About the monograph Das Кarstphänomen by Jovan Cvijić

The scientific gathering, 125 Years Since the Publication of the Monograph Das Кarstphänomen by Jovan Cvijić, was held at the SASA Grand Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The attendees were addressed by Academician Vladimir S. Kostić, SASA President, Academician Vidojko Jović, and SASA Corresponding Members Aleksandar Kostić, Slobodan Marković and Vladica Cvetković. During several plenary sessions and two sessions of lectures by invitation, emphasis was placed on the significance of the pioneering work of Jovan Cvijić for the study of karst. Other kindred topics were also discussed.

“Our scholarship has had few such breakthroughs as the one achieved in the now distant year of 1893, when Jovan Cvijić’s doctoral dissertation was published. Not even Cvijić’s doctoral advisor, Albrecht Penck, the most prominent geomorphologist of the time, could anticipate that his favorite doctoral candidate’s dissertation would have such a far-reaching impact on the foundation and subsequent development of a new scientific discipline – karstology. Today, 125 years later, with great pride, SASA is marking this amazing scientific success of its former president and one of its most prominent members. A careful reading of Cvijić’s works again reveals that his comprehensive and diverse studies are still as topical as they were at the time when his scientific authority was recognized during the national delimitation of the newly formed states in the wake of World War I. The return to Cvijić and his monumental legacy is not mere courteous remembrance of an exceptional scientific tradition, but rather a strong encouragement to us to turn to producing well-grounded ideas that will lead to solutions to the burning issues in our society,” explains Corresponding Member Slobodan Marković, a member of the Organizing Committee of the gathering.