552 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp563–4 and p565

Fresco Gallery 2

Galerija fresaka

Cara Uroša 20. Map D2. Tel (011)
262 1491. # noon–8pm Tue, Wed &
Fri, noon–8pm Thu, 10am–noon Sat,
10am–4pm Sun. &

Displaying copies of some of
the remarkable medieval paint-
ings that adorn the churches
and monasteries in Serbia, the
Fresco Gallery provides a stun-
ning visual introduction to the
Orthodox Christian culture that
thrived in the region before the
Ottoman occu pation. In the
14th cen tury, Serbia was at the
fore front of reli gious art, blend-
ing tradi tional Byzantine styles
with a new style of realistic,
emo tional portraiture. In par-
ticular, New Testament scenes
from the monastery churches
of Studenica (see p558) and
Sopoćani (see p559) are repro-
duced here to great effect.
There are also many paintings
from the monas tery of Kosovo-
Metohija and fres coes from
the 14th-cen tury found a tion at
the Orthodox monastery of
Dečani. Visitors can also view
scale models of many of the
churches in which the frescoes
can be found, which helps to
place the paint ings in their
architectural context.

Vuk and Dositej

Museum 3
Vukov i Dositejev muzej

Gospodar Jevremova 21. Map D2.
Tel (011) 262 5161. @ 26.

10am–5pm Mon, Tue, Wed & Sat,

noon–8pm Thu, 10am–2pm Sun. &

The Vuk and Dositej Museum
honours two of Serbia’s most
important language reformers.

Reproduction of a fresco from the Orthodox Cathedral, Fresco Gallery

Traditional folk costumes on display in the Ethnographic Museum

The museum occupies

one of the oldest houses

in Belgrade. Featuring oriel

windows and terracotta tiles,

it is a fine example of the

Levantine-style houses that

characterized the city in the

early 19th century.

The ground floor houses

a display devoted to Dositej

Obradović (1742–1811), a

widely travelled educator

who opened Serbia’s first

high school here in 1808.

The first floor holds personal

effects and manu scripts

relat ing to Vuk Stefanović

Karadžić (1787–1864), who is

regarded as one of the most

influential figures in modern

Serbian history and culture.

Born into a simple, peasant

family, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić

spent much of his life compil-

ing traditional songs and

stories, amassing a huge

body of Serbian folk literature

that still exerts a profound

influence over the nation’s

culture. He was also a linguist,

responsible for standard izing

Serbian grammar, and publish-

ing dictionaries and books that

set the standard for language

teachers in his day.

Ethnographic

Museum 4

Etnografski muzej

Studentski trg 13. Map D2.

Tel (011) 328 1888. @ 31, 28,

29, 41. # 10am–5pm Tue–Sat,

9am–2pm Sun. & =

http://www.etnografskimuzej.rs

The Ethnographic Museum

offers a colourful and infor-

mative introduction to

Serbia’s rich folk traditions.

It is housed in the former

Belgrade Stock Exchange,

a stark piece of Functionalist

architecture built in 1934.

The ground floor hosts

interest ing temporary exhi-

bitions on various themes,

often featur ing items on

loan from foreign museums.

The permanent collection

begins on the first floor

with a display of traditional

Serbian textiles. The highlight

here is a collection of vividly

coloured woollen carpets

from the east Serbian town

of Pirot, decorated with a

rich reper toire of geometric,

floral and zoomorphic

symbols. There are also

examples of the vertical

looms on which such carpets

were handwoven, alongside

the beautifully carved preslice

(distaff) used to spin the

wool, each adorned with

sun and star motifs.

The top floor displays

traditional folk costumes as

well as examples of 19th-

cen tury urban dresses, top

hats and umbrellas. There

are also intricate scale models

of village farmsteads and

re-creations of typical urban

and rural house interiors.