Who Was Jovan Cvijić

Jovan Cvijić (Loznica, 11 October 1865 – Belgrade, 16 January 1927) was a Serbian geographer, geomorphologist, ethnologist and university professor. He is regarded as the founder of modern Serbian geography and, internationally, as one of the founders of karstology, the study of karst.

Over almost four decades of fieldwork he crossed much of the Balkan Peninsula, often on foot. He published hundreds of papers and shaped several fields of research: geomorphology, glaciation, limnology, anthropogeography and ethnopsychology.

He was also a public figure of great standing. He served twice as rector of the University of Belgrade and, from 1921 until his death, as president of the Serbian Royal Academy. After World War I he took part as an expert in the Paris Peace Conference, where the borders of the new South Slavic state were decided.

Origins and Childhood

Jovan Cvijić was born in Loznica, in the western part of what was then the Principality of Serbia. Sources give his birth date as 11 October 1865 (29 September in the Old Style calendar), while some mention 12 October. Most encyclopedic entries therefore use the first date.

His father, Todor, was a merchant and later a municipal clerk, and died in 1900. The Cvijić family traced its origins to Old Herzegovina. His great-grandfather Cvijo Spasojević was a hajduk leader and took part in the First Serbian Uprising. After the uprising collapsed, he moved to Loznica, built a house and opened a shop.

His mother, Marija, née Avramović, came from the village of Korenita in Jadar, close to Tršić, the birthplace of Vuk Karadžić. Todor and Marija had five children: two sons, Živko and Jovan, and three daughters. Cvijić often stressed that in childhood his spiritual education was shaped above all by his mother and her family.

Although in his later works on psychological types he wrote respectfully of the Dinaric type, evidently modelled on his father’s family, he remained especially devoted to his mother. He wrote that he owed to her his striving for what is better and true.

Education

Cvijić completed primary school and two grades of gymnasium in his native Loznica, where he developed an interest in literature and learned French and German. He continued his schooling in Šabac. There his geography teacher was Vladimir Karić, later a well-known geographer, who paid him particular attention.

In 1881 Cvijić moved to the First Belgrade Gymnasium. In the same classroom sat future distinguished scholars Mihailo Petrović Alas, Pavle Popović and Ljubomir Stojanović. He finished gymnasium in 1884, and his school days were later depicted in the film and then the television series “Šešir profesora Koste Vujića”.

He had originally wanted to study medicine. Loznica, however, had no money to fund a scholarship for study abroad. On Professor Karić’s advice he enrolled in the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the Velika škola (Great School) in Belgrade, which he completed in 1888. Some sources give 1889, so the data differ.

At the Great School he attended geology lectures by the young professor Jovan Žujović. Under his influence he became interested in karst and joined him on his first scientific excursions across Serbia and Macedonia. Even as a student he published “Prilog geografskoj terminologiji našoj” (1887), which introduced many terms that scientists still use today.

After graduating he briefly taught at the Second Belgrade Gymnasium. In autumn 1889 he went to Vienna as a state scholarship student to study physical geography and geology. His professors were Albrecht Penck, Eduard Suess and Julius von Hann. He defended his doctoral dissertation “Das Karstphänomen” on 22 January 1893, with Penck as his mentor.

Early Career

On returning from Vienna, Cvijić was appointed full professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Great School in Belgrade on 21 March 1893. He was then about 27 years old. He first taught physical geography and ethnography, and later geography alone. He held that rank for his entire working life, until his death.

He immediately began building the institutional foundations of Serbian geography. He founded the Geographical Institute, the first geographical institution in the South Slavic lands, equipped it with globes, maps and literature, and introduced geographical seminars and compulsory field excursions. He led students into villages, where they studied settlements together. Sources differ on the exact year the Institute was founded (1893 or 1894), so the year given by most sources is used here.

He also launched the journal “Pregled geografske, geološke i meteorološke literature o Balkanskom poluostrvu” (Review of Geographical, Geological and Meteorological Literature on the Balkan Peninsula). His doctoral dissertation was published in Serbian in 1895 as “Karst. Geografska monografija”. He was elected corresponding member of the Serbian Royal Academy in 1895, on the proposal of Jovan Žujović, and full member in 1899.

