Description
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the first arrival of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in Germany. Apart from this significant jubilee, which marks one of the most important turning points in the cultural and social ties of modern Serbia with Europe, the issue also celebrates the concrete ties between Serbia and Germany and the Serbian and German people. By accepting Vuk, his language reforms and high appreciation of the Serbian folk art collected by Vuk, 200 years ago Germany became the first and most important ambassador and friend of Serbian culture and the Serbian people in Europe.
Vuk Karadžić, the creator of the modern Serbian language, philologist, writer and anthropologist, based his work on modernizing spelling and orthography on the orthographic principle of the German linguist Johann Christoph Adelung – "write as you speak, and read as it is written".
The support for Vuk's life's work provided by the poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe and the Grimm brothers testifies to the strong cultural and friendly ties between the two peoples in the era of the creation of modern European states, and the traditional great respect between the Serbian and German people, even through all the turbulent historical moments is a pledge for a new era of sincere friendly relations and exceptional cooperation in the 21st century.
Motif on the stamp and on the vignettes: "Apotheosis of Vuk Karadžić", Pavle Paja Jovanović, 1897, oil on canvas, private collection. Motifs on the vignettes and the sheets: The degree of Doctor of Philosophy that Vuk received from the University of Jena, the cover pages of "Serbian Folk Songs" translated by Therese von Jakob, printed in Halle and Leipzig in 1833 and 1853, the emblem of the University of Leipzig, the university building and double seal of "Martin Luther" University in Halle. In the background of the sheets: a letter from Therese von Jakob to Vuk Karadžić from Halle in 1824, in which she writes to him about her translations of Serbian folk songs, the prescriptions that Vuk received from German doctors in 1823, and a letter in which Vuk thanks the Royal Learned Society in Göttingen for the honour shown (SASA Archive, Belgrade). Motif on the envelope: the logo and the building of the University of Jena, in the background the Doctor of Philosophy degree that Vuk obtained from the University of Jena.
Professional cooperation: Association of Writers of Serbia
Graphic realization of the issue: Nadežda Skočajić, academic graphic designer
