Serbia
Medical Tourism
Rural - village tourism in Serbia
Mecavnik – Drvengrad: fairytale on Mokra Gora
A visit to the tourist center Mecavnik, also known as Drvengrad (Timber Town), on the Mokra Gora mountain in western Serbia, as the entrance to a new, different world, as it is not just a common tourist complex. At the very gates, visitors are aware of unusual details – every “street”, even with only one cottage in it, and every “square” bears the ame of one of the famous people from the world of art, sports or other spheres. Plenty of books everywhere, models of boats, old timer cars, unusual sculptures, numerous photos, original motives, decorated walls, furniture, chandeliers and lamps – all those make Drvengrad interesting and unique. The guests have an impression of treading through a different world, as if they were part of a fairytale, theatre play or a movie.
All this should be no surprise, having in mind that the owner and creator of the complex is the renowned film director Emir Kusturica, whose work earned awards at film festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin. So, the people for whom he has admiration are presented in Drvengrad. In other words, there are streets named after Ivo Andric, Branislav Nusic, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Jim Jarmush, Novak Djokovic, Bruce Lee, Che Guevara; and the squares “belonging” to Nikola Tesla, Nikita Mikhalkov, Diego Maradona; as well as the “Stanley Kubrick” theatre. The town also has a sports-recreational center “Damned Yard” (named after the novel of Ivo Andric), with the swimming pool “Milorad Cavic”. Then, there is a town prison “Humanism and Renaissance”, as well as the “Writers’ house” with Dostoevsky’s portrait on the façade. Standing in the central spot is the church of St Sava.
Ethno village in Sirogojno
The Zlatibor Mountain is one of best known tourist places in Serbia. It is famous for the health tourism, and in the past few years for beautiful ski tracks as well. At the same time, the area of Zlatibor is interesting for the preservation of traditions.
The idea of building an ethno village in Sirogojno is directly connected with the knitting tradition of that region. A few decades ago, an ingenious clothes designer Dobrila Smiljanic, adhering to a time honored tradition in Sirogojno, gathered together the women of the village to hand knit models according to her designs. They began with sweaters, and when they became a sought after commodity even outside Serbia and Europe, Dobrila Smiljanic created other clothing made out of wool, which these skilled knitters turned into unique pieces of clothing. Thus the world quickly became aware of this beautiful tradition of the Sirogojno village, and that inspired other artists, and even tourists to become interested in this village.
The unique qualities of folk architecture of the Zlatibor mountain region can be see in the STARO SELO Ethno Park. The Zlatibor wood cabin known as the brvnara is the perfect example of Serbs homes in the regions of the Dinaric Mountains. They were built by self-taught builders according to their needs, their own feeling of harmony and spatial beauty. In that part of Serbia for centuries several generations and families lived under one roof in a so-called zadruga, a community with strictly regulated rules of conduct, and this kind of lifestyle dictated the layout of the rooms in the house.
Ethno village “BABINA REKA”
“If you do not know Heaven on Earth how to feel, bring your loves ones to ‘Babina reka’ and find it for real”, say the verses of a renowned Serbian poet Dobrica Eric, who wrote them in February 2011, inspired by the beauty of this ethno village. It is located 50km from Belgrade, when going from Lazarevac toward Arandjelovac. Good tourist signalization informs the travelers that, if they turn right on a countryside road, pleasant surprises will await in the ethno village “Babina reka”.
Ethno villages are growing more popular and being built all over Serbia, as part of the modern tourist offer. However, this complex in the village of Trbusnica, differs by its imaginative looks comparing to others. That should not be surprising, since at issue is the project of artist, namely photographer, painter and sculptor Slavisa Zivkovic. The original village part named Babina reka is his birthplace, but until a decade ago he lived in the nearby town of Arandjelovac. As it often happens, with the desire to maintain and preserve the household of his ancestors, Zivkovic came back and started building the ethno village, rock by rock. Now, it spans on the area of one hectare, at the very edge of the village, isolated in nature from anything urban. It is surrounded by hills, creeks, woods and pastures, while within the complex there is a lake where one can fish.
The yard of “Babina reka” is very attractive, made of large stones and with an artificial waterfall, small with bridges and the lake, and there is also a swimming pool. Standing on the terraces, along with real benches and tables, are several barrels functioning as chairs and tables, and the interior of the restaurant is very pleasant, especially owing to the open fireplace, which creates special atmosphere during cold days. The restaurant serves traditional Serbian food – cheese, milk cream, smoked meat, ajvar¸ cabbage and various meat specialties. The guest can spend the day in sport activities or going to the wood in search of mushrooms and hunting, but also visiting the nearby tourist locations such as Arandjelovac, Oplenac, Risovaca cave and even the Kolubara coal strip mine, which looks very interesting with big machines in the huge space.