Rise to International Renown

In the 1890s Cvijić extended his research to eastern Serbia, Bulgaria and the Rila mountains, and then to the mountains of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. He looked for evidence of an ice age, which experts until then had not attributed to the Balkans. He published the results in “Tragovi starih glečera na Rili” (1897) and “Glacijalne i morfološke studije o planinama Bosne, Hercegovine i Crne Gore” (1899).

By discovering traces of Pleistocene glaciers, he refuted the claims of prominent foreign glaciologists. He later studied glaciation in the Prokletije mountains too, as described in the study “Ledeno doba u Prokletijama i okolnim planinama” (1913).

His work on mountain systems, basins and tectonically unstable zones also drew attention. He was the first among Serbian natural scientists to study lakes systematically, thereby establishing limnology. He travelled to Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Lake Skadar and Epirus, and gathered the results in the three-volume work “Osnove za geografiju i geologiju Makedonije i Stare Srbije” (1906–1911).

At the same time he developed anthropogeography. With his associates he prepared instructions for studying villages and settlements, and in 1902 he published “Antropogeografski problemi Balkanskog poluostrva”. That work became the basis of his approach and the starting point for the synthesis “The Balkan Peninsula and South Slavic Lands”.

Greatest Achievements

Karstology and Geomorphology

The dissertation “Das Karstphänomen” was the first comprehensive treatment of karst phenomena, systematized them by genetic criteria and created a terminology for them. Thanks to Cvijić, the term “karst” was adopted in world science. He also introduced the term “vrtača” (doline), and his names for karst forms, such as uvala and ponor, entered international use.

In 1918 he published “Hydrographie souterraine et évolution morphologique du Karst”, in which he proposed a cyclical model of karst landscape development. In “Geomorphology” (1924–1926) he gave a morphological account of the Balkans, and the work remains an important starting point for studying the peninsula. The karst scientist Derek Ford called him the father of karst geomorphology.

Anthropogeography and Ethnology

Cvijić introduced and developed anthropogeography, the discipline that studies the influence of the natural environment on society and culture. He was the first to identify the main directions of population migrations in the Balkans and coined the term “metanastasic movements”, meaning slow, gradual movements of people from place to place. He classified settlements by position, type and function.

In “The Balkan Peninsula and South Slavic Lands”, first published in French in Paris in 1918 and then in Serbian in 1922, he described the cultural zones and psychological types of Balkan peoples. He described the Dinaric type with particular care. The collection “Govori i članci” (Speeches and Articles, 1921–1923) presents his views on the state and the nation.

Institutions and Journals

Cvijić founded the Geographical Institute (1893), and in 1910, with a group of geographers and naturalists, the Serbian Geographical Society, the first of its kind in the Balkans. He presided over it until his death. Two years later he launched the “Bulletin of the Serbian Geographical Society”, which is still published today.

Under the Academy’s auspices he also launched the “Serbian Ethnographic Collection”. He edited more than twenty books in the series “Settlements and Origin of the Population”. The first book appeared in 1902, and he edited the last in 1926, a year before his death. His scientific work was later collected in 14 volumes of “Collected Works”.

• “Das Karstphänomen” (1893) and “Karst. A Geographical Monograph” (1895);
• “Anthropogeographical Problems of the Balkan Peninsula” (1902);
• “Foundations for the Geography and Geology of Macedonia and Old Serbia” (1906–1911);
• “La Péninsule Balkanique: géographie humaine” (1918), in Serbian “The Balkan Peninsula and South Slavic Lands” (1922);
• “Geomorphology”, volumes I and II (1924 and 1926).

University and Academy

When the Great School was transformed into the University of Belgrade in 1905, Cvijić was one of its first eight full professors. The others were Sima Lozanić, Jovan Žujović, Mihailo Petrović Alas, Andra Stevanović, Dragoljub Pavlović, Milić Radovanović and Ljubomir Jovanović.

He served as rector of the University twice: 1906–1907 and 1919–1920. Sources differ on the first term, and most give 1906/07. After World War I he organized the rebuilding of the emptied and partly destroyed University. He took part in founding the Faculties of Medicine, Agriculture and Theology in Belgrade, Philosophy in Skopje and Law in Subotica.

