Luka Ćelović Trebinjac

A Spartan life for Serbian science

Luka Ćelović arrived in Belgrade with only two dinars in his pocket, but with enormous willpower and a bright mind. Through hard work, thrift and skilful trading he became one of the richest men in Serbia, president of the Board of the National Bank and founder of the Belgrade Cooperative.

Despite his wealth, he lived extremely modestly, almost in Spartan fashion. He never married and had no children. He directed all his love towards the fatherland – he secretly financed the Chetnik action in Old Serbia and Macedonia, while publicly supporting culture and education.

Master of Savamala

In his will of 1911 he left all his property to the University of Belgrade. This included almost an entire quarter of Savamala: splendid buildings in Gavrila Principa Street, Karađorđeva Street and Zagrebačka Street (today Koče Popovića Street), as well as the park near the Faculty of Economics, which he landscaped himself. Thanks to his fund, the University became one of the richest in Europe before the Second World War.