Forms of Sociability and Entertainment in the Principality of Serbia: Princess Anka Obrenović’s Salons
Forms of Sociability and Entertainment in the Principality of Serbia: Princess Anka Obrenović’s Salons

Summary/Abstract: Salons in the young Principality of Serbia (1815-1882) first appeared in Belgrade and date back to the late 1830s. The gradual repression of the Oriental lifestyle changed the appearance of the then family homes, as well as their interior design. Under the influence of Central European understanding, buildings were being built, characterized by representative salons, and instead of the Oriental system, which kept privacy in the strictly closed blocks of individual houses, the doors of the home were opened for a new form of communication, socializing and relaxation. During the second reign of Prince Mihailo Obrenović (1823-1868), in the 1860s, his cousin Princess Anka Obrenović (1821-1868) organized salons that represented significant social and cultural gatherings in the capital. Anka Obrenović played piano and guitar, and published translations of short stories from German in the Serbian press. In her salons, decorated in a “European way”, dressed in the latest Viennese fashion, she brought together the most respectable fellow citizens and foreigners who lived in Belgrade. An important segment of the salon gatherings was the musical part of the program. In addition to the favorite piano, violin, harp and guitar could also be heard in Anka’s salons. Popular salon music by foreign and local authors dominated the repertoire, as well as covers of Serbian folk and civic songs. The salon gatherings ended with dancing Serbian folk dances, followed by waltzes and csárdáses, which were very modern in Belgrade in the 1860s.

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