnicity is the Morlachs or Mavrovalachi (Greek for "black Vlachs"), living in the Dinaric Alps.
Usage as autonym
The term was originally an exonym, as the Vlachs used various words derived from romanus to refer to themselves (români, rumâni, rumâri, aromâni, arumâni, armâni etc), but there are some exceptions:
the Aromanians of Greece, often use "Βλάχοι" (Vlachoi) rather than "Αρμάνοι" (Armanoi) in Greek-language contexts.
the Megleno-Romanians are the only people who use exclusively the word Vlach (Vlashi) for auto-designation. The loss of the name derived from Romanus most likely concluded in the early 19th century.
the Romanian minority of Serbia living in Timok Valley (but not those of the Banat, see Romanians of Serbia), although speaking the standard Romanian dialect, are still referred as "Vlachs". In the Yugoslavian census figures, the Aromanians of Macedonia and the Romanians of Serbia were both classified as "Vlachs".
Negotin - Неготин
Negotin (Serbian: Negotin or Неготин) is a town and municipality in the Bor District of north-eastern Serbia. It is situated near the borders between Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. It is the judicial and cultural center of the Bor District.Name and historySome historical sources indicate that the Negotin settlement was first mentioned in 1530, although home historians think it has much older roots. In book "Red and white - Serbian-Celtic Parallels" (Crveno i belo - srpsko-keltske paralele, Glas srpski,Banja Luka , 2000.) by Prof. Dr. Ranka Kuić (PhD in Anglistic and Celtic Studies), she postulated that the name "Negotin" had been derived fromCeltic words NEGES and TIN, meaning "The fortress of war". She also postulated that many, of not most of, geographical names in formerYugoslavia also had Celtic origins (and a lot of it has also been proven by some leading Serbian archaeologists, e.g. Prof. Dr. D. Srejić). MunicipalityNegotin municipality includes the town of Negotin and the following villages: Aleksandrovac, Braćevac, Brestovac, Bukovče, Veljkovo, Vidrovac, Vratna, Dupljane, Dušanovac, Jabukovac, Jasenica, Karbulovo, Kobišnica, Kovilovo, Mala Kamenica, Malajnica, Miloševo, Mihajlovac, Mokranje, Plavna, Popovica, Prahovo, Radujevac, Rajac, Rečka, Rogljevo, Samarinovac, Sikole, Slatina, Smedovac, Srbovo, Tamnič, Trnjane, Urovica, Crnomasnica, Čubra, Šarkamen,Štubik.PopulationAccording to the 2002 census the population of the Negotin municipality is 43,551, of which 17,762 live in the town of Negotin.Ethnic groups in the Negotin municipality (2002 census):* Serbs = 38,263 (88.13%)* Vlachs = 3,000 (6.91%)* others.According to the 2002 census, most of the settlements in the Negotin municipality have Serb ethnic majority. The settlement with Vlach ethnic majority is Kovilovo. Ethnically mixed settlement with relative Vlach majority is Aleksandrovac.EconomyThe population of the villages around Negotin is mostly supported by the family members who work as guest-workers in the countries of westernEurope, agriculture is a side activity more than an income-generating one.The largest employer in this municipality is the Chemical Industry Prahovo, although this company, just like many others in Serbia, is in very poor financial shape.Town featuresThe town has one orphanage, one kindergarten and day care center, three elementary and four high schools, some of which are vocational. There is also an elementary school for children with handycaps. The Negotinhospital offers all basic and many specialist services to this and the neighboring municipalities.Culture, tourism, and famous peopleThe highlight of the cultural life of Negotin is the annual musical celebration called Mokranjčevi Dani, after Stevan Mokranjac the famous Serbian composer. Another famous Negotinian was Hajduk Veljko (also known as Vojvoda Veljko Petrović), a hajduk from the early 19th century, as well as Đorđe Stanojević, well known Serbian scientist, whose statue is in the center of the town.The Negotin museum is home to many archeological findings, from Roman times to the more recent World War II era. The Negotin municipality is also home to many galleries, monuments, churches and monasteries, and archeological sites. The nearby Iron Gates national park offers breathtaking views, excellent hunting grounds, and many trails for hiking (most trails are not well marked or maintained, so hiking is recommended only for the experienced).
Negotin - famous people
Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac
Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (Serbian Cyrillic: Стеван Стојановић Мокрањац) (January 9, 1856 - 1914) is one of the most famous Serbian composers and music educators of the nineteenth century. His work was essential in bringing the spirit of Serbian unwritten folk poems into organized art.
Biography
He was born in Negotin. From the birthplace of his parents he drew the second last name Mokranjac (literally: resident of Mokranje).
He graduated from the Belgrade gymnasium, and attended the natural science and mathematics section of the Belgrade higher school (contemporary equivalent of a college). In 1879 he travels to Munich where he studies music in the class of J. Reinberg. After a brief break, he continues to study in Rome in the class of Parizzoti, in 1884. Returning to Serbia in 1884 he briefly becomes the conductor of the Kornelije Stanković choir of Belgrade.
From 1885 to 1887 he studies music in Leipzig, Germany. Upon his return to Serbia in 1887 he becomes the conductor for the Belgrade signing society (Belgrade Choir). From 1887 to 1900 he teaches music at the Belgrade gymnasium, and in 1901 transfers to Bogoslovija (Belgrade Divinity College) where he teaches church singing. Together with Stanislav Binički and Cvetko Manojlović, Mokranjac founds the first independent music school in 1899 - Serbian Music School in Belgrade. He remains the director of this school until his death. Today the school bears his name. His work as a melograph bore many transcriptions of thus far unwritten folk songs.
