national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Ivo Andrić Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in ...

Leopold Ružička Leopold Ružička (; born Lavoslav Stjepan Ružička; 13 September 1887 – 26 September 1976) was a Croatian-Swiss scientist and joint winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes" "including t ...

Vladimir Prelog Vladimir Prelog (23 July 1906 – 7 January 1998) was a Croatian-Swiss organic chemist who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions. Prelog was born and grew up in ...

Glenn T. Seaborg Glenn Theodore Seaborg (; April 19, 1912February 25, 1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work i ...

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repres ...

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...

Josif Pančić Josif Pančić ( sr-cyr, Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a Serbian botanist, a doctor of medicine, a lecturer at the Great School (the future University of Belgrade), and the first president of the Serbian Royal ...

Jovan Cvijić Jovan Cvijić ( sr-cyr, Јован Цвијић, ; 1865 – 16 January 1927) was a Serbian geographer and ethnologist, president of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and rector of the University of Belgrade. Cvijić is considered th ...

Vlaho Bukovac Vlaho Bukovac (french: Blaise Bukovac; it, Biagio Faggioni; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian painter and academic. His life and work were eclectic, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed gre ...

Mihajlo Pupin Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin ( sr-Cyrl, Михајло Идворски Пупин, ; 4 October 1858Although Pupin's birth year is sometimes given as 1854 (and Serbia and Montenegro issued a postage stamp in 2004 to commemorate the 150th anniversary o ...

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Milutin Milanković Milutin Milanković (sometimes anglicised as Milankovitch; sr-Cyrl, Милутин Миланковић ; 28 May 1879 – 12 December 1958) was a Serbian mathematician, astronomer, climatologist, geophysicist, civil engineer and popularizer of ...

,

Mihailo Petrović-Alas Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name ''Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević (fl. ''Floru ...

, Mehmed Meša Selimović,

Danilo Kiš Danilo Kiš (; born Dániel Kiss; 22 February 1935 – 15 October 1989) was a Yugoslav novelist, short story writer, essayist and translator. His best known works include ''Hourglass'', ''A Tomb for Boris Davidovich'' and '' The Encyclopedia of ...

, Dmitri Mendeleev,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

,

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, Jacob Grimm, Antonín Dvořák, Henry Moore and many other scientists, scholars and artists of Serbian and foreign origin.

History

Predecessors

The Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences ( sr, Српска краљевска академија, СКА, Srpska kraljevska akademija, SKA) was the successor to the Serbian Learned Society ( sr, link=no, Српско учено друштво, СУД, Srpsko učeno društvo, SUD) with which it merged in 1892 and accepted its members as its own either regular or honorary members, its tasks and its place in scientific and cultural life. The same had occurred several decades earlier when the Serbian Learned Society on 29 July 1864 took over the place and functions of the Society of Serbian Scholarship ( sr, link=no, Друштво српске словесности, ДСС, Društvo srpske slovesnosti, DSS), the first learned society in the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...

, founded on 7 November 1841. The Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences was led by members, such as

Jovan Cvijić Jovan Cvijić ( sr-cyr, Јован Цвијић, ; 1865 – 16 January 1927) was a Serbian geographer and ethnologist, president of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and rector of the University of Belgrade. Cvijić is considered th ...

. In 1864, the Society elected to its membership international revolutionary figures as Giuseppe Garibaldi,

Nikolay Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was ...

, and

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

, and was immediately abolished for this action by the conservative government of Prince

Mihailo Obrenović Prince Mihailo Obrenović III of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Обреновић, Mihailo Obrenović; 16 September 1823 – 10 June 1868) was the ruling Prince of Serbia from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1860 to 1868. His first reign ended w ...

.

Founding of Serbian Royal Academy

Since the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts was founded by law (as the Serbian Royal Academy) of 1 November 1886, it has been the highest academic institution in Serbia. According to the Royal Academy Founding Act, King Milan was to appoint the first academic, who would then choose other members of the academy. The names of the first academics were announced by King Milan on 5 April 1887. At that time, there existed four sections in the academy, which were then called "specialised academies". Four academics were appointed to each section: Academy of Natural Sciences *

Josif Pančić Josif Pančić ( sr-cyr, Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a Serbian botanist, a doctor of medicine, a lecturer at the Great School (the future University of Belgrade), and the first president of the Serbian Royal ...

