21.04.2022.
Opening of Exhibition “Aide-de-camps of Serbian Rulers” in the Military Museum
Today, on the occasion of celebrating the Day of the Serbian Armed Forces, an exhibition titled “Aide-de-camps of Serbian Rulers” was opened in the Gallery of the Military Museum on the Belgrade Fortress. The exhibition presents the history of a specific service performed by Serbian officers. The exhibition was opened by State Secretary Branko Živanović who said on that occasion that the Military Museum, ever since its establishment, had had a task of preserving the memory of the time of creation of modern Serbian state and military.
- Our history is brimming with the testimonies of the exceptional importance of the military for the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state. Such role of the military has defined a special service of officers to provide precious assistance to rulers when it came to affairs of strengthening defence capacities of Serbia, arming and training the armed forces and their diplomatic missions. The assistance to state leadership in discharging numerous demanding and confidential military and state tasks was provided by aides-de-camp – said Secretary Živanović.
The author of the exhibition is the Senior Curator of the Military Museum Bojana Ilić PhD, and visitors will, through works of art, uniforms, weapons, officers’ diplomas, decorations, archival documents and publications, have an opportunity to gain insight into various tasks entrusted to aides-de-camp of Serbian princes and kings from 1835 to 1918. The exhibition also shows significant events in which aides-de-camp took part changing political tides in Serbia.
- Within six thematic segments of this exhibition, defined by the periods of rule of Serbian princes, and kings, visitors will familiarise themselves with everything that influenced the selection of aides-de-camps, and with the specificities of their service, and they will also gain insight into biographies of selected aides-de-camp. The exhibits include parts of uniforms, insignia and weapons which show characteristics of the visual identity of a ruler’s aides-de-camp throughout 19th and in the beginning of 20th century – stated Director of the Military Museum Lieutenant Colonel Nevenka Darmanović.
The holdings of the Military Museum include personal belongings of renowned Serbian officers, such as General Pavle Jurišić Šturm, Field Marshal Živojin Mišić, Field Marshal Stepa Stepanović, General Milojko Lašjanin, General Lazar Petrović, and many other. The visitors will also have an opportunity to see the kindjal (a type of knife) which Colonel Lazar Petrović, honorary aide-de-camp of King Aleksandar Obrenović, received from Sultan Abdul Hamid while he was staying in Tzarigrad as a Defence Attaché at the end of 19th century.
The opening of the exhibition was attended by Brigadier General Siniša Kresović, Head of Military Office of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Assistant Minister of Defence for Human Resources Katarina Tomašević, Brigadier General Nikola Dejanović, the Guard Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and Head of Department for Tradition, Standards and Veterans Colonel Dragan Milković.
Aides-de-camp were a symbol of ruling dignity and leaders of court ceremonials. The story of aides-de-camp of Serbian rulers is the story of Serbian Court, rulers’ policies and representation of Serbian rulers in public.The exhibition is going to be open for public in the Gallery of the Military Museum, and with free entrance, all interested visitors will be able to see the exhibition until 22nd May.
