Sava Savanović

Sava Savanović ( Serbian Cyrillic Сава Савановић ) is one of the most famous vampire figures of Serbian folk beliefs.

Saga

Sava Savanović to have lived in an old water mill on the river in the village Rogačica Zarožje the community Bajina Basta. It was said to him that he killed the miller, who had come with their grain to the mill and drank their blood. Together with Jure Grando, Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold paole he is one of the first known cases of a particular indigenous to the Balkans popular belief in vampires. In contrast to the three other historically secured persons Sava Savanović lacks such a literary documentation. The on such records of his time observing interest in vampirism in Western Europe was probably in the context of contemporary medical issues and theological discussions. For this reason, as time of origin of the legend of Savanović gross but to accept some justification for the 17th or 18th century. In Serbian folklore Sava Savanović usually regarded as the first vampire. It is therefore also possible that this legend had been a reference point for other traditions. The mill in question jagodica vodenica is named after the family Jagodić, in whose possession it is in for some time. She was up in the late 1950s in operation and could be visited. Since the allegedly out of fear of vampire half a century was not maintained tourist attraction collapsed in the autumn of 2012, and until next spring can be rebuilt, the municipal council of Bajina Basta in a presumably warned as PR campaign -to-understand message before Sava Savanović, because it was feared that the now deprived of his homeland and become restless vampire in the area again exaggerating his worst.

Reception in literature and film

Sava Savanović appears in the story Posle devedeset godina ( After ninety years ) of the Serbian writer Milovan Glišić ( 1847-1908 ) and the novel radiation i njegov sluga ( The fear and her servant ) by Mirjana Novakovic ( 2005). The legend also processed the Yugoslav TV horror movie Leptirica of 1973.