*

Dimitrije Nešić Dimitrije Nešić (20 October 1836 – 9 May 1904) was a Serbian mathematician, professor at the Lyceum of the Principality of Serbia and president of the Serbian Royal Academy. Biography Nešić was born to Savka and Stojan Nešić in Bel ...

* Jovan Žujović * Ljubomir Klerić Academy of Philosophy *

Stojan Novaković Stojan Novaković ( sr-Cyrl, Стојан Новаковић; 1 November 1842 – 18 February 1915) was a Serbian politician, historian, diplomat, writer, bibliographer, literary critic, literary historian, and translator. He held the post ...

* Milan Kujundžić Aberdar *

Svetislav Vulović Svetislav Vulović ( sr, Светислав Вуловић; 29 November 1847 – 3 May 1898) was a Serbian teacher, literary critic and literary historian. Early life and education Svetislav Vulović was born on 29 November 1847 in Ivanjica. H ...

* Svetomir Nikolajević Academy of Social Sciences *

Čedomilj Mijatović Čedomilj Mijatović ( sr-Cyrl, Чедомиљ Мијатовић; 17 October 1842 – May 14, 1932) was a Serbian statesman, economist, historian, writer and diplomat. Mijatović served as the Minister of Finance six times between 1873 and 1894 ...

* Milan Đ. Milićević *

Ljubomir Kovačević Ljubomir Kovačević (4 January 1848 – 19 November 1918) was a Serbian writer, historian, academic, and politician. He is one of the early creators of the Serbian critical historiographical school and fighters for the separation of historical ...

*

Panta Srećković Pantelija Srećković ( sr-Cyrl, Пантелија Срећковић; 3 November 1834 – 8 July 1903), also known as Panta Srećković (Панта Срећковић) was a Serbian historian and academician, the dean of the Grandes écoles (''V ...

Academy of Arts * Ljubomir Nenadović *

Matija Ban Matija Ban ( sr-Cyrl, Матија Бан; 6 December 1818 – 14 March 1903) was a Serbo- Croatian poet, dramatist, and playwright. He is known as one of the earliest proponents of the Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik. Ban was born in near ...

*

Mihailo Valtrović Mihailo Valtrović (Belgrade, 17 September 1839 - Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the P ...

*

Davorin Jenko Davorin Jenko (born Martin Jenko; 9 November 1835 – 25 November 1914) was a Slovene composer. He is sometimes considered the father of Slovenian national Romantic music. Among other songs, he composed the melody for the Serbian national anthem " ...

Departments

*Department of Mathematics, Physics and Geo Sciences *Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences *Department of Technical Sciences *Department of Medical Sciences *Department of Languages and Literature *Department of Social Sciences *Department of Historical Sciences *Department of Arts

Institutes

*Institute for Serb Studies *Institute for Byzantine Studies *Geographical Institute "Jovan Cvijić" *Ethnographical Institute *Institute for the Serbian Language *Institute of Technical Sciences *Mathematical Institute *Institute of Musicology

Building

From 1909 till 1952 Serbian Academy of Science and Arts Building was located at 15 Brankova Street. Unfortunately, this building was demolished in 1963. After that the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

was moved to 35

Knez Mihailova Street Knez Mihailova Street, ( sr, Кнез Михаилова улица, translit=Knez Mihailova ulica, officially: sr, Улица кнеза Михаила, translit=Ulica kneza Mihaila, label=none), is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgra ...

, in a magnificent building in the city centre, where it has remained up to now.

