Who is Toša from the Tavern's Name | Old Belgrade Stories

Is there a person who lives in Belgrade and who hasn't passed through Tošin bunar street sooner or later?! Probably not... But how many of them know how this significant street got its name?! Was it after the famous tavern...?...A well...? ... And who is this Toša "whose" well and tavern they are?!

Teodor Toša Apostolović (1745 – 1810) was, it is believed, a Greek/Vlach from the vicinity of Thessaloniki. Born as Theodoros Apostolos, he, like many of his compatriots, came to Serbia to escape the Ottoman oppression and eventually settled in Zemun with the withdrawal of the Austrians from Belgrade. A skilled craftsman (soap maker), he became a respected and wealthy merchant and eventually a highly influential citizen and benefactor, as well as the president of the Zemun church community.

The area of today's Tošin bunar street, which connects Zemun, New Belgrade blocks, and Bežanija, was at that time a swampy terrain on the outskirts of Zemun where there was an unsightly wild settlement, similar to Belgrade's Jatagan mala. Bežanijska kosa represented a wooded elevation, planted with vineyards and gardens, as it is today.

Anyway, legend has it that Toša Apostolović, in his old age, fell seriously ill with an eye disease and almost went blind. As a believer, he dreamed of St. Nicholas one night, who told him to roll an empty barrel from the top of Bežanijska kosa and dig a well where it stops, and that the water from it would heal him by washing his eyes. Toša did just that, and the well was built at the site of today's Studentski grad, and according to legend, Toša did indeed regain his sight.

Belief in legends is, of course, a matter of personal choice, but the existence of Tošin bunar is a fact that even today the oldest residents of Zemun remember. The tavern "Tošin bunar" was built near the well, popularly known as "Džakarta," and it is one of the few taverns in Belgrade that still preserves the old tavern spirit. The road that was previously called Bežanijski put was renamed after the well.

During World War II, the street briefly bore the name of one of the most prominent figures of Nazi Germany - Hermann Göring, only to have the old name restored after the war.

During the construction of Studentski grad and New Belgrade in general, Tošin bunar was demolished and buried, but the street and the tavern of the same name continue to exist, representing a symbol of this part of the city.

And the legend still lives on...