bg Novi Sad

Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium

- Zlatne Grede 4 -
The large two-story educational building was built in 1900 according to the design that came from the hand of the Serbian architect . The consecration of the newly built building took place in 1901. The building was built with the funds of Baron and other benefactors on the site of the old school building. It was built to house the Gymnasium, which is the oldest of the four gymnasiums in Novi Sad. The school was founded on January 27, 1810, as the Serbian Orthodox High School by the merchant Sava Vuković. Along with the Karlovac High School in , the high school in Novi Sad had great merit in maintaining and spreading the Serbian national idea. The importance of the school became greater in the era when the institution moved to Novi Sad.
The project of the architect Vladimir Nikolić
Due to its vicinity to the battlefield of the , the school's premises were taken over by the Austro-Hungarian army in 1914, and in 1915 it was turned into a military hospital. The teaching staff was scarce on account of mobilization and other war effects and in the school years between 1914 and 1916 only the exams were organized in the school. After the war, the school continued its work in the liberated and newly united Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. On 13 April 1941, during the , the German occupying forces entered Novi Sad, during which the school's work was prohibited. After the war, the new Yugoslavia was formed under communist ideology, which resulted in the whole educational process focusing on social-political education on the basis of Marxist study. After the democratic changes on October 5, 2000, the development of the school went in two directions, not only did the school become the leader in introducing innovations and higher standards in secondary education but it also returned to its traditions.
The consecration of the new building in 1901
On top of the part of the Eclectic and Neo-Renaissance building, you can admire several statues, and among them is the statue of the Greek goddess . Around the same height, you'll be able to see a lot of , as well as an , which is also placed in the frieze. In addition, around the same height, there are many decorative vases, balustrades with incorporated , and around the building, the latter of which are decorated with a lion head . Underneath the roof , you can see an motif and two different strips of , one of which is embellished with foliage. Some of the are decorated with a and two , and some of the underneath these pediments are embellished with festoons or . The frieze between the second and first floor contains a lot of , each of which is adorned with three . In addition, the building features many , , as well as columns and , which are crowned with Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian . On top of the pointed pediment, which is located above the main entrance door, two more statues can be admired.
An old postcard that shows the building