We invite all to enjoy the unique beauty and tranquility of the Serbian Cultural Garden, one of a unique collection of gardens running through Rockefeller Park along Martin Luther King Boulevard and East Boulevard. The central terrace contains raised seating inscribed with the motto “Only Unity Saves the Serbs.” Ten small terraces provide places to rest, each one centered on a great figure from S
erbia’s past. A trail meanders south from the plaza, parallel to MLK, and ends at another plaza. This part of the garden is dedicated to inventor, engineer and genius Nikola Tesla; Mileva Marić, brilliant Serbian physicist and mathematician and wife of Albert Einstein; Novak Djoković a great Serbian tennis player and humanitarian; Jovan Dučić, renowned Serbian poet, academic diplomat and patriot; and Desanka Maksimovich, famous Serbian poet and writer and member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The garden also holds a number of busts featuring notables such as King Peter I, liberator of the Serbian people; Mihajlo Pupin, extraordinary scientist; poet Petar Petrović Njegoš, an Orthodox Prince-Bishop and ruler of Montenegro; Stevan Mokranjac, composer; Vuk Karadžić, author of the first Serbian dictionary and chronicler of Serbian folklore; Milutin Milanković, a world renowned Serbian scientist; and Nadežda Petrović, most important female Serbian painter of the 20th century. In 2022, a memorial plaque was dedicated for George Victor Voinovich born of Serbian and Slovenian descent. George spent more than 46 years in public service—first as assistant attorney general of Ohio in 1963 and finally as the senior U.S. senator representing Ohio. A bronze icon of St. Sava, Patron Saint of the Serbian People, was dedicated in the Garden’s central terrace in September of 2009. Boris Tadic, President of the Republic of Serbia, attended the dedication and toured the Serbian Cultural Garden with Mayor Jackson and many Cleveland-area Serbians. The Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian communities, united under Yugoslavia, coexisted peacefully and in harmony in Rockefeller Park from the 1930s until the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. At that point the Serbian and Croatian communities opted out of the Garden – and as a result the Yugoslav Garden became the Slovenian Cultural Garden. In the spring of 2006, Alex Machaskee, then President and Publisher of The Plain Dealer, led the initiative to raise the funds necessary to create a brand new Serbian Cultural Garden on the west side of Martin Luther King Boulevard, just north of the St. Clair overpass within Rockefeller Park. Throughout the Garden are Serbian Spruce trees, the Serbian Belle and Yaro flowers, various other foliage and shrubbery – and the spiritual and cultural signature of the Garden, swaths of red peonies which recall the “Maiden of Kosovo Field.” The Garden is designed to be a beautiful and peaceful place to explore the wooded pathways, and also to serve as a gathering place for events such as One World Day, where people from many nations parade through the gardens. Please remember to come back and visit periodically, as new features to the Serbian Cultural Garden are planned for its future. On behalf of the entire Serbian community in Northeast Ohio, we welcome you to a view of Serbian history and legacy – and thank you for your support and interest in our project.
