Under the direction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, China-CEEC Libraries Union was established in October 2018 in Hangzhou, China, with its secretariat permanently set in Hangzhou Public Library. More than 60 libraries from China and CEEC, on a voluntary basis, seek common progress made on the principle of "equality, mutual benefit, inclusiveness and openness". 

The Very Collection in My Library aims to introduce treasures kept in each member library to audience in China and Central and Eastern European countries and bring ancient books into the limelight, through of which people could enhance their understanding of cultures and histories of other countries.

This episode here is presented by Jasmina Ninkov, the director of Belgrade City Library, introducing you the rare ancient book Four Gospels.

In its rich collections, the Belgrade City Libraty holds a valuable copy of the Belgrade Book of the Four Gospels, the first book printed in Belgrade in 1522. 

The first Belgrade printing house was established by Prince Radiša Dmitrović in the mid-16th century. However, he did not live to complete the printing of the book because he died in the meantime. Dmitrović’s endeavours were continued by Trojan Gundulić, who also lived in Belgrade, in the same colony of merchants from Dubrovnik. The third person mentioned in the postface to the Belgrade Book of the Four Gospels is Hieromonk Mardarije of the monastery of Mrkšina Crkva, the last eminent master of old Serbian printing houses.

According to the information in the colophon, the printing of the Belgrade Book of the Four Gospels was completed on August 4, 1552. The copy was printed in the Serbo-Slavic literary language on paper, in the folio format, with big Cyrillic letters in two colors–red and black. The book is bound in leather with metal fittings. 

The fact that it has in its rich collections a rare and valuable copy of the first book printed in Belgrade, listed as a cultural property of extraordinary importance, is of utmost significance for the Belgrade City Library.