Letopis Matice srpske is available only in Serbian.

The History of the Letopis Matice srpske

Letopis Matice srpske is a literary periodical with the longest press run in the whole world. It has been published, without major interruptions, since the year 1824. The fact that such a tradition was created by the very Serbian culture that was exposed to interruptions of its cultural development seems both unusual and amazing. Founded in Novi Sad, printed in Buda and entitled Serbska letopis (Serbian Chronicle), in accordance with the intention of its founder, Georgije Magarašević, it became the center piece for presenting the results of literary and scientific achievements. In addition, Letopis Matice srpske systematically explored discoveries that focused on language, literature, history, religion, folklore and culture of, not only the Serbian people, but of the entire Slavic world from the Adriatic Sea to the Arctic Ocean and from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Organizational difficulties of the entire matter prompted Magarašević to consult with merchants and members of the intellectual elite in Pest, who came to the conclusion that a solution might be found in the establishment of a cultural institution that would not only manage the Letopis, but, would develop a much wider range of activities. As part of these activities, publishing was instigated immediately, due to the fact that the founders strongly believed that the core of their task was to continuously publish and distribute Serbian manuscripts from then on and forevermore. Thus, at the very beginning of the activities of Matica Srpska, the books of Milovan Vidaković, Jovan Sterija Popović, Dositej Obradović, Lukijan Mušicki, Jovan Subotić and others were published.

For its entire press run, the Letopis Matice srpske, having undergone slight changes in its title (Novij serbskij letopis, from 1837; Srbskij letopis, from 1855; Srbski letopis, from 1865; Srpski letopis, from 1867; Letopis Matice srpske, from 1987), has remained the most important, though somewhat conservative, Serbian periodical with the aim to gather true values of Serbian literature, science and culture. This mission of Matica Srpska has been realized with varied, but undoubted success. Interruptions in the activities occurred only at times of great historical events when basic conditions of cultural work were not met: during the period of strong attempts of the Hungarian administration to close the institution 1835–1836, during the revolutionary year of 1848, as well as during World War I and World War II. The Letopis Matice srpske was edited by many cultural workers.

Editors of the Letopis Matice srpske since the founding:

Georgie Magarašević (1824–1830), Jovan Hadžić (1830–1831), Pavle Stamatović (1831–1832), Teodor Pavlović (1832–1841), Jovan Subotić (1842–1847), Sima Filipović (1848), Jovan Subotić (1850–1853), Јakov Ignjatović (1854–1856), Subota Mladenović (1856–1857), Jovan Đorđević (1858–1859), Antonije Hadžić (1859–1869), Jovan Bošković (1870–1875), Antonije Hadžić (1876–1895), Мilan Savić (1896–1911), Tihomir Ostojić (1912–1914), Vasa Stajić (1921), Kamenko Subotić (1922–1923), Marko Maletin (1923–1929), Stevan Ćirić (1929), Svetislav Banica (1929), Radivoje Vrhovac (1930), Todor Manojlović (1931), Žarko Vasiljević (1932), Nikola Milutinović (1933–1935), Vasa Stajić (1936), Nikola Milutinović (1936–1941), Živan Milisavac (1946–1957), Mladen Leskovac (1958–1964), Boško Petrović (1965–1969), Aleksandar Tišma (1969–1973), Dimitrije Vučenov (1974–1979), Momčilo Milankov (1979), Boško Ivkov (1980–1991), Slavko Gordić (1992–2004), Ivan Negrišorac (2005–2012), Slobodan Vladušić (2013-2016).

It is the duty of contemporary editors to recognize the comprehensiveness, complexity and capital values of Serbian literature and culture.

Editorial Board of the Letopis Matice srpske

Editor in Chief:

Đorđe Despić

Members:

Predrag Petrović,

Tamara Krstić,

Slobodan Vladušić

Secretary of the Editorial Board: Svetlana Milašinović (e-mail: letopis@maticasrpska.org.rs)

Editor: Mirjana Karanović

Proofreader: Branislav Karanović

Technical Editor: Vukica Tucakov

Web design: Milan Šiđanski

Page layout: Vladimir Vatić

Contact:

Matica srpska

Letopis Matice srpske

Matice srpske 1

21 000 Novi Sad

Telephone: 021 6613 864, 021 420 199 extension 112 fax 021 528 901

e-mail: letopis@maticasrpska.org.rs