Momo Kapor | Origin of Street Names

Section dedicated to giants - domestic and foreign personalities whose works, personal and social engagement had a civilizational significance, and after whom streets and squares throughout our country are named

Momčilo Momo Kapor (1937 - 2010) was a Serbian painter, writer, journalist, and screenwriter of feature and documentary films. A bohemian in the true sense of the word and a great lover of the capital city, Momo Kapor was, in short, a legend of Belgrade, even though he was not born in the capital.

Originally from Herzegovina, he was born in Sarajevo before the start of World War II. Shortly after the occupation, his father, as a reserve officer of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, was captured and sent to the Nuremberg camp, where he remained throughout the entire war. To make matters worse for the four-year-old boy, during the bombing of Sarajevo, while hiding from German bombs, his mother and grandmother tragically lost their lives. By a miracle, young Momo emerged alive from the completely destroyed house and spent the rest of the war with his great-aunt.

After the war, in 1946, his father brought him to Belgrade for schooling, and that's when a marvelous bond between a man and a city, rising from the ashes, began to form, with Momo Kapor becoming an absolute legend in the following decades.

Although an academically trained painter and highly successful as such, Momo Kapor undoubtedly left a deeper mark in Serbian literature by publishing over forty books and novels. Almost each of them became a bestseller in its time and, in one way or another, depicted Belgrade and its people in a given era. At times, this portrayal of Belgrade was skillfully romanticized, making people fall in love with this city even if they had never lived in it.

Only someone who genuinely loved and knew Belgrade and who was a true city character in every respect could create in this manner, and Kapor, along with a few other fellow citizens, embodied that definition.

Momo Kapor was the author and narrator of numerous documentary and feature films, and he was the screenwriter of the legendary film "Walter Defends Sarajevo". He also engaged in journalism, writing columns for prestigious newspapers such as NIN, Politika, Vreme, Frankfurt Vest, and others.

Educated, eloquent, yet at the same time mischievous, interesting, and charismatic, cosmopolitan in spirit and always at the center of attention - as is usually the case - he loved tavern s and was a true bohemian in every sense of the word.

After a serious illness, he passed away quietly and was buried in the Alley of the Greats.

In memory of the great Belgrade charmer and accomplished artist, the Momo Kapor Legacy Foundation was established, establishing an award for literary and artistic creativity in his name, as well as the "Momo's Circle" artistic festival. Additionally, a sculpture named "Daphne", beloved by him, was unveiled in (his beloved) Ada Ciganlija.

Furthermore, several streets in Serbian settlements have recently been named after Momo Kapor.