Jovan Sterija Popović | Origin of Street Names

Jovan Sterija Popović (1806 - 1856) was one of the most significant Serbian writers, the founder of drama in Serbian literature, the initiator of the National Museum in Belgrade, and one of the leading intellectuals among the Serbs in the first half of the 19th century.

He was born in Vršac, to his father Sterija (a Greek) whose name he adopted, and his mother Julijana, the daughter of the renowned painter Nikola Nešković.

As a sickly child, he observed children's play more than he actively participated in it, and it is believed that his observational and narrative gift developed in his childhood.

He received his primary education in his hometown, and then, according to the custom of the time, continued his education in Temišvar, Budapest, and Kežmarok, finally obtaining a law degree.

It was during his education in the major cities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that Jovan Popović, as a high school student, first came into contact with theater and stage adaptations of literary classics.

After completing his education, Sterija returned to his native Vršac, where he worked as a lawyer and a private tutor, while also writing historical dramas, albeit with not much success.

However, during his stay in Budapest, satirical works and comedies made a particularly strong impression on him. Sterija Popović would soon completely embrace this genre and masterfully incorporate the folk mentality and "childhood illnesses" of the society at that time into his works, becoming widely recognized and remaining unrivaled to this day.

"Laža i paralaža" ("Deceit and Delusion"), "Tvrdica" ("The Miser") (Kir Janja), "Pokondirena tikva" ("The Dappled Pumpkin"), "Ženidba i udadba" ("Marriage and Wedding") and "Rodoljupci" ("Patriots") are just some of Sterija's comedies that are considered absolute classics of Serbian literature and continue to be performed on theater stages throughout Serbia for over a century.

Although fully dedicated to literature since his 30s, Jovan Sterija Popović also held important state functions. He spent several years as a professor at the Kragujevac Lyceum, and from 1842 to 1848, he served as the head of the Ministry of Education.

During his tenure as a civil servant, he advocated for the organized preservation of Serbian cultural and intellectual heritage, thus initiating the establishment of the National Library, the Academy of Sciences, and above all, the Muzeum serbskog, the precursor to today's National Museum in Belgrade, which is considered his direct founding achievement.

However, due to conflicts with the political leaders of that time, primarily with Toma Vučić Perišić - the gray eminence of the Principality of Serbia, Sterija was literally expelled from Serbia. He then returned to his hometown of Vršac, where he spent the rest of his short life.

Jovan Sterija Popović died at the age of 50.

In honor of the great writer and intellectual, the largest theater festival in Serbia is named Sterijino pozorje. His monument and birth house can be found in Vršac today, and a large number of schools and streets in Serbia also bear the name of Sterija Popović.