Who was Cvetko. Everyone knows well about Cvetko's market, but few know who Cvetko really was and how he found himself in Belgrade, where he quickly gained great wealth and a circle of friends.
Cvetkova pijaca is one of the most famous parts of Belgrade. Thousands of people go there every day, shop, live, work.There used to be fields, cobbled alleys and a road to Smederevo in this place. This part of the city was a difficult periphery, people only passed there, but did not come.
Today, there is the famous Cvetkova pijaca, and few people know after whom it was named.
At the end of the 19th century, in search of a better life, a certain Cvetko Jovanović came to Belgrade from Struga, Macedonia.Cvetko Jovanović was born in 1862 in the village of Labunište, near Struga, in today's Macedonia. When he grew up, he moved to Belgrade and opened a grocery store near the Faculty of Law. As the business was going well, he bought a piece of land in Vračarsko polje and in 1902 opened a tavern of the same name. That tavern soon became widely known as Cvetkova mehana, and it was adorned with a painting by Kraljević Marko and the text "Marko drinks Kraljević wine, drinks half, gives half to Šarc".The garden of the tavern was where the Flower Bazaar is today.Cvetko was obviously a man with a vision and a refined sense of business. Realizing the importance of electrification and traffic, he introduced electricity to this part of the city and installed rails for tram number 6, which led directly to its tavern. The business flourished, Cvetko's wealth grew, and his property expanded. His house was located directly behind the cafe, and the property extended to today's Zvezdara Health Center. Today's Zvezdara market was also owned by him. Hence the popular name of the market.
Sad fate
However, "happiness is not money full of bags". In fact, Cvetko's fate was very sad. He had four children and none of them lived long. Still, he tried to do good for the whole community.
He founded the Fund of Cvetko Jovanović and his wife Stefana. One part of the money from the Fund was intended for the construction of a new and assistance to the old church in his native Labunište, and the other for the construction of a large building for rent. Revenues from the rent would be given to the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Society for the Construction of the Church of St. Sava, schools, kindergartens, the poor and other humanitarian purposes. Cvetko was a great benefactor and holder of the Order of the fifth order of Saint Sava due to the construction of the settlement of King Alexander. Because of his merits, he had the honor of having one street named after him.
Cvetko Jovanović died in 1938, and ten years after his death, most of his property was nationalized. Cvetko's heirs even had to buy a house from the Municipality in order to live in it.
Cvetko's endowment belonged to the Ministry of Education, the tavern was renamed Smederevo, the market was renamed Zvezdarska, and the street that bore his name is today named after Slobodanka - Danka Savić.
However, the works of Cvetko Jovanović have not been forgotten and in spite of everything, his name has remained deeply rooted in the people. And it should be, because Cvetko was a great man. Therefore, the next time I visit my friend, I will stop the first free taxi and proudly say - to Cvetko, please
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