Marko Car (writer)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marko Car ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Цар; 30 August 1859 – 1 December 1953) was a
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...
writer, politician and activist from the
Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...
. He was a polyglot and an aesthetic essayist, writing numerous poems, novels, narratives, essays, and travel reports. During his lifetime, he wrote for many newspapers and magazines.


Biography

Marko Car was born in 1859 in the town of
Herceg-Novi Herceg Novi (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...
in the
Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...
, then a part of the
Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia (; ; ) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entirety of the region of Dalmatia, with its capital at Zadar. History The Habs ...
province of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
. He received his basic education in the local
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
popular school, after which he moved to
Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...
and finished the classical gymnasium. Then he moved to the province's capital of
Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
in 1879, entering political life by joining the
Serb People's Party (Dalmatia) Serb People's Party (better known as Serb People's Party in/on Primorje, / ''Srpska narodna stranka u/na Primorju'', "Serb People's Party in/on the Littoral") was political party in the Kingdom of Dalmatia during the time of Austria-Hungary. Sign ...
of
Sava Bjelanović Sava Bjelanović ( sr-cyr, Сава Бјелановић; 15 October 1850 – 1897) was a Dalmatian journalist and politician, the leader of the Serb People's Party in Dalmatia and one of the most prominent Dalmatian Serbs of the 19th century. ...
(whose biography he later wrote and published in
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
's Serb Press in 1911) which fought for the defense of national interests of the Serb people in the wake of the Croatian nationalistic movement. He worked in the Dalmatian Diet from 1884 to 1918. His friends and colleagues were
Luko Zore Luko Zore ( sr-Cyrl, Луко Зоре; January 15, 1846 – November 26, 1906) was a philologist and Slavist from Dubrovnik. He was one of the leaders of the opposition to Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy in Dubrovnik and a member of the Serb ...
,
Antun Fabris Antun Fabris ( sr-Cyrl, Антун Фабрис; April 17, 1864 – October 14, 1904), was a journalist, essayist, publisher and politician from Dubrovnik who was one of the leaders of the Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik. Biography The ance ...
, Pero Budmani, Medo Pucić, Niko Pucić,
Ivan Stojanović Ivan Stojanović (17 December 1829 – December 1900) was a Catholic priest from Dubrovnik. He wrote the book ''Dubrovačka Književnost'', published in 1900, arguing that the people of Dubrovnik were Roman Catholic by religion, but by langua ...
, and other members of the Serb-Catholic circle. He was the editor of the Zadar magazine called ''Vuk'' (The Wolf), one of the most influential periodicals, that was being published in 1884. Though short-lived, ''Vuk'' provoked and stimulated numerous debates among Croatian, Italian and Serbian intellectuals in Dalmatia on the literary, artistic and social life of the time. He became famous as a writer for his work in 1883 entitled ''Za kišljive dnevi'' (During the Rainy Days). He worked for the Matica srpska in Dubrovnik in 1910, the year he published "Naše Primorije," printed by the Serbian Dubrovnik Printing Press. When the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
was created, Car moved to the new monarchy's capital of
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
in 1919, where he spent the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. He worked for the Yugoslavian Ministry of Education as the Inspector of the Artist division until retirement in 1921. Car is the founder of the ''Society of Serbian Writers'' in Belgrade, being its first President. He then received his membership in the
Serbian Royal Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel laureates Ivo ...
, later known as the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and also membership in the
Matica srpska The Matica srpska ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Матица српска, Matica srpska, ) is the oldest Serbian language independent, non-profit, non-governmental and cultural-scientific Serbian national institution. It was founded on June 1, 1826, in Pest, ...
in
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
. He was also for one time a President of the
Serbian Literary Guild The Serbian Literary Guild or Serbian Literary Cooperative (in Serbian, , SKZ) is Serbia's oldest writers' organization and the second-oldest still existing publishing house after Matica srpska. History It was founded in Belgrade on 29 April 1892 ...
(1937-1941). After the
April war The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Füh ...
and the Nazi occupation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941, he fled to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
across Zadar. After the war ended and the Communist Partisans won in 1945, he returned to Belgrade where he spent the rest of his life. He died on 1 December 1953 in Belgrade,
FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
. His remains were moved to
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
to the countryside of his birth and he was buried in the Savina Monastery, according to his own wishes. He was a polyglot, translating from Italian and French into Serbo-Croatian.


Religious and national beliefs

Although born a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Christian, he converted before death to
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
, claiming that that was the only way to save the Catholic-Serb community from extinction and avoid assimilation into
Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
, which he had claimed was occurring in the Bocca. His movement didn't have significant impact outside his native
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
n coastland, but in there a significant number of Catholics converted to Orthodox Christians considering it a confirmation of their Serbian national identity and affiliation.


Legacy

A street in Herceg Novi's Old City bears his name in his honor. In it is also a bust raised in his honor by sculptor Petar Palavicini (also spelled Palaviccini) not long after Car's death.


Works

* ''Venecija'' * ''U Latinima'' * ''Moje simpatije'' * ''Od Jadrana do Balkana'' * ''Niz rodno primorje'' * ''S bojnog i ljubabnog polja'' * ''Sava Bjelanović'' * ''Estetička pisma'' * ''Ogledala i predavanja'' * ''Eseji'' * ''Jedan zaboravljeni pesnik mora'' * ''Dubrovnik i okolina'' * ''Savremene Italijanske pripovetke'' * ''Naše primorije''


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Car, Marko Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church Serbian writers 1859 births 1953 deaths Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik