Balkanalysis.com

By Dejan Ciric*

If we want to comprehend the richness and diversity of private and public life in a town with a sense of community, like Pirot in southeastern Serbia, we should firstly outline the cultural and political influences at work.

The fact that Pirot is situated in the very center of the Balkans and on the main road in Southeastern Europe (Belgrade-Istanbul) guarantees that researching the town should be both interesting and inspiring, because of the opportunities provided to compare Pirot with other regions, both near and distant.

Besides, Pirot has long been inhabited by different nationalities and ethnic groups (Serbs, Bulgarians, Turks, Jews, Gypsies and Greeks) having their own religious, political and cultural traditions. So the mixture of different heritages, traditions, customs and behaviors provides a very complex but consistent image of the town.During the 19^th and into the first two decades of the 20^thcentury, Pirot was a typical central Balkan town, full of pre-modern and even archaic attitudes toward everyday life, social values, economy and relationships in both private and public situations. But it was also a time of change, in which the firm old Oriental heritage of the Byzantines and Turks was slowly being pushed away by a strong Central European influence, in all aspects of communal and private life. In light of this transition, it would be useful to explore the process of gradual cultural and social changes through analyzing places and aspects of public life in the town.

As is the case with communities everywhere, the diversity and richness of public life in Pirot depended on the cultural environment and political circumstances, and was also a consequence of long-term changes. One of the most important events in this regard was the liberation of the town in December 1877. From the beginning of the 15^thcentury until the Berlin Peace Congress (1878), Pirot had been within the borders of the Ottoman Empire; but what was more important for its future development was its location on the main regional road and near the Serbian-Bulgarian border.

The sources for this article include documents from the Historical Archive of Pirot and Ponishavlje Museum, published documents from the Historical Archive of Serbia and also newspapers and photos from the local museum and private collections.

During my research, I discovered that everything outside of one’s home and yard, except for in some special cases without strict boundaries, is part of public life and naturally liable to the public gaze and public judgment. Beside that, public events were happening at various places and with the participation of small, coherent and close groups, but at the same time there were many mass events attended by thousands of people from diverse social backgrounds, political ideologies, and sometimes, of very different purposes. What is more, some events lasted no more than an hour, but others lasted for several days or even weeks.

In addition to streets and squares, the major places and occasions for the town’s public life also included: the theater, the library, charity meetings, governmental buildings, the worker’s association, religious celebrations, the Gymnasium, churches, and around 150 taverns, coffeehouses and restaurants. All in all, during the 1870’s, Pirot had 6,500 inhabitants and 22 guesthouses (han), 119 restaurants (mehana) and 31 coffeehouses (kafana).

One of the most important and interesting event in the period was the welcoming of the liberators on December 28^th, 1877. It happened at the western entry of the town, with the participation of hundreds of people of all ages, and included the clergy and local economic and cultural elite. The celebration continued on the streets and on the squares, in the church and in the taverns, and even in private houses during the following days. A local priest and rebel against the Turks, Djodje Ignjatovic says in his memoir that the entire life of the local population during that short period was dedicated to their liberators. For instance, almost every house accepted a few solders, giving them food, accommodation and fun.

In such a moment, the ordinary boundaries between private and public were definitely hard to keep fixed. According to accounts of a military officer, townsmen and solders were mixed together, dancing on the streets, squares and yards of houses, and women and children were bringing food and drink, giving no thought to their poverty and uncertain future. It seems that during this historic time the entire town of Pirot became a combination of an extensive living-dining room for private celebration and a public space for expression of national pride and joy.

Much later, at the end of the First World War, the town’s liberation was celebrated in the main street and in the Hotel Nacional, with the participation of the French and Greek allied armies and organized by a special welcome committee. The members of the committee were local politicians, several well-known merchants and Gymnasium teachers. Together with many helpers they prepared various street decorations, a temporary triumphal arch made of wood and flowers and a variety of food and drink served in the best restaurant in the county. A special welcome was made for the first Serbian soldier, Pirot citizen, Petar Vuckovic. The mayor’s delegates and many curious people went to Vuckovic`s house and greeted him on behalf of all the citizens.

Immediately after the liberation of 1878, many meetings happened; this was a reflection of the massive political will then demonstrated by the people, eager to retain the successes of war against the secret negotiations then going on between the Great Powers (Austro-Hungary, Germany and Russia). For several months, between the Treaty of San Stefano and Berlin Peace Congress, many private houses, courtrooms, schools and streets in the town (as well as nearby villages) became places where thousands cast their signatures on popular petitions to the Serbian prince, Russian tsar and German Chancellor. The leadership of these initiatives came from the local economic elite (usually merchants), who had been connected with the Serbian government since long time before the war, and were very experienced and prepared for all sorts of eventualities.

At the same time, the people had great respect for their previous cooperation towards the common national interest. The enthusiastic mood characteristic of all these meetings seems to have had had a significant influence in Pirot, in the county and even on the international level. Diplomats as far away as Berlin heard their voices and arguments.

During the reign of the Ottoman Empire (until 1878) political life in Pirot was kept on a very low level because of the permanent repression of the Christian population, which itself partially resulted from the perception that many citizens were secretly cooperating with the Serbian government. But after the liberation, there was a practical eruption of political activities. Every party had a local organization and began to take a significant role in public life. They held large-scale public meetings during elections in the streets and the squares of Pirot, and put on small conferences at the town’s hotels and restaurants.

