Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic (1787 - 1864) is the great reformer of the Serbian language. He worked as a scribe in the Sovjet (then government) after the First Serbian Insurrection, then as a teacher and civil servant. After the insurrection fell through, he left for Vienna in 1813. There, he was encouraged by Jernej Kopitar, a philologist, to collect folk sayings and poems and to devote himself to language and orthography. He published the first anthology of folk poetry and grammar, which marked the beginning of his epochal work on the establishment of the new Serbian literature, language and orthography. In 1818, he published the Dictionary with grammar, which attests to his reform of the Serbian language.
He collected short stories, proverbs and riddles and wrote historical testimonies. The university of Jena conferred upon him the honorary doctor title. Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic died in Vienna in 1864 and his remains were transferred to Belgrade in 1897 and laid to rest in the yard of the Congregation cathedral.
The monument was designed by sculptor Djordje Jovanovic and erected by the municipality of Belgrade in one of the largest city squares in 1937, shortly before the celebration of 150 years from the birth of Vuk Karadzic. It is represented with a figure which is both modest and majestic, just as Vuk was modest as a man and outstanding and inimitable as a creator. The monument is cast in bronze. The total height is 7.25m.
Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic (1787 - 1864) is the great reformer of the Serbian language. He worked as a scribe in the Sovjet (then government) after the First Serbian Insurrection, then as a teacher and civil servant. After the insurrection fell through, he left for Vienna in 1813. There, he was encouraged by Jernej Kopitar, a philologist, to collect folk sayings and poems and to devote himself to language and orthography. He published the first anthology of folk poetry and grammar, which marked the beginning of his epochal work on the establishment of the new Serbian literature, language and orthography. In 1818, he published the Dictionary with grammar, which attests to his reform of the Serbian language.
He collected short stories, proverbs and riddles and wrote historical testimonies. The university of Jena conferred upon him the honorary doctor title. Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic died in Vienna in 1864 and his remains were transferred to Belgrade in 1897 and laid to rest in the yard of the Congregation cathedral.
The monument was designed by sculptor Djordje Jovanovic and erected by the municipality of Belgrade in one of the largest city squares in 1937, shortly before the celebration of 150 years from the birth of Vuk Karadzic. It is represented with a figure which is both modest and majestic, just as Vuk was modest as a man and outstanding and inimitable as a creator. The monument is cast in bronze. The total height is 7.25m.
