Serbia: 125th Anniversary of the Serbian Literary Cooperative

Srpska književna zadruga or the Serbian Literary Cooperative is the oldest publishing house and one of the few cultural establishments of the Serbs continuously operating since the 19th century despite all difficulties and trials. At the time of its founding, the Zadruga was the first and truly modern
publishing house among the Serbs. Today, far from being just a token name of Serbian culture and literature, it remains a publisher with a special place and mission in the cultural area of its people.

Srpska književna zadruga was founded on 29 April 1892 on the premises of the Royal Serbian Academy, 15 Brankova Street, in Belgrade. All of its sixteen founding members were prominent figures in the cultural, scientific and political life of late 19th-century Serbia. Elected as its first president was Stojan Novaković, a historian, philologist and diplomat, and as its vice-president, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, a physician, one of the greatest lyric poets of Serbian Romanticism, and designer of the recognizable SKZ logo featured on all Zadruga’s editions ever since. Subsequently, too, the Zadruga has been run and overseen by some of the foremost among Serbian authors and scholars.