Serbian Academy of Science and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

(SASA), the highest scientific institution in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, has been decorating

Knez Mihailova Street Knez Mihailova Street, ( sr, Кнез Михаилова улица, translit=Knez Mihailova ulica, officially: sr, Улица кнеза Михаила, translit=Ulica kneza Mihaila, label=none), is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgra ...

for almost one century, bringing the spirit of French decorations and Art Nouveau in the architecture of Belgrade. The sketches, proposals and designs for the construction of this magnificent building were created from the first day of its founding in 1886; however, the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

did not move in the building until 1886. Right after the founding of the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, the erection of the building was considered at the representative location in Knez Мihailova Street, which ''Prince

Mihailo Obrenović III Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name '' Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević ( fl. 1050� ...

donated for educational cause''. Considering the fact that apart from the plot

Serbian Royal Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

(SRA) had no other financial resources, the erection of the temporary ground-floor building was considered until the conditions are fulfilled for the construction of the representative object in which two important national institutions were supposed to be located: The Serbian Country Museum and The National Library. In the following years SRA considered various ways of forming funds and acquiring financial resources for the construction of its building. The mutual fund of SRA,

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

and The Serbian Country Museum was formed in 1896 by the King's Decree, so that with the initial capital and its own plot, the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

was able to begin solving the construction problem. Affirmed architect of domestic architecture Кonstantin Jovanović was hired to make the design in 1900. It was the first project in a row which remained unrealized: starting from the plea to eminent architectures Аndra Stevanović, Nikola Nestorović, Milan Kapetanović and Dragutin Đorđević, to make the preliminary designs, through the unsuccessful announcement of the public competition, until the attempt to form the project resembling the building of Yugoslav Academy of Science and Arts from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

and new designs of an architect Konstantin Jovanović. At the same time, with the attempts to obtain the adequate design, the interest of the three institutions for the construction of the common building was not constant. Dealing with the problem of permanent location, in 1908 SRA got to use the space in the building of Sima Igumanović endowment at 15 Brankova Street. After more than two decades of attempting to obtain its own building, the Presidency of SRA, by the end of 1910 decided to entrust the design to Dragutin Đorđević and Andra Stevanović. The cornerstone was laid on 27 March 1914, by the Crown Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević in the presence of the academics and the Ministers of Construction and Education. The construction works were assigned to the Matija Bleh's company, whereas the facade plastics and sculptural program were done by Jungmann and Sunko. However, the construction was interrupted by the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The object was finished in 1924, but due to high construction expenses, SRA failed to move into its new building; instead of that, the entire object was rented. Believing that the design of the SRA building was supposed to transfer the advanced ideas, architects Stevanović and Đorđević created the design which did not rely on the previous designs in terms of its spatial and functional composition. Large sized building, which takes over the entire plot, was designed with the apartments and stores for rent and with richly оrnamented Art Nouveau decorated passages. In dealing with the facades, the authors did not completely abandoned the academic models of designing; they modernized one symmetrical, three-part division of facade canvas by introducing rounded corners, additionally emphasized with semi-circular bay windows. By introducing Art Nouveau elements in the form of three-part windows, of the аrabesque secondary plastic, modern designed details on the shop windows on the ground floor and the mezzanine, with the elements of French decorations, the authors achieved the luxurious facade program. The architectural plastic in the shape of floral arabesques, garlands and Art Nouveau masks, got a new dimension in the attic in the form of full sculpture of the symbolic meaning. The central motif of the main facade is the sculpture composition '' The Goddess Nika joining the trade and industry'', whereas almost identical sculptural compositions ''The woman with the children'' were placed on the corners of the central protruding bay. One of those female sculptures is holding a torch in her hand, and the other one a pigeon. The identical compositions of children sculptures were placed in the attics above the corners of the building and along the side facades, creating one of the richest sculptural programs of Belgrade architecture before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. SRA was in the rented building in Brankova Street when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

ended.

Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences 2490

Right after the end of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, in 1947 The Law on Serbian Academy of Science brought certain changes in its structure, when instead of the expert academies, six departments were formed as well as the certain number of the institutes. With the enlarged spectre of activities, the need for the necessary spatial capacities increased significantly, so the primary goal was the conversion of the entire building in

Knez Mihailova Street Knez Mihailova Street, ( sr, Кнез Михаилова улица, translit=Knez Mihailova ulica, officially: sr, Улица кнеза Михаила, translit=Ulica kneza Mihaila, label=none), is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgra ...

