150th Anniversary of Establishment of Serbian Technicians’ Society
The roots of Serbian technical civilisation lie in the middle ages, during the reign of the Nemanjić dynasty. The beginnings of engineering are visible in mining and metallurgy ventures such as Novo Brdo mines, and in the construction of resplendent sacral and other buildings. The renewal of the Serbian statehood after the centuries-old Ottoman power, and the creation of a modern state in the nineteenth century, revived the Serbian engineering as well. At the time, the engineers were predominantly educated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and France. The “Engineering Society”, the forerunner of our Union of Engineers and Technicians of Serbia, was established already in 1868, on 3 February. During its long 150 years, the Engineering Union went through many changes, but has always been active and socially recognisable. Many important engineers and scientists of all professions were, and still are, its members. The first chairman was Emilijan Josimović, an architect and urbanist, and Nikola Tesla was a prominent honorary member.
