Aleksandar I Karađorđević | Origin of Street Names

King Alexander I Karađorđević (1888 - 1934), also known as the Knight King or the Unifier King, was one of the most significant but also tragic political figures in the history of Serbia. He served as the supreme commander of the Serbian army in the victorious wars for liberation and was the implementer of the centuries-old idea of creating a united, great, and strong Yugoslav state for the South Slavic peoples.

He was born in Cetinje, the former capital of the Principality of Montenegro, at a time when the Obrenović dynasty ruled Serbia and members of his family, as members of a rival dynasty, were not particularly welcome in their own country.

He spent his early childhood at the court of his grandfather, Prince Nikola of Montenegro, but soon after his mother's death, he moved to Geneva with his father and older brother, where he received primary education and learned the French language. He continued his education in St. Petersburg, where, as the ward of his godfather, Russian Tsar Nicholas II, he attended the Military Academy.

Alexander Karađorđević's high school days were interrupted by the May Coup and the subsequent ascension of his father, King Peter I, to the Serbian throne. An even greater turn in the life of the young prince occurred in 1909 when, under pressure from the Serbian political elite, his elder brother, Prince George, was forced to renounce his right to the throne, immediately making Alexander the heir apparent and future king of Serbia.

The baptism of fire and a kind of test of his leadership abilities awaited Crown Prince Alexander during the Balkan Wars when he participated as the official commander of the Serbian army in the famous Battle of Kumanovo and a year later in the Battle of Bregalnica.

With the withdrawal of the aging and ill King Peter I from his duties, Alexander became the regent of Serbia, unofficial but de facto king, just before the outbreak of the Great War.

He led the Serbian army in the glorious battles of Cer and Kolubara at the beginning of the First World War, and by visiting and encouraging wounded soldiers on the front lines, he earned great respect among the Serbian troops. He also endured the ordeal of the retreat through Albania in 1915 with his army, but a year later, they achieved a victorious conquest of Mount Kajmakčalan.

Riding on the wave of victory in the Great War, which resulted in the collapse of powerful empires and intense changes on the political map of Europe, Regent Alexander initiated and gained domestic and international support for the creation of a united state of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes – the Kingdom of SHS (later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929). With this act, the longstanding aspirations of the South Slavic peoples for the creation of a great and strong state of closely related nations were realized, as well as the centuries-old dreams of the Serbs from across the borders to unite and live "under one roof" with their compatriots from Serbia.

However, the survival of such a state was a much greater challenge than its establishment. The peoples who were undoubtedly connected by many things, but also divided, never wholeheartedly embraced the king's idea of integral Yugoslavism and accepted the common state. While some adored him and saw him as a liberator and unifier, others respected him, finding common interest in Yugoslavia, and still others despised him, considering him an occupier and dictator, especially outside the borders of Serbia.

Communists, nationalists, and secessionists domestically, fascists and international enemies (dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles) externally - the list of opponents against King Alexander and the Yugoslav state grew longer with each passing year. In such circumstances, the King himself did not fare well, often exacerbating his enemies with frequent changes to the Constitution and ultimately establishing the January 6 Dictatorship.

The climax of the opposition against the King and his security occurred on October 9, 1934, in Marseille, when, at the age of 46, the first Yugoslav King was assassinated in an attack carried out by Croatian and Macedonian (pro-Bulgarian) nationalists, with the support and direct assistance of fascist Italy and Germany.

The tragic death of the King was one of the first ever captured on camera and deeply shook the majority of the population of Yugoslavia, who, upon the arrival of the King's body in the country, came out in hundreds of thousands to bid him farewell on his eternal rest.

There are few historical figures about whom opinions are so divided and who continue to provoke controversy, even today, like King Alexander Karadjordjevic.

This is probably the reason why this undoubtedly great statesman still does not have a street in the capital city of Serbia, or rather, has only a few streets in certain cities in Serbia.