INNS AS FORERUNNERS OF COFFEEHOUSES

Text topic: Tavern: That Magnificent Third Place

Text author: Ђорђе Ђекић и Милош Павловић

A coffeehouse, as its very name indicates, is a place for having coffee and smoking tobacco. The first coffeehouse in Serbia opened in Belgrade in 1522. Later, under the Turkish rule, various places were opened: taverns, pubs, caravansaries and hans (inns). When the Turks left, the coffeehouses that survived were those of social, economic, political and cultural significance. The medieval Serbia opened its inns in towns. The villages were expected to provide free meals, food and accommodation for people as well as oats for the horses. The goods that travelers were carrying were entrusted to the innkeeper who had to take care of them and return them to the traveler at departure. The Canon law forbade the clerics to either patron or possess inns. The most important guests were pilgrims and then merchants: they undoubtedly helped develop the hospitality industry. Statutes of the Serbian coastline towns differ: in Budva no inns are mentioned, in Skadar they were banned and in Kotor they had a specially prescribed legal status. The importance of inns and coffeehouses cannot be compared but it is certain that both had a great economic significance and that they were instrumental in the arrival of Roman Catholics in Serbia.