Stevan Mokranjac died in Skoplje, Macedonia, aged 58.
Every year, the town of Negotin organizes a music festival in his honor Mokranjčevi dani (Days of Mokranjac). The town also has a Mokranjac museum.
Works
His life was highly influenced by church and folk songs, and he used these two types of music as inspiration for his work. His most famous pieces are Rukoveti (literally: works of hand) - collections of songs and music based on motives of Bosnian, Serbian, Macedonian and Bulgarian folk music. There are 15 Rukoveti, and the 10th one is considered the most beautiful. His other prominent folk-based works include Coastal songs (Primorski napevi), and Kozar.
A significant number of his works was made for church services. Such are the Magnificent Liturgy (Velelepna liturgija), from which the Heruvian Song (Heruvimska pesma) is most famous. Another two famous religious pieces are I praise You, God (Tebe Boga hvalim) and Glory to St. Sava (Veličanje Sv. Savi).
Hajduk Veljko Petrović
Hajduk Veljko Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic Вељко Петровић) (ca.1780-1813) was the Duke (Војвода/Vojvoda in Serbian) of the First Serbian Uprising rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
Famous for his bravery, haiduk Veljko entered Serbian epic poetry. Veljko took part in Stanoje Glavaš's army unit. He's known for the liberation of Montenegro in 1807 and the defence of Soko Banja in 1809. Veljko organized the rebellion in eastern Serbia. He died in the battle in the city of Negotin in 1813. He is well known for his saying : "I'll give my head, but I'll not give Krajina (the region of eastern Serbia where he lived)".
Just before the Battle of Negotin, his friend suggested to him that he sends his gold, jewels and other valuables to his family, so they wouldn't fall into Turkish hands. But Veljko refused, believing it wouldn't be proper for a great haiduk and war hero to be slain and found penniless. It was customary at that time to loot your fallen enemies, and Veljko considered his personal reputation and glory more important than mere gold.
Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (Serbian Cyrillic: Стеван Стојановић Мокрањац) (January 9, 1856 - 1914) is one of the most famous Serbian composers and music educators of the nineteenth century. His work was essential in bringing the spirit of Serbian unwritten folk poems into organized art.
Biography
He was born in Negotin. From the birthplace of his parents he drew the second last name Mokranjac (literally: resident of Mokranje).
He graduated from the Belgrade gymnasium, and attended the natural science and mathematics section of the Belgrade higher school (contemporary equivalent of a college). In 1879 he travels to Munich where he studies music in the class of J. Reinberg. After a brief break, he continues to study in Rome in the class of Parizzoti, in 1884. Returning to Serbia in 1884 he briefly becomes the conductor of the Kornelije Stanković choir of Belgrade.
From 1885 to 1887 he studies music in Leipzig, Germany. Upon his return to Serbia in 1887 he becomes the conductor for the Belgrade signing society (Belgrade Choir). From 1887 to 1900 he teaches music at the Belgrade gymnasium, and in 1901 transfers to Bogoslovija (Belgrade Divinity College) where he teaches church singing. Together with Stanislav Binički and Cvetko Manojlović, Mokranjac founds the first independent music school in 1899 - Serbian Music School in Belgrade. He remains the director of this school until his death. Today the school bears his name. His work as a melograph bore many transcriptions of thus far unwritten folk songs.
Stevan Mokranjac died in Skoplje, Macedonia, aged 58.
Every year, the town of Negotin organizes a music festival in his honor Mokranjčevi dani (Days of Mokranjac). The town also has a Mokranjac museum.
Works
His life was highly influenced by church and folk songs, and he used these two types of music as inspiration for his work. His most famous pieces are Rukoveti (literally: works of hand) - collections of songs and music based on motives of Bosnian, Serbian, Macedonian and Bulgarian folk music. There are 15 Rukoveti, and the 10th one is considered the most beautiful. His other prominent folk-based works include Coastal songs (Primorski napevi), and Kozar.
A significant number of his works was made for church services. Such are the Magnificent Liturgy (Velelepna liturgija), from which the Heruvian Song (Heruvimska pesma) is most famous. Another two famous religious pieces are I praise You, God (Tebe Boga hvalim) and Glory to St. Sava (Veličanje Sv. Savi).
Hajduk Veljko Petrović
Hajduk Veljko Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic Вељко Петровић) (ca.1780-1813) was the Duke (Војвода/Vojvoda in Serbian) of the First Serbian Uprising rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
Famous for his bravery, haiduk Veljko entered Serbian epic poetry. Veljko took part in Stanoje Glavaš's army unit. He's known for the liberation of Montenegro in 1807 and the defence of Soko Banja in 1809. Veljko organized the rebellion in eastern Serbia. He died in the battle in the city of Negotin in 1813. He is well known for his saying : "I'll give my head, but I'll not give Krajina (the region of eastern Serbia where he lived)".
Just before the Battle of Negotin, his friend suggested to him that he sends his gold, jewels and other valuables to his family, so they wouldn't fall into Turkish hands. But Veljko refused, believing it wouldn't be proper for a great haiduk and war hero to be slain and found penniless. It was customary at that time to loot your fallen enemies, and Veljko considered his personal reputation and glory more important than mere gold.
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