Why is a street in Belgrade named “Rige od Fere”?

You probably know that there is a street in Belgrade called Rigas od Fere, in the immediate vicinity of Kalemegdan. But do you know who Rigas od Fere was, or as his full name suggests – Rigas Velestinlis? The story of this Greek, but also Balkan hero, poet and revolutionary, takes us to the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, in a Europe dominated by the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire.

In his desire to free his people from Ottoman rule, Rigas od Fere developed ideas about an uprising but also a wider Balkan liberation, inspired by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He wrote revolutionary texts, poems and a political manifesto, calling not only Greeks but also other Balkan peoples to a joint struggle. His activities attracted the attention of the authorities: together with a group of associates, in 1797, Rigas, then forty years old, was arrested in Vienna. After interrogation and torture, the Austrian authorities handed him over to the Ottomans. In Belgrade, in the summer of 1798, then still under Ottoman rule, Riga and seven of his comrades were executed, and their bodies were thrown into the Danube.

On this day in 1821, the fight for the liberation of Greece began - a fight that came 22 years too late for Riga from Fera. Nevertheless, his ideas and call for an uprising continued to live on, leading the Greeks towards freedom that finally became unequivocal nine long years later, in 1830.

Their story also found its place in the short story "Surrender" by our Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić. With one striking quote from this short story, Slavenko Terzić concludes the story of the life of this revolutionary. That's why we invite you to watch the video: you'll definitely learn something new, and along the way you'll hear some liberating verses, as well as Andrić's interpretation of Riga's last words.