Top of page

Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper Amerikanski Srbobran (Pittsburg, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1906-Current Американски србобран / Issues for <Feb. 4, 1918-> have English parallel title: American srbobran

View All Front Pages

About Amerikanski Srbobran (Pittsburg, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1906-Current

First published on January 18, 1906, Amerikanski Srbobran (American Srbobran) is the oldest continuously published Serbian language newspaper in the world. It has been in print without interruption longer than Politika from Belgrade, which was on hiatus during the two world wars. Initially, Srbobran published only in Serbian in Cyrillic, but in 1930, it began to issue an English-language section to reach the second generation of Serbian Americans who were more fluent in English. Since 1906, the publishing frequency varied from weekly to daily to tri-weekly, with either Serbian-only issues, combined Serbian and English issues, or separate Serbian and English issues published on separate dates. In 2024, Srbobran continues the practice of publishing two distinct language sections and publishes issues twice per month.

Amerikanski Srbobran is the official newspaper of the Serb National Federation, a Serbian fraternal benevolent and cultural society established in 1901 in Pittsburgh, PA. The founders of the organization sought to maintain Serbian cultural traditions, preserve the Orthodox faith in the United States, unite the Serbian American community, as well as create an insurance fund for their members, with their newspaper standing as one of the signature achievements to support these goals. On the front page of the inaugural issue, Father Sava Vojvodić, a prominent Serbian priest in the United States, described the mission of the newspaper: “Our newspaper will guide our readership on the path of Serbian national awareness and dedication to the holy Orthodox Faith, so that in this distant land they do not forget the faith and the nation they have come from and for which our ancestors have shed so much blood, leaving us these two holy legacies to defend and preserve…”

Amerikanski Srbobran covered all major events of the twentieth century with a focus toward conditions in eastern Europe. From 1912 to1913, Serbs in the United States read about the Balkan Wars in the newspaper. The newspaper also featured columns about the Sarajevo Assassination and the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war against Serbia; the founding of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia; the assassination of King Alexander; World War II; Yugoslav society under communism; and the 1990s war in Bosnia.

The newspaper has continuously served as a central publication in the diaspora community. It prints speeches and statements of Serbian and Serbian American political figures and community leaders; calls for humanitarian and relief efforts during times of war; and publishes letters, memoirs, interviews, and tributes to Serbs who witnessed historic events or were celebrated in their professions. Frequently, featured topics include matters related to the immigrant experience such as bilingualism and integration into American society. Central to the mission of Amerikanski Srbobran is news regarding the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and the Serbian Patriarchate, as Serbian American identity is closely linked to its religion and fostered by local church organizations. To promote a sense of cultural unity, the newspaper publishes poems, short stories, reviews, and articles in Serbian and often in English translation as well. Many notable writers have contributed to the newspaper such as Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić, Vasko Popa, Miloš Crnjanski, and Jovan Dučić.

The newspaper has the largest circulation of any Serbian newspaper in the United States. Although the newspaper is published in Pennsylvania, its pages represent the Serbian American diaspora across the country, with recurring lodge reports in the “Social Gazette” column, typically on the fourth page of issues, featuring news from many states including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Arizona. Members of the Serb National Federation submit their announcements of deaths, weddings, sports tournaments, lectures, concerts, or Serbian festivals. Serbian businesses place classified ads. More recent issues provide many photographs of Serbian Americans.

Provided By: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Amerikanski Srbobran (Pittsburg, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1906-Current

Other Title

  • Американски србобран
  • Issues for have English parallel title: American srbobran

Names

  • Serb National Federation

Dates of Publication

  • 1906-current

Created / Published

  • Pittsburg, Pa. : Servian Orthodox Society "Srbobran", 1906-
  • Pittsburgh, Pa. : Serb National Federation

Headings

  • -  Serbian Americans--Newspapers
  • -  Serbs--Canada--Newspapers
  • -  Serbs--United States--Newspapers
  • -  Pittsburgh (Pa.)--Newspapers
  • -  Allegheny County (Pa.)--Newspapers
  • -  Serbian Americans
  • -  Serbs
  • -  Canada
  • -  Pennsylvania--Allegheny County
  • -  Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh
  • -  United States
  • -  United States--Pennsylvania--Allegheny--Pittsburgh

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Semimonthly, Aug. 21, 1996-
  • -  God 1, br. 1 (18. jan. 1906)-
  • -  "The largest and oldest Serbian newspaper in America and Canada", .
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service.
  • -  Text in Serbian (Cyrillic), 1906-1929; includes English section on Wednesdays or Fridays, -1942; first page in English with English title, 1943-; Wednesday or Friday issues in English, <1957; Aug. 22, 1973->; includes English section, <1982>.
  • -  Official organ of: Servian Orthodox Society "Srbobran," 1906-1929; Serb National Federation, 1929-
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Vol. 2016, 16780 (Apr. 6, 2016).

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper 9577

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85055101

OCLC Number

  • 10637081

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

The NEH awardee responsible for producing each digital object is presented in the Chronicling America page display, below the page image – e.g. Image produced by the Library of Congress. For more information on current NDNP awardees, see https://aj.sunback.homes/ndnp/listawardees.html.

For more information on Library of Congress policies and disclaimers regarding rights and reproductions, see https://aj.sunback.homes/homepage/legal.html

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Amerikanski Srbobran Pittsburg, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa. -Current. (Pittsburgh, PA), Jan. 1 1906. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85055101/.

APA citation style:

(1906, January 1) Amerikanski Srbobran Pittsburg, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa. -Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85055101/.

MLA citation style:

Amerikanski Srbobran Pittsburg, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa. -Current. (Pittsburgh, PA) 1 Jan. 1906. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85055101/.