Поглед из Букурешта: Карол I Хоенцолерн о Милану Обреновићу и Србији
A View from Bucharest: Carol I Hohenzollern on Milan Obrenović and Serbia

Summary/Abstract: This article takes into consideration the personal view that Romanian prince and king Carol I Hohenzollern (1866-1914) had on the personality of his Serbian contemporary Milan Obrenović (1868-1889) and his politics. Our research is based on private sources of Romanian ruler including his memoirs, diaries and private correspondence covering the second half of the 19 th century, but also relevant literature on the Balkan history of this period. From their first encounter in the early 1870’s the relation between two Balkan monarchs had passed through several phases. Early years correspond to the period of vassal position of Romania and Serbia in the Ottoman Empire and they describe two young princes of different origins, characters and political talents. The Eastern Crisis (1875-1878) leads towards the establishment of independent Balkan states which are soon proclaimed kingdoms. The 1880’s are thus the phase in which the relations between Serbia and Romania preserve once established closeness which culminates with Carol’s official visit to Serbia in 1884. However, Carol I becomes more critical towards the Serbian sovereign in these years. He contests the “despotic” character of king Milan’s reign and has no sympathy for his private life. According to Carol, Milan’s position is seriously challenged after the war between Serbia and Bulgaria in 1885. This is an important turn in Carol’s views: in the next decade he will show no understanding for Milan’s political and personal choices. Nevertheless, this evolution in Carol’s private considerations did not affect the nature of SerbianRomanian relations.

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