Virtual Exhibition / GUESTHOUSE “KICEVO”
Monday-Monday / AUGUST 22 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 / SASA Gallery of Science and Technology
Among the streets of every city, even in the bohemian times that we often look at through the prism of nostalgia, you could also find dark places. In these dark dungeons, chills would accompany the glow of sinister looks and even uglier intentions. Spending days and nights with a glass (or three) over the top, was never beyond the pale for writers from these parts. Still, not every kafana felt jovial. Among the kafanas that may have inspired the baser instincts of novelists, travelers, cutpurses and holduppers, was Guesthouse “Kicevo”, knows as “The Bloody Kafana”.
During the Turkish era, Belgrade was a town on the very border of the empire, and the Kicevo guesthouse was located in Savska Mahala, not far from the old customs house, Djumrukana. Almost everyone who would arrive in or leave the city had to pay the djumruk-customs. Goods and passengers arrived by boat at all hours of the day and night. Varos flickered with life even in the wee hours of the night because the ships were often late, and many passers-by needed a place to stay, or at least a hot meal. In the guesthouse “Kicevo” you would mostly find those who did not have money for better accommodation. There was a cafe on the ground floor of the unremarkable building, and there were rooms for rent on the first floor. Women of dubious morals, pickpockets, and other over-the-top villains walked among the drunken customers, and the police were often called to break up fights that were quite bloody, at times. At some point, “Kicevo” will turn into a hotel with no better reputation. The old residents of Savamala also remember how, during the demolition of the building due to the construction of the Zemun bridge in 1938, numerous stolen items were found along with the remains of the forgotten unfortunates who died inside the smoky walls of the “Bloody Tavern”…
