Vladana Putnik Prica
Vladana Putnik Prica is a senior research associate at the Art History Department, Faculty of Philosophy, University in Belgrade. Her field of research is the history of architecture in Serbia and former Yugoslavia in the XX century. She defended her PhD thesis ‘Architecture of Sokol Halls in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia’ in 2014 and published it in 2015. Her book ‘Residential Architecture of Belgrade (1918−1941)’ from 2021 received an award of the Belgrade Salon of Architecture.
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WWII. Since the years of occupation were also marked by a civil war
fought in the country, the newly established communist government
was aware of how significant monuments were for collective memory
and nation-building. After initially erecting several modest monuments,
large complexes were built in the 1960s and 1970s. Monuments
were integrated into larger thematic areas designed to create a
comprehensive experience for visitors. Museums were one of the key
elements of these memorial parks and complexes. The main focus of
this article is on the role of memorial museums in the complex culture of
remembrance in socialist Yugoslavia.
WWII. Since the years of occupation were also marked by a civil war
fought in the country, the newly established communist government
was aware of how significant monuments were for collective memory
and nation-building. After initially erecting several modest monuments,
large complexes were built in the 1960s and 1970s. Monuments
were integrated into larger thematic areas designed to create a
comprehensive experience for visitors. Museums were one of the key
elements of these memorial parks and complexes. The main focus of
this article is on the role of memorial museums in the complex culture of
remembrance in socialist Yugoslavia.
http://www.f.bg.ac.rs/files/iu_ARTUM1_2015-07.pdf
Publisher: Department for Art History, Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade
Editor-in-chief: Vladana Putnik,PhD
Editorial Board:
Ana Knežević, Tamara Biljman; Milan Popadić, PhD; Jasmina Ćirić, PhD; Vuk Dautović, M.A.
Contact: [email protected]
The popularity of the Sokol movement among Slavic peoples has certainly contributed to the strengthening of pan-Slavism and the desire for independence from Germanised culture of Austro-Hungary, as well as for national consolidation. The epilogue of WWI de facto enabled the creation of Czechoslovakia, united Poland and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The period between the two World Wars can be rightfully considered as the golden age of the Sokol movement, when it
had the support of the states and gained the most popularity becoming a part of mass culture. Governments recognized the importance of Sokols for the promotion of State ideology and promoting its values through various Sokol manifestations.
An inseparable part of studying the phenomenon of the Sokol movement is the study of architecture built for its purpose, above all the Sokol Halls and gymnasiums, and Sokol stadiums. Sokol Halls were designed as multifunctional objects, both sport and cultural centres. The basic and most important space of every Sokol Hall was the gymnasium, which was also used as a theatre, cinema and often as a dancing hall. The way that Sokol Halls were designed in all Slavic countries enable them to serve the same purposes today.
The first Sokol Halls were created during the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century; however the largest number of them was erected during the interwar period. In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later called Yugoslavia, about Sokol Halls were built, among which a certain number of them can be considered the highlights of Yugoslav architecture. Early objects of the Sokol societies were designed in the style of academism and eclecticism, only to be slowly replaced during the 1920s by variations of national style, which remained present up until the beginning of WWII, even though modernism was dominant during the 1930s. Although there were apparent differences in the courses of architecture in different regions in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it can be concluded that Sokol Halls very well reflected the development of the entire architectural field.
Apart from stylistic analysis, the ideological dimension of Sokol Halls was also considered, since they contributed to the spreading of Sokol and Yugoslav ideas. The conceptual and stylistic similarity of Sokol Halls and National Halls in Germany and Turkey, or Fascist Halls in Italy, can be interpreted through similar systems of cultural politics, even though their politics were certainly different. The influence of political events on the intensity of constructing Sokol Halls, their promotion in society and the conflict with the Catholic Church was also very conspicuous. The devastation of numerous Sokol Halls as a consequence of strengthening right-wing and fascist organizations by the end of the 1930s also represents an important chapter in the history of the Sokol movement and its architecture in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Sokol architecture takes an important place in the history of Yugoslav architecture, because it reflects one significant part of Yugoslavia’s cultural climate. The architects’ intentions can be distinguished very precisely in a large number of particular early projects of Sokol Halls, since the state only partly influenced the forming of Sokol visual culture.