Sokobanja

Soko Grad

Soko Grad (Соко Град), also known as Sokolac, was a medieval city and fortress 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Sokobanja. The fortress was declared a Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1982, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.^[6]

The fortress originates from the Roman, early Christian period.^[5] It was founded in the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, to prevent incursions of Pannonian Avars and Slavs into the Balkan peninsula. In 1172, it was occupied by Stefan Nemanja and became part of the medieval Serbian state. There are evidence that the fortress was razed during the Stefan Nemanja's rule, as part of the prosecution of the Bogumils.^[5]

The fort was rebuilt and expanded in the late 13th and early 14th centuries on the foundations of the Roman fort. It was mentioned later during the reign of Despot Stefan Lazarević. The Ottoman Empire occupied it in 1398. The town was destroyed in 1413 by the Ottomans during the 1402-13 civil war, in the battle between Musa Çelebi and the local Turkish chieftain Hamuz Beg.^[5] Today the only visible remains of the upper town are the gate, walls, and three towers.

In the village of Vrmdža, 12 km (7.5 mi) to the north, there are remains of another fort, Town of Vrmdža Vrmdžanski grad. It was also originally a Roman fortress built during the rule of Emperor Justinian I and was also destroyed in 1413.^[5]

Spa

There are remains of the Roman thermae: wooden foundations, bricks, mosaics and round bathtubs. During the Ottoman period, the Roman foundations were used for the Turkish bath in the 16th century. The Turks kept the original round shape of the pools as in the hamams they are usually square-shaped. Aboce each pool there is a dome with holes which function as the natural ventilation.^[5]

In 1834, Serbian ruling prince Miloš Obrenović ordered for the mineral waters from Sokobanja to be sent to Vienna, Austria, for testing which confirmed the positive healing effect of the water. In 1835, on prince's invitation, German geologist August von Herder among other thermal springs and mining localities, visited Sokobanja. He compared its waters to those from the Austrian spa Bad Gastein.^[5]

On 21 June 1837, Prince Miloš signed an order for a sergeant major Lazarević from the Military-police office in Kragujevac to be sent to Sokobanja for a healing treatment. This date is today considered as the starting date of the spa tourism in Serbia. Prince renovated and expanded the Turkish bath and appointed Austrian doctor Leopold Ehrlich as the first spa doctor. Prince personally visited spa a lot and built several other objects, like the Prince Miloš Fountain, on the road to Aleksinac, Miloš' Konak in downtown Sokobanja, today a restaurant, and Miloš' bathtub in the hamam. The prince's bathtub, which still in use today just as the entire hamam complex, is short but deep, has its own tap and is placed in a separate room. There are two other pools, "male" and "female", with hot water from the underground springs.^[5]

The spa became quite popular among the cultural elite. Apart for Nušić, it was visited by Jovan Cvijić, Isidora Sekulić, Stevan Sremac and Meša Selimović, while the Nobelist author Ivo Andrić draw a graphic of the town.^[5]

The Turkish bath in Sokobanja is the only still functioning such facility in the eastern Serbia. Under the name Staro banwsko kupatilo ("Old spa bath") it is protected by the state and declared a cultural monument. It is colloquially also called Roman bath or Turkish bath-Amam. The venue served as the setting for the "Serbian box office wonder", film Zona Zamfirova in 2002. The bath was renovated in 2005.^[5]

Other

Other attractions include swimming in the Moravica river and the Lake Bovan, which is especially popular among fishermen, galleries, museums, various concerts and festivities, hiking, wellness centers, hotels, aqua park, saunas, etc. Festivals include "Saint John the Herbs-picker" (in July; dedicated to the medicinal herbs picking on the surrounding mountains of Ozren, Rtanj and Devica), "Green Heart Fest" (in July; the rock and house music festival) and "Marathon of the wishes" (in September). Since 1983, a "Golden hands" cooking festival has been held annually in July. Only the old, traditional local meals are prepared. Hiking is organized on the Ozren, Rtanj, Devica and Bukovik mountains, while the popular excursion sites are the Sesalac cave, Očno, Kalinovica and Lepterija, known for the natural phenomenon, an apparent image of the Mother of God in the boulder.^[5]

In the neighborhood of Gradašnica, on the river of the same name, there were 13 watermills, built from the early 19th century. They all went out of service by the 1960s. One of them has been renovated and became operational again, but only for the touristic purposes so that visitors can grind the cereals and knead dough themselves. On the ozren mountain there is a large, single boulder in the middle of the vast meadow. It has been called the "Stone of love" as, allegedly, those who exchange kisses of vows sitting on the rock, will stay together forever. According to the folk story, military commander and rebel Hajduk-Veljko and female hajduk Čučuk Stana, exchanged vows at this location.^[5]

A special hospitals for lung diseases and ophthalmology are situated on Ozren mountain, surrounded by the forest.^[5] The town center of Sokobanja is home to the 19th-century buildings of elementary school and Serbian Orthodox church.

In the village of Jošanica, 15 km (9.3 mi) to the northwest, there is a Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Founded in the 11th century, it is the oldest existing church in eastern Serbia. Closer to Sokobanja, on the Ozren mountain, there is a Jermenčić Monastery, founded in the 14th century by the Armenians who were fleeing the invading Ottomans. Southeast of Sokobanja, on the slopes of Ozren, there is a seasonal Ripaljka waterfall. It exists only during the spring, after the snow melts on the mountain. Already by May, it is usually dry.^[5]