Attending the Easter Liturgy in the wooden Church at the top of Zlatar Mountain

    Zlatar is a mountain range in southwestern Serbia , lying between towns of  Prijepolje and Nova Varoš . Its highest peak is Golo brdo, 1,627 meters tall. Zlatar is bounded by rivers Uvac, Lim, Mileševka and Bistrica, and has a total of four artificial lakes –  Zlatar Lake, Uvac Lake, Radoinjsko Lake and Potpeć.
Mountainous climate with significant Mediterranean  influence, dense pine forests, and a high number of sunny days, is suitable for medicinal purposes and altitude training. 
 In last ten years,  Zlatar mountain has  developed as a tourist place because of its proximity to the world-famous canyons of the river Uvac. Today's Zlatar has a large number of hotels and private accommodations which the local population offers to tourists at more favorable prices.
  The Republic of Serbia is attempting  to stimulate the local population to open their household to foreign tourists which caused the rapid influx of tourists on this mountain and local villages  from all over the world and mostly  from Poland, the Czech Republic, France and Turkey.

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     Members of administration team  decided to visit the wooden  Church which is located on the top of the Zlatar Mountain. They decided to go from the village of Akmačići ( famous touristic zone as well)  which is located at the foot of the mountain. On the photo you are able to see  mountain peaks. The length of the route is about 5 kilometers. The expected time to reach the Church on the mountain as pedestrians is about an hour and a half.
  

  We do not have much to say here.
These parts of Serbia are affected by the depopulation as well . The  villages are left by youth and highly educated and elderly people are slowly extinct. The youth usually are going  to bigger cities like Užice, Belgrade, Kragujevac ...
The quality of the roads are good. It's another bait to attract tourists.


 Nature is very pitiful.
Although it was very early, we were not afraid to walk through the forest.
No bears or wolves here. Not even snakes.
Only a chirp of morning birds.

    The tourist organization of this mountain seems to be doing a remarkable job.
     At almost every intersection, the road signs  in perfect condition inform you in  Serbian and English language about the nearest tourist places and the nearest accommodation.

We are climbing the mountain.

   When we climbed up again on the next intersection there is a tourist sign that informs us that we are entering the village of Radijevići where our Church is located.
The sign also gives information about his tourist offer and private accommodation.
Wonderful.

   The sign for the Church is marked in brown. It clearly shows us that we should  turn  to the right.
In the background there is a small village school in excellent condition, but for many years  there is no any pupils are going to it.


  The evidence that in itself tells us how much Serbian people are hospitable,  is that during the entire walk, many drivers on their way to the church have stopped their cars by themselves and offered us a ride to the Church.
Really incredible.
On this occasion we would like to thank everyone.

 Near to to the school, there is a small and symbolic monument built in honor of the fighters from this region who lost their lives in the fight against the Nazi forces.















  On the mountain, nature looks even more beautiful.
    The view from the mountain is amazing.

    According to estimates, we should soon reach the Church ...

  And suddenly...

 The Church.

 The legend has it that the Church in Radijevići dedicated to the Intercession of the Theotokos, which is constructed as a typical house of Serbia with a stone apse and a cellar under one half of the right side of the house, was built in 1808 in secret from the Turks on a meadow of the Zlatar mountain by the priest Vasilije Purić, founder of a lineage which produced eight people who dedicated their lives to religion.
  In his book "Notes for a history of the 19th century architecture in the middle Lim region"  Vukoman Šalipurović claims  that the present-day Church was built "on the foundations of a run-down building in 1870 with the aid of the Principality of Serbia which amounted to 50 imperial gold coins".
  Five icons from the Radijevići Church, painted in the eight decade of the 17th century by Andria Raičević , rank among  the oldest  and most valuable icons preserved in log cabin Churches in Serbia today - according to a claim made by Radomir Stanić in his book " Mountain Prayer". The log cabin Church also has a devotional platter and chalice from the 17th and 18th century.
 The Church has the following rare icons: Jesus Christ  Pantocratos, Holy Archangel Michael, Mother of God with the child and Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The Church is under the state protection as a monument of exceptional importance.


PS:

   Photographing inside the Church is permitted only after the authorized permission of the competent church authorities.
  Perhaps by the  photographs of the church interior we would ruin the magic.
Let this text be a call to all of you to follow us and to visit this mountain and this church even this summer.




#zlatar #radijevići #novavaroš #akmačići #tourism #serbia