Promotion of a Book on History of Serbian Motoring in the Museum of Yugoslavia

In the building of the May 25 Museum, on Monday, March 25, 2024,at 6 p.m., the promotion of Marko Miljković’s book Automobile is freedom – The history of motoring in Serbia 1903-2023 will take place, organized by the Museum of Yugoslavia, the Automobile Museum and the Official Gazette. 

Having transformed the way we move, cars have remained a symbol of mobility and progress, thus powering economic development and cultural change around the world. Marko Miljković’s book Automobile is freedom – The history of motoring in Serbia 1903-2023 deals not only with the history of automobiles in this region, but also examines this phenomenon of contemporary society in the wider context of historical changes and modernization that Serbian society has undergone from the beginning of the 20th century until today. Using the most diverse historical sources – archival materials, newspaper articles, photographs, car parts, advertisements, invitations, posters, films and TV series, popular music, and memories of contemporaries – the author presents an authentic picture of an entire century of the technological revolution.

This technological invention, which reached Serbia in 1903, made life easier and more comfortable for many, but also contributed to numerous social changes. The book on 120 years of cars and motoring in Serbia is therefore an important contribution to political, social and cultural history.

In a journey through time, passing through the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the SFRY and modern Serbia, through the processes of their modernization, but also crises and wars, the book shows all the complexity and richness of the topic. The readers will have an opportunity to enjoy an unusual view of the history of Serbian development in the last 120 years. On this trip, they will experience driving on bumpy and modern roads, find out about how tanks of first cars were filled at Belgrade petrol stations or in the time of sanctions – from plastic bottles, how the cars used to stop at first traffic lights and how they were serviced by self-trained mechanics, but also in professional service centres and modern garages, and how the drivers persistently and most often unsuccessfully searched for a free parking space.  

The speakers at the promotion will be Marko Miljković, author of the publication, Neda Knežević, director of the Museum of Yugoslavia, Bogdan Petković, director of the Automobile Museum, Gordana Milosavljević Stojanović, editor at the Official Gazette, Saša Ilić, reviewer and Rifat Kulenović, curator at the Museum of Yugoslavia. 

The publication of the book was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia. 

Entrance is free.