At this year’s Festival of Cultures in the city of Waiblingen, the Serbian Educational and Cultural Society “Prosvjeta” from Germany presented one of the most valuable cultural heritages of the Serb people – Zmijanje embroidery.
Zmijanje embroidery is a special technique practiced by women from Zmijanje, a plateau near Banja Luka in Republika Srpska, BiH. It was traditionally used to decorate women’s clothing and household items, including wedding dresses, scarves, dresses, and bedding.
The richness of its patterns and shapes – crosses, apples, branches, flowers, and other motifs – represents a treasury of meaning: family happiness, good health, healthy offspring, and more. Young women from Zmijanje would adorn their garments with more elaborate embroidery to show they were ready for marriage. Since 2014, this craft has been on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The festival was officially opened by Waiblingen’s mayor, Sebastian Wolf. Attendees included Stefan Knežević, consul of the Republic of Serbia in Baden-Württemberg, Kristina Frey, president of the Integration Council, as well as representatives of the Serbian association “Bratstvo,” the Serbian Center from Stuttgart, and SPKD “Prosvjeta” from Germany.
As part of the program, the audience enjoyed a half-hour concert performed by pupils of the Serbian Supplementary School, supported by Serbia’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development, and by the Prosvjeta singing group composed of Anica Kočić, Isidora Rajković, Milica Nedaković, Isidora Buhšpis, Dejan Marković, and Srđan Vukaljević.
The girls wore clothing decorated with Zmijanje embroidery motifs, while the program host explained the history and symbolism of this traditional art.
Alongside the Serbian ensemble, representatives of cultural communities from Afghanistan, Croatia, India, and Romania also performed, adding to the festival’s diversity.
Biljana Pavlović, an active member of the Integration Council and president of the Serbian association “Bratstvo,” played a key role in organizing the event. Her engagement and cooperation with SPKD “Prosvjeta” stood as an example of successful networking among Serbian organizations in the diaspora.
Bogdana Brezovac, president of SPKD “Prosvjeta,” said:
“The Festival of Cultures in Waiblingen was a wonderful opportunity to present Zmijanje embroidery to a wider audience as a living cultural treasure.”
This embroidery technique, recognizable for its dark blue threads on white fabric, carries deep symbolism and aesthetic refinement.
The performance by the Serbian supplementary school pupils and the Prosvjeta singing group, combined with the concert and visual presentation of the embroidery, was a strong cultural expression that bridged tradition and modernity.
“We are grateful to the Integration Council for inviting us each year to take part in Waiblingen’s cultural events, and we owe special thanks to Mrs. Biljana Pavlović. We also thank the children, teacher Miljana Milojević, all members and parents who helped prepare the performance, and especially the persistence of the young men and women in the singing group, who rehearsed even during summer break,” Brezovac added.
The cooperation will continue, as they have already been invited to perform again at the city’s Christmas Festival later this year.
Source: RTRS
