Đoka Vlajković Endowment

The Colonel's Will

Đorđe Đoka Vlajković, an infantry colonel of the Serbian army and a great benefactor, left all his property for educational purposes in his will of 1878. His wish was to help the Serbian Learned Society and the Council of the Grande École (the predecessor of today's University).

Although the will was written earlier, the Endowment officially began operating in 1911, after all legal conditions had been met. The fund's resources were used to print scholarly works, to provide scholarships for talented students and to improve teaching.

The Fate of the Building

The monumental building in the street that today bears his name (Vlajkovićeva 5) was erected in 1932 with the Endowment's funds. For decades this building brought income to the University. Unfortunately, the Endowment's property was nationalised in 1959, which hampered the fund's work, but the memory of Colonel Vlajković's noble gesture lives on today through the renewed work of the endowments of the University of Belgrade.