into the office space, which included an extensive adaptation. The design was assigned to an architect Grigorij Samojlov, who, along with an architect Đorđe Smiljanić completed the transformation of the inner part of the building, at the same time completing one of the most important interior designs. Samojlov showed extraordinary skill by reshaping the existing object into the almost compact academic combination with central atrium, he formed a two-tract office system, completely eliminated the passages, except for the central one, which was partially redesigned into the main entrance hall, whereas the ground floor kept its commercial character. The creation of the entrance from

Knez Mihailova Street Knez Mihailova Street, ( sr, Кнез Михаилова улица, translit=Knez Mihailova ulica, officially: sr, Улица кнеза Михаила, translit=Ulica kneza Mihaila, label=none), is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgra ...

and designing of the access to the conference hall contributed to the realization of the representative space. According to the new concept, Samojlov designed the exterior in the modernized academic style with purified geometrized decorative repertoire. At the same time, the Congress hall was adapted, gaining the gallery and in the arched niches two paintings "The Science", painted by

Petar Lubarda Petar Lubarda (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Лубарда); 27 July 1907 – 13 February 1974) was a Montenegrin painter born in Cetinje. Biography He was born in Ljubotinj, near Cetinje, Principality of Montenegro. Lubarda's father was an of ...

and "The Art", painted by Мilo Milunović. Along with the adaptation certain changes were made on the very facade: the glass marquise was removed from the mezzanine, the mezzanine windows were changed, as well as the shop windows on the ground floor, a decorative dome was reconstructed and a cornice and all decorative elements were removed. The building was officially and solemnly opened on 24 February 1952, when the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

finally and permanently moved in into the building. In 1967, Samojlov did the design for the adaptation of the gallery on the corner of

Knez Mihailova Knez Mihailova Street, ( sr, Кнез Михаилова улица, translit=Knez Mihailova ulica, officially: sr, Улица кнеза Михаила, translit=Ulica kneza Mihaila, label=none), is the main pedestrian and shopping zone in Belgra ...

and Vuka Karadžića Street. Perfectly composed interior left room for additional improvement during the next couple of years, so that until today it has been enriched by our eminent artists. The glass gaps of the final collimation line in the entrance hall were replaced by the stained glass done in 2000, after the drawings by Branko Miljuš , whereas the stained glass windows in the Congress Hall and in the foyer in front of the hall were made after the design of the academic Mladen Srbinović in 2005.

Serbian Academy of Science and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

, as the most significant scientific institution in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, gave the biggest contribution to the improvement of the scientific thought, gathering many prominent names of Serbian, Yugoslav and world science and artistic creation. Its building, built at one of the most representative locations of Belgrade urban space, with its architecture makes the inevitable part of the evaluation of, not only local, but also national construction heritage for almost one century. Taking into consideration the undeniable values and the importance, it was designated as a

cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

in 1992. A complete reconstruction of the exterior and interior was announced in 2020, with the goal being to complete the works in 2024 and make space for a new concert hall.

Electoral assemblies

New members of the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

are elected on the electoral assemblies, which have been held every third year since 1985. In order to make room for academics from a wider field of arts, "Department of Fine Arts and Music" was renamed to "Department of Arts" in 2021, which was the first major organisational change in the Academy after a number of years.

List of presidents

List of Nobel laureates

There have been 20 members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts who were honoured with the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

.

Full members

Foreign members

List of Pulitzer laureates

Full members

References

Sources

*Sofija Škorić and George Vid Tomashevich, ''The Serbian Academy After A Century: An Institution at Risk?'', published by ''The Serbian Heritage Academy of Canada'', Toronto, 1987.

External links

* {{Authority control Serbian culture Historiography of Serbia National academies of sciences National academies of arts and humanities Organizations established in 1841 1841 establishments in Serbia Scientific organizations established in 1841 Organizations based in Belgrade Educational institutions established in 1841 Kingdom of Serbia Members of the International Council for Science Members of the International Science Council Academy of Sciences and Arts Academy of Sciences and Arts Buildings and structures in Belgrade Arts in Serbia Academy of Sciences and Arts Arts organizations established in the 1840s Romanesque Revival architecture

History

Predecessors

Founding of Serbian Royal Academy

Departments

Institutes

Building

Electoral assemblies

List of presidents

List of Nobel laureates

Full members

Foreign members

List of Pulitzer laureates

Full members

See also

References

Sources

External links