Pirot also became fruitful ground for the flowering of Socialist ideas. This owed to the growth of the workers’ population during the last decade of the 19^th and the first years of the 20^th century. In this period the Pirot Worker Association was very active in social and even cultural life. For instance, workers even founded a singing group from among their ranks in September 1902 and established a small theater troupe in June of 1903. Both of these impromptu groups gathered enthusiasts who prepared programs for the association’s members as well as for the general citizenry.

Naturally, the Worker’s Association participated in the town’s political life too. For example, they began to organize mass celebration for the May 1 holiday, starting in 1906, and succeeded in attracting not only members of their social class, but many villagers, several intellectuals and even many children and students from the Gymnasium.

During the 1906 celebration, around 800 people with red shawls around the neck, including children carrying small red flags, passed through the main streets and in front of the Military Club. They were protesting against having a standing army. In front of the Gymnasium they protested what they called ‘bourgeois education,’ and in front of the main church they called for the separation of church and state. After that they went into the fields outside the town, and continued the event with speeches. In the afternoon the Workers Association organized a big final celebration which included music, food and drink, at the same location.

One of the aspects of social life in Pirot was the gathering of the educated citizens in the town’s library. It had been founded during the period of the Ottoman reign. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find documents that provide a definitive founding date. According to an 1881 account, the Reading Room at that time had 45 members, and regularly received about 15 journals and newspapers.

Regarding this membership total, I should stress that according to the 1889 census, Pirot had 8,138 inhabitants, and amongst them 1,222 literate men and 41 literate women. In other words, only 15.5% of citizens were literate. So the library’s membership total is in a way impressive.

Besides the library, educated citizens founded a Theater Association in May of 1879. A decade later, on June 15^th, the 500^thanniversary of the epic Battle of Kosovo was commemorated in a play by Jovan Subotic. Along with citizens of Pirot, many guests came from close towns, surrounding villages and even Bulgaria.

Charity meetings were events of big social influence because there were many reasons and occasions for such activities. For example, the Pirot Library board gave a public tribute to citizens who contributed money in order to support poor schoolchildren in 1878. Among the 111 contributors, the local elite was well represented: the head of the county, 15 military officers, 18 merchants, 8 court clerks, 8 local government officials, 2 judges, 2 teachers, a doctor, an engineer, even two tailors and a mailman.

Similar events happened every year on St. Sava’s day, when the pupils from primary schools and Gymnasium were giving a special program and received modest donations. A big public celebration was performed for the opening of a new building of the Gymnasium St. Sava in October 1907. The event consisted of the church service, speeches given by the headmaster of the Gymnasium and Ministry representatives, as well as a performance by the students. A lot of citizens and guests came to see the school addition, because it was the first large public building to be constructed in the ‘European’ style.

The head of Pirot County, Proka Knezevic, introduced the international celebration of the first Friday after Easter. The proximity of Pirot to Bulgaria had an effect here. During the years after 1889 the borders were opened, mutual crossings allowed, and mass celebrations were held in the border area as well as in Pirot, Caribrod and Sofia. Gymnasium students from both sides visited one another; and the Pirot choir gave a concert in Hotel Odessa in Sofia. About 12,000 Serbian citizens took part in this event, which lasted three days. The Pirot Choir also traveled to Plovdiv on Ss. Kiril & Methodius Day in 1896 to give a concert. And members of the Teacher’s Association traveled to Srem, Slavonia, Dalmatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina in 1907.

During the period in question, high Serbian rulers visited Pirot twice. Prince Milos and Princess Natalija visited the town in September 1879, and Princess Natalija returned 5 years later accompanied by the young prince Alexander. With the former visit, the ceremonies included a church service and military parade at the main square the day after the arrival of the ruling couple. In the evening, the town’s hosts prepared fireworks dedicated to their royal guests, followed by folk music and dancing. Everything came to an end the next day with cannon fire.

The second royal visit, conducted in 1884, began with a welcome made by local officials and inhabitants of villages closest to Pirot. The Princess received the 30 most honorable women in Pirot and talked for a short time with them. Afterwards, the guests visited the Co-operative Society for Kilim Production. On that day, the town’s main streets were decorated with flags, flowers and many kilims on the windows.

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*The author is a native of Pirot, Serbia, and a graduate of the Belgrade University Faculty of History. After postgraduate study at the same university, Mr. Ciric worked as a history teacher in Zemun (Belgrade), Pirot, and again in Belgrade). As a writer with a keen interest in local history, Mr. Ciric also worked in the local museum of Pirot, ordering manuscripts and old documents. From 1999-2002 he was an advisor for culture and education in the Pirot NGO, Civic Library, working on projects related to political culture, spreading of democratic values and development of local community.

Since 2001 he has been involved in the activities of the European Movement in Serbia and CeSID (Center for Free Election and Democracy) through monitoring activity and the creation of a website devoted to his hometown (www.pirot.org.yu), and produced a multimedia CD as coordinator and author.

Mr. Ciric’s main research lies in the field of local social history. He also writes and publishes short stories and essays on art. He was a member of the editorial board of Contra, a journal for culture and urban thought, and is one of the founders of Society for Social History-EUROCLIO (Serbian branch of European Standing Conference of History Teachers’ Associations).