Đumrukana
| Đumrukana | |
| Address |
Belgrade Serbia |
|---|---|
| Owner | City of Belgrade |
| Capacity | 250 |
| Current use | demolished |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 4 December 1841 |
| Closed | late August 1842 |
| Demolished | 1941, during German bombing of Belgrade. |
| Years active | 1841 - 1842 |
| Architect | Hadži-Neimar |
Theatre on Đumruk, or Đumrukana, was established in Belgrade, Serbia in 1841. An old building of the customs house near Belgrade docks in the neighborhood of Savamala was adapted into a theater, as a first regular Belgrade theater house.
The Đumrukana building (from Turkish gümrük), was the very first administrative building built in the newly autonomous Principality of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire. It was a symbol of the liberated country.
The building was designed by modern Serbian building pioneer Nikola Živković (known as Hadži-Neimar), perhaps under the guide of Franz Janke, the first state engineer of the Principality of Serbia. It was built around 1835, and it was 52 m long, with large arches standing on Tuscan Doric columns. The main facade was of monumental composition with 11 arcades and ceiling with cruciform cove.
Đumrukana was later the location of the first Belgrade’s regular theatre in 1841, as prior to that only travelling acting troops existed. Main people behind theatre’s establishment were comedy writer Jovan Sterija Popović and educator . They both were teachers at the Lyceum of the Principality of Serbia in Kragujevac, capital of Serbia at that time. They founded a theatre in Kragujevac 1840, but a year later, both capital and the Lyceum were transferred to Belgrade. Original idea for the new theatre was Nikolić’s and Sterija joined him. They were backed by the prince Mihailo Obrenović who agreed to partially support the theatre financially thru state subsidy. He also ordered for the storage hall in Đumurkana, at the time one of the largest buildings in Belgrade, to be adapted to suite the theatre. The hall had 250 seats and was officially opened on the 4 December 1841 with the first performance being Death of Stefan Dečanski by Sterija. Performances were held regularly on Thursdays and Sundays. Until late August 1842, 55 plays, both Serbian and foreign, were performed. In September 1842 prince Mihailo Obrenović was dethroned and went into exile, and the theatre held no further productions. The building itself was damaged during the bombing of Belgrade in World War II and later destroyed.
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Wikipedia