Traces of Ottoman Culture in Urban Infrastructure and Living Community of Niš During the Reign of Obrenović Dynasty (1878–1903)

Abstract

Even though the Europeanization of Niš under the Obrenović dynasty (1878–1903) was a continuation of the Ottoman westernization, carried out in Niš during the late Tanzimat (1856–1878), it was not only a continued adoption of the advanced achievements of European culture and society. In Niš, under the Obrenovićs, the effort was also spent on removing everything that belonged to the culture and heritage of the Ottomans, and replacing it with Serbian, so that the city would catch up with other developed cities in the Principality of Serbia, in terms of appearance and the way of life of its inhabitants. This paper aims to show how deep the roots of the Ottoman influence were in Niš during the reign of the last Obrenovićs, through the most visible characteristics of its urban layout and the daily life of its inhabitants (habits, language, and clothing). Since the preserved archival materials written in the language of the administration mostly do not contain data on the mentioned aspects of everyday life, the research used the narrative records of authors who stayed in Niš during this period and left their observations about it.