Летопис Матице српске

Letopis Matice srpske is a literary periodical with the longest press run in the whole world. It has been published, without major interruptions, since the year 1824. The fact that such a tradition was created by the very Serbian culture that was exposed to interruptions of its cultural development seems both unusual and amazing. Founded in Novi Sad, printed in Buda and entitled Serbska letopis (Serbian Chronicle), in accordance with the intention of its founder, Georgije Magarašević, it became the center piece for presenting the results of literary and scientific achievements. In addition, Letopis Matice srpske systematically explored discoveries that focused on language, literature, history, religion, folklore and culture of, not only the Serbian people, but of the entire Slavic world from the Adriatic Sea to the Arctic Ocean and from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Organizational difficulties of the entire matter prompted Magarašević to consult with merchants and members of the intellectual elite in Pest, who came to the conclusion that a solution might be found in the establishment of a cultural institution that would not only manage the Letopis, but, would develop a much wider range of activities. As part of these activities, publishing was instigated immediately, due to the fact that the founders strongly believed that the core of their task was to continuously publish and distribute Serbian manuscripts from then on and forevermore. Thus, at the very beginning of the activities of Matica Srpska, the books of Milovan Vidaković, Jovan Sterija Popović, Dositej Obradović, Lukijan Mušicki, Jovan Subotić and others were published.

For its entire press run, the Letopis Matice srpske, having undergone slight changes in its title (Novij serbskij letopis, from 1837; Srbskij letopis, from 1855; Srbski letopis, from 1865; Srpski letopis, from 1867; Letopis Matice srpske, from 1987), has remained the most important, though somewhat conservative, Serbian periodical with the aim to gather true values of Serbian literature, science and culture. This mission of Matica Srpska has been realized with varied, but undoubted success. Interruptions in the activities occurred only at times of great historical events when basic conditions of cultural work were not met: during the period of strong attempts of the Hungarian administration to close the institution 1835–1836, during the revolutionary year of 1848, as well as during World War I and World War II. The Letopis Matice srpske was edited by many cultural workers.