Laza Telečki | Origin of Street Names

When the street Laze Telečkog is mentioned, the first association is usually - nightlife in Novi Sad. And not without reason, because dozens of night clubs, cafés, bars, and pubs are located in this, just 200-meter-long street, which transforms into the most popular street in the city on Friday and Saturday evenings, frequented by thousands of young people in search of fun and a good time.

By Novi Sad standards, this unusually narrow alleyway, with the "intimacy" of its buildings, creates an authentic festival atmosphere that makes this street the center of city events.

While streams of young people go back and forth, a beautiful mural on one of the building facades observes them, and the first Serbian professional actor, Laza Telečki, after whom this lively street is named, discreetly smiles.

Lazar Laza Telečki (1841-1873) was born in the Banat village of Kumane, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Growing up in a poor family, he managed to complete the Karlovac Gymnasium and then a preparatory school for technical studies in Buda.

His natural path of education took him to Prague, where he attended the Polytechnic Faculty, but he had to leave due to poverty. Upon returning to Novi Sad, he worked as a clerk in the law office of Svetozar Miletić, one of the prominent Serbs from across the river and a great fighter for Serbian liberation and unification. However, with the establishment of the Serbian National Theatre, Laza Telečki became an actor and would later be recognized as the first Serbian professional actor.

During his acting career, he played over 200 roles, mostly in domestic plays, and became popular far beyond Novi Sad. He is considered to be the first to "introduce" Shakespeare to the Serbs, by performing Shakespearean dramas and significantly contributing to the popularization of this playwright, who is arguably the most important in the history of theatre, among our people. He himself wrote and directed a play called "The Last Despotess of Smederevo," placing himself among the most influential figures in the Serbian National Theatre and Serbian theatre in general.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, suffering from incurable tuberculosis at the time, Laza Telečki died at a very young age, at the age of 32. He was buried at Almaško Cemetery in Novi Sad, where his monument still stands today, almost 150 years later, while his vivid mural adorns the most popular street in Novi Sad day and night.