Cultural life thrived, with many choral and other artistic societies. Most of the educational institutions had been opened in a matter of months after being opened in Belgrade (e.g., public library). In this period the idea of moving the town to the banks of the Danube first took a stronghold with the government and local officials. This has never happened, although other administrations have tried to do this. The town was simply too big for moving. Still, Negotin was not far from the Danube, only about 4 miles, so river transportation was possible for its trade. However, the town's position had a serious disadvantage — it was very close to the Danube, but lower than the river, so it had always been surrounded by many swamps and ponds.