He also cared about student conditions. During his rectorship, student canteens were opened on the site of former army barracks, and several buildings were converted into student dormitories. He raised funds for the University Library and received a representative of the Carnegie Foundation in Belgrade.

He was appointed president of the Serbian Royal Academy on 12 April 1921 and held the post until his death. During that period the Academy’s palace was built at 35 Knez Mihailova Street, where it remains headquartered. Among other things, Cvijić proposed Milutin Milanković for corresponding membership of the Academy.

A whole generation of scientists came from his school. The University’s first professor of ethnology was his oldest student and assistant Jovan Erdeljanović, followed by Tihomir Đorđević. Six of Cvijić’s students later became members of the Academy, among them Pavle Vujević and Milisav Lutovac.

War Years and the Paris Peace Conference

During the Balkan Wars and World War I, Cvijić served as adviser to the Government and the Supreme Command on geographical and ethnographic questions. On the orders of the Serbian government he carried out important political tasks in London, Paris, Rome and Athens. In London he worked on restoring diplomatic relations between Serbia and Great Britain, broken off after the May Coup of 1903.

During the war he stayed in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where he continued his scientific work and helped Serbian refugees. At the invitation of French colleagues he lectured on the Balkans at the Sorbonne. Sources differ on the exact years of the lectures (1915, 1917–1918 or 1917–1919), and it is known that he lectured again in 1925.

In 1918 the Serbian government appointed him its first expert on ethnographic borders, and in early 1919 chairman of the territorial section of the state delegation at the Paris Peace Conference. With his ethnogeographic maps, and with the support of the scientist Mihajlo Pupin, he helped determine the borders of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The state was then given, among other territories, Banat, Baranja and Bled with Bohinj and Triglav.

That conference was the first peace assembly in the history of wars at which scientists were needed alongside politicians. Cvijić stressed that national feeling must not be hatred of other peoples or a disregard for their rights.

Some critics disputed his scientific impartiality, arguing that he placed geography at the service of Serbian state interests. The question of Macedonian identity divided scholars: some believe he recognized the Macedonian people as a separate nation, others that he regarded Macedonians as South Serbs. Cvijić was proposed several times for prime minister but never accepted the offer, nor membership of any party.

Private Life

In 1911 Cvijić married Ljubica Nikolić, a widow from Belgrade, née Krstić (1879–1941). The marriage was childless. Ljubica stayed by his side until the end of his life, and after his death she received more than six hundred telegrams of condolence from his country and abroad.

He spoke English, German and French, and knew “The Mountain Wreath” (Gorski vijenac) by heart. The family house in Belgrade, built in 1905, was decorated with Balkan folk motifs, which suited his taste.

He paid for the strain of fieldwork with his health. The first serious symptoms of illness appeared before he turned forty-seven. The sources do not state the exact cause of death.

Final Years and Death

Jovan Cvijić died at dawn on 16 January 1927 in Belgrade, aged 61. He was still president of the Academy and head of the Geographical Institute. His last years were filled with editing major series, “Geomorphology” and his work for the Academy.

King Alexander, Professor Milutin Milanković and the then rector Pavle Popović paid their respects. He was buried at the New Cemetery in Belgrade.

Interesting Facts

• Cvijić conducted fieldwork for 38 years over about 500,000 square kilometres, and held that a region was properly studied only after one had walked it and talked with its inhabitants.
• He was a member of eight academies of sciences and sixteen geographical and natural-history societies.
• He acted for Serbia as an expert and diplomat, yet declined political office.
• Under the pseudonym “Dinaricus” he published “Jedinstvo Jugoslovena” (The Unity of the Yugoslavs) in 1915.
• The Geographical Institute of the Serbian Academy, founded in 1947, has borne the name “Jovan Cvijić” since 1961.
• A saying often attributed to him is that life is meant to be spent usefully.

Awards and Honours

During his lifetime he received numerous domestic and foreign honours and belonged to more than thirty scientific societies. The most important are listed below.

