? is Belgrade's oldest traditional restaurant or tavern (kafana). Located in Kralja Petra Street, the building along with a bistro is nearly 200 years old, and as such has become one of the city's landmarks. The cuisine served is traditional, and starogradska music is played.
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History
The ? was built in 1823 as a property of Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia, gifted to Naum Ičko, his commercial consul. It got its unusual name in 1892, after a dispute with the Serbian Orthodox Church authorities over its previous name Kod Saborne crkve (By the Saborna Crkva). Instead, the owner of the tavern put a question mark on the door, and it soon became the official name of the place.[1]
The bistro was owned by Ivan Pavlović, but communist Yugoslav authorities nationalized the property in 1959.
Controversy
In 2005, Serbian authorities announced their intention to privatize ?, but after strong resistance both from the tavern's employees, as well as from various public figures (mostly journalists who frequent the bistro) and even some civil groups, the Government of Serbia finally decided in February 2007 to exempt the restaurant from the privatization process. Exactly 2,563 individuals signed a petition that called for the privatization to be stopped.[2]
External links
- (Inter)National restaurants — list of traditional restaurants by Tourist Organization of Belgrade
- "?" nije pod znakom pitanja — article on privatization of restaurant (Serbian)
References
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