Kafana facts for kids
Kafana (in Serbian and Slovene), kafene\kafenë (pl. kafenejet\kafenët) (in Albanian), kafeana (кафеана, in Macedonian), kavana (in Croatian), καφενείο\kafenio (pl. καφενεία\kafenia) (in Greek), cafenea (pl. cafenele) (in Romanian) are words used in the former Yugoslav countries and Albania for a specific type of local bistro which mostly serves coffee and light snacks. Most kafanas feature live music.
The idea of a social meeting place for men to drink coffee started in the Ottoman Empire and spread to the Balkans while it was under Ottoman rule. Over time, this became the modern kafana.
Etymology
- Serbian (Cyrillic): кафана (kafana), pl. кафане (kafane)
- Serbian (Latin) and Bosnian: kafana pl. kafane
- Croatian: kavana, pl. kavane
- Macedonian: кафеана (kafeana), pl. кафеани (kafeani)
- Albanian: kafeneja\Kafenë pl. kafenejet\Kafenët
- Greek: καφενείο (kafenio), pl. καφενεία (kafenia)
- Romanian: cafenea, pl. cafenele
The word 'kafana' is taken from the Turkish word kahvehane ("coffeehouse") which is in turn taken from the Persian word qahveh-khaneh (a compound of the Arabic qahve [coffee] and Persian khane [house]).
In Macedonia, the word kafeana is sometimes used as if it means the same as meana, while the variant kafana (adopted from Serbian folk-songs and made popular by artists) may be used for the kafana described in this article; however, both terms are used as if they have the same meaning by some people.
Nowadays in Serbia, the term kafana is used to describe any informal restaurant serving traditional cuisine, as well as some other kafana dishes like Karađorđeva šnicla.
History
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, running a kafana (then usually called mehana) was a family business, passed on from generation to generation.
As the Balkan cities grew in size and became more urban, the kafana also changed. Some started serving food and offering other things to customers since the owners now had to compete with other similar places around the city. Most bigger towns and cities in this time had a Gradska kafana (City kafana) located in or around main square where the richest and most important people of that city would come to see and be seen. Prices in this kafana would usually be higher than others around the city that didn't have such an exclusive location.
Live music was first used in kafane in the early 20th century by kafana owners looking to offer different kinds of entertainment to their guests. Naturally, since there was no mass media these bands were local and would only play folk music that was popular in the local region.
As the 20th century began, Balkan cities saw lots of rural people move in, especially after World War II, and kafane changed for this. Some stayed the same, caring for the upper-class, while others began to change to be better for the new rural population who mostly worked in factories and on construction sites.
Images for kids
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Traditional interior outlook of an old tavern - kafana / kahvana / kavana
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Cafes along Mustafa Matohiti St near Blloku district in central Tirana
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Cafe Bosnian way - Morića Han in the heart of the Baščaršija, Sarajevo old quarter
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Famous kafana "?" in downtown Belgrade
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Kafana in an Old house in Jagodina
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