Jakov Ignjatović | Origin of Street Names

Jakov Jaša Ignjatović (1824 - 1889) was one of the prominent Serbs in Hungary during the 19th century. As one of the pioneers of realism in Serbian literature, a successful journalist and politician, he was often challenged and criticized due to his openly pro-Hungarian views as a person and a writer.

He was born in Szentendre, a town near Budapest known for its large Serbian emigration after the Great Migrations. As the youngest child of elderly parents, he became an orphan at a very young age, and his relatives took care of him. He received his primary education in his hometown and attended gymnasium in several cities, including Budapest.

His impulsive nature and dissident spirit, which would accompany him throughout his life, put him in an awkward position during his law studies in Budapest, which he left due to conflicts with professors. Eventually, he completed his studies in Kecskemét and began a legal practice, which would remain his secondary occupation throughout his life.

Jakov Ignjatović began his journalistic and political engagement in 1848, the year of the Hungarian revolution, in which he took a strong stand against Austrian absolutism, aligning himself and even fighting on the side of Hungary. After the defeat of this uprising, he fled to Belgrade, where he started his career as a journalist.

Considering the ever-relevant national question of the Serbs in Vojvodina at the time, Jakov Ignjatović advocated for close cooperation with Hungarians on all matters in his writings. Believing that conflicts with Hungary would further complicate the Serbian position, he openly opposed the creation of Serbian Vojvodina on several occasions. He believed that Serbs in Vojvodina should strive not for national autonomy but for cultural and educational development. Due to such "anti-Serbian" views, he was labeled as a traitor or mađaron and sharply criticized by prominent Serbs, including Svetozar Miletić, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, Patriarch Josif Rajačić, and others.

Somewhat marginalized in public life, and following his divorce from his first wife in 1863, Jakov Ignjatović moved to the Slavonian village of Dalj, where he spent just under two decades. This period of his life made him an exceptionally prolific writer. Although he wrote his first works in his 30s, romanticism as the prevailing literary trend did not resonate with him. Inspired by the works of Sima Milutinović Sarajlija, he found himself in descriptions of real life and the everyday environment, establishing himself as one of the pioneers of realism in Serbian literature.

Alongside "The Eternal Groom," his most significant novels and works include "Vasa Rešpekt," "Thirty Years from the Life of Milan Nerandžić," "The Sufferer," "Memoirs," numerous short stories, and critical reviews of contemporary literature. Moreover, most of Jaša Ignjatović's novels contain numerous autobiographical elements. Despite being overshadowed by the negative reputation of their author, the literary value of these works is still considered underrated by some to this day.

In the last decade of his life, Jakov Ignjatović resided in Novi Sad, where he returned to publicist work while remaining steadfast in his political views.

He passed away at the age of 65 and was buried at the Uspensko Cemetery in Novi Sad, where his grave and monument have stood for over 130 years.

In memory of this significant figure in Serbian politics and literature, numerous streets across cities and villages in Serbia bear the name of Jakov Jaša Ignjatović today.