THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE “SOKO” (FALCON) SOCIETY IN NIŠ FROM 1907 TO 1914

The paper presents the genesis of the Falcon movement in Niš at the beginning of the 20th century. At the beginning, a brief overview of the origins of the Falcon ideology and the development of the Falcon movement during the second half of the 19th century in the Austro-Hungarian Empire is given, as well as the development of the first sports organizations in Serbia. Then, the emergence of the first sports, primarily gymnastic associations in Niš in the period from 1897 to 1907 is presented. Special attention is paid to the Civic Gymnastics Society “Dušan Silni” (later renamed the Knights’ Society “Dušan Silni”), which had a key influence on the introduction of the Sokol model of sports organization in Niš. Then, the activities of the first Niš Sokol organization, the Gymnastics Society “Soko”, founded in 1907, as well as the Sokol Society “Dušan Silni” founded in 1910, will be presented, with a special focus on their origins, composition and activities. It is important to emphasize that the Sokol movement was strongly ideologically oriented and politically colored, as it arose at a time of the rise of national romanticism, which is why it will also be viewed in a broader, geopolitical context.