• Orders: Order of Saint Sava, III class (1901), II class (1904) and I class (1923); Order of Prince Danilo I (1907); Order of Saint Alexander (1909); Legion of Honour, Commander (1911); Order of the White Eagle, V class (1911); Cross of Mercy (1920); Order of the White Lion (1925).
• Medals: Gold medal Prix Conrad Malte-Brun of the Geographical Society in Paris (1903); Prix Eugen Patron medal (1917); Patron’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in London (1920); gold medal of the American Geographical Society in New York (1924, Cullum Geographical Medal).
• Honorary doctorates: Charles University in Prague (1922) and the University of Paris, Sorbonne (1924).
• Memberships: Serbian Royal Academy (corresponding member 1895, full member 1899, president from 1921), Czech Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Academy in Brussels, Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, Matica srpska (honorary member), and geographical societies in Vienna, Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Geneva, London and Amsterdam.

Legacy and Influence

Cvijić is still regarded as the most important Serbian geographer. His research on karst remains the foundation of that science, and the terms he introduced are used worldwide. As an interpreter of natural, historical, ethnographic and ethnopsychological processes, he was the only South Slavic scholar to bring these fields together in a single system.

His anthropogeographic and ethnological school influenced generations of researchers. He also encouraged the systematic study of settlements and migrations in the Balkans, which continues at the Institute of Ethnography and the Geographical Institute of the Serbian Academy.

Numerous primary and secondary schools and streets across Serbia bear his name. In Belgrade, the Jovan Cvijić Memorial Museum is housed in his home at 5 Jelena Ćetković Street. The house was declared a cultural monument in 1963, though some sources give 1996, and the museum opened in 1968. A monument stands in Student Park, and his image appears on the 500-dinar banknote, put into circulation on 17 September 2004.

Biography – Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Jovan Cvijić?

Jovan Cvijić was a Serbian geographer, geomorphologist and ethnologist, founder of Serbian geography, professor and rector of the University of Belgrade and president of the Serbian Royal Academy.

When and where was Jovan Cvijić born?

He was born on 11 October 1865 in Loznica. Some sources give 12 October, and in the Old Style calendar the date is 29 September.

What is Jovan Cvijić best known for?

He is best known as the founder of karstology and of Serbian geography, author of “Karst”, “The Balkan Peninsula and South Slavic Lands” and “Geomorphology”, and for his role as an expert at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

What did Jovan Cvijić study and where did he earn his doctorate?

He studied natural sciences at the Great School in Belgrade, then physical geography and geology in Vienna. He earned his doctorate on 22 January 1893 at the University of Vienna with the thesis “Das Karstphänomen”, under Professor Albrecht Penck.

Was Jovan Cvijić rector of the University of Belgrade?

Yes, twice: 1906–1907 and 1919–1920. He was also one of the first eight full professors of the University when it was founded in 1905.

What role did Jovan Cvijić play at the Paris Peace Conference?

He was an expert on ethnographic borders and chairman of the territorial section in the delegation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. His ethnographic maps helped determine the borders of the new state.

Who was Jovan Cvijić’s wife, and did he have children?

His wife was Ljubica Nikolić, née Krstić (1879–1941), whom he married in 1911. The marriage was childless.

When and where did Jovan Cvijić die, and where is he buried?

He died on 16 January 1927 in Belgrade and was buried at the New Cemetery. The sources do not state the cause of death.

What are Jovan Cvijić’s most important works?

Among the most important are “Das Karstphänomen” (1893), “Anthropogeographical Problems of the Balkan Peninsula” (1902), “Foundations for the Geography and Geology of Macedonia and Old Serbia” (1906–1911), “The Balkan Peninsula and South Slavic Lands” (1918, 1922) and “Geomorphology” (1924–1926).

Where is the Jovan Cvijić Memorial Museum?

The Memorial Museum is in Belgrade, at 5 Jelena Ćetković Street, in the house where Cvijić lived. The house was built in 1905, and the museum opened in 1968.

Conclusion

Jovan Cvijić left an indelible mark on Serbian and world science. As the founder of Serbian geography, a pioneer of karstology and the creator of the anthropogeographic approach, he linked the natural and social sciences and explored the Balkans as few had before him.

As rector, president of the Academy and expert at the Paris Peace Conference, he influenced both education and state borders. His works, institutions and students live on, and schools, a museum, an institute and a banknote bear his name.