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An idea for an active day in nature - The forgotten Belgrade air spa

Source: eKapija

Monday, 25.03.2024.

19:38

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(Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

When the weekend or at least a free day comes, the citizens of Belgrade, as a rule, choose the closest or most popular city picnic spots - Ada Ciganlija, Košutnjak and here and there Zvezdara woods or a stay by the river. The more active ones also go to Avala, where they often repeat climbing to the top of the Avala Tower and visiting the Monument to the Unknown Hero. However, a small number of our fellow citizens go to another Belgrade mountain - at least that's what several of our recent trips have shown. Whether such a situation is for a reason or not, you will judge for yourself, but we recommend a tour of this Belgrade air spa, and you will see why.

Of course, Kosmaj is somewhat further from the center of Belgrade compared to Avala, but for those who live or work in Belgrade, twenty additional minutes of driving and just as many more kilometers than Avala is really no reason to bypass this mountain beauty. It is true that, from the point of view of tourism, there is much to improve on Kosmaj, but if the reason for your trip to nature is to stay in the fresh air and have a slightly more active day, you will not go wrong with this mountain. And from a historical point of view, you will also have the opportunity to learn something new - if you have missed some history lessons.

The monument to the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment once attracted lots of tourists (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

First of all, of the two routes that Google Maps will recommend, we recommend the shorter one, which will take you longer along the highway, and you will turn off from it at Mali Požarevac. From there, you will then continue through Senaja, Vlaška and Nemenikuć to the Tresije monastery, and then to the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment Memorial, also known as the Kosmaj Detachment Memorial, on one of the peaks of Kosmaj. This route of about 60 km will take you a little less than an hour's drive from the center of Belgrade.

Tresije Monastery - the starting point

If you are not one of those more active people who could use the trip to Kosmaj for one of the most beautiful walking tours, we suggest that you park your vehicle at the Tresija Monastery first and visit this building, which was supposedly built by King Dragutin in 1309. Some researchers claim that the founder of the Monastery of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, as Tresije is called, or Tres according to Turkish writings, was the despot Stefan Lazarević, who liked to spend time in these parts. However, the leading opinion among historians is that it was built by King Dragutin, and that the despot Stefan rebuilt it..

This monastery, by the way, was often the target of attacks and was demolished and rebuilt several times. It was the most numerous in terms of brotherhood in the Belgrade Pashaluk. During the 17th century, fleeing from the Turks, a part of the monks ended up in the Rakovica monastery, and a part of the monks ended up in the Hopovo monastery, where they brought with them the Psalter, which is kept in Hilandar today.

Tresije Monastery - built by King Dragutin in 1309 (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

When you finish the tour of the monastery, you can take a car from there in a few minutes to the next location in Kosmaj, which is the wooden viewpoint Kosmaj. Actually, you should leave the vehicle at the popular fountain on Kosmaj, right next to "Tito's Pool" (we'll talk about it later), which is located at the turn to the Partisan Squad Memorial, and then walk from there to the wooden lookout point on Kosmaj. It is a little more than 600 meters and a ten-minute walk from the fountain to it. There are those who shorten this route by car by getting as close to the viewpoint as possible, but we will still advise you to walk. This lookout point was made as a wooden tower or watchtower, with three floors.

Even from the first level there is a beautiful view, and from the third level you can see all the beauty of Šumadija and Avala in the distance. This is, by the way, the first place where we met some other tourists, but we approached it from one of the hiking trails, but we will talk about that later. If you are one of the more active ones, a hiking trail leads down from the viewpoint itself, which could take you to the Memorial Ossuary on Beli Kamen. It takes a few minutes downhill and about 200 meters from the viewpoint to reach it, but be prepared for a slightly steeper return uphill.

Wooden viewpoint on Kosmaj (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

On the defense line of Belgrade

By the way, this monument on Beli kamen (White Stone), which is quite inconspicuous and discreet in the midst of rich undergrowth, with its size and the condition in which it is located, does not at all correspond to the greatness of the heroic act of those who died right there in the battles for the defense of Belgrade in 1914. They say that the battle that was fought there in November of that year was the turning point for the Kolubara Battle. The fighting lasted for three days, and the Serbian army not only held out and stayed on Kosmaj, but despite heavy losses, launched a counteroffensive across Kolubara. And soon, in the final phase of the Kolubara Battle, Belgrade was also liberated. As a memorial to the soldiers who died in this battle, a white stone monument with a cross on top was erected on the very line of the former defense.

Memorial ossuary on Beli Kamen (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

We did not meet any tourists at this place, and the fact that the board with the description of the monument has faded so much from the sun that it is barely visible what was written on it shows how neglected this part of history is by the authorities. And inside the monument itself, between the casket and the glass in front of it, some kind of weed sprouted - you will see it in the pictures. After all, if you come here, you will see for yourself how much this place cries out for care. This certainly does not disturb you to pay your respects to the fallen soldiers of the First World War with your visit and, along the way, remember the verses of Djura Jaksic (Fatherland), engraved in this monument:

And only up to that stone,

To that rampart -

Maybe you'll step on it, heathen!

Do you dare to go further? ...

You're going to hear thunder

Like the silence of the free land

With a terrible thunderclap they tear...

The monument to the fallen soldiers cries out for care (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

After that, you will have to walk for about twenty minutes, or 1.5 km, to the Monument to the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment. We suggest that on the way, at the intersection before the Monument, you replenish your water supply, to buy juice, coffee or something from the only vendor that is often found there - just in case you didn't bring everything you need yourself. Neither here nor in Deliblato sandstone (our suggestion for an active day in nature from last week) is there a store either, so we advise you to equip your backpacks with everything you might need in a day in nature, above all water.

Take water and food with you

By the way, you can top up your water at the fountain in the center. Those who follow our advice for the hiking trail from the Tresija monastery (we'll talk about that later) will often come across water sources in the forest, but the water is not for drinking, and some of the sources say so. As for this fountain in the center, at the turn for the Monument to the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment, the locals we met told us that it is for drinking, but our advice is to bring your own from home, and here you can refresh yourself after that uphill from the Memorial Ossuary on Beli Kamen. And if you head towards this fountain, you will also be able to see the famous "Tito" pool on Kosmaj. We didn't even notice it at first because of its unsightly appearance and the surrounding bushes, and that, for example, is one of those things that the tourism authorities could address. They say that this pool was filled with water only once, when Tito came to ceremonially open it, and since then, apparently, it has been a mockery on the top of Kosmaj, right next to the well-known and hopefully more visited monument in the future - the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment Monument .

A pool that was filled only once - when Tito came to ceremonially open it (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

And although this monument is, they say, the most famous of all those that glorify the successes of the People's Liberator struggle and is a pearl of post-war architecture, today only a few families, groups of mountaineers, patriots or locals visit it. They say that in the first years after its construction, it was well lit and well visible even from the planes that landed at Belgrade Airport, and once upon a time, rivers of tourists came here to see it live, the Freedom Spark or Spark of Freedom - as this monument is also called. It consists, by the way, of five concrete fins 30 meters high, which together form the shape of a five-pointed star, seen from a bird's eye view. To those who look from its center to heaven it will appear like a flower with its petals, but certainly at the time of the construction of this monument (in 1971), as well as bearing in mind that the monument was erected in memory of the fighters of the Kosmaj detachment who died in the battles during the Second World War, the pentacle was an obvious and suitable choice for the shape of this monument. Unfortunately, traces of time are visible around this monument, as well as around the one on Beli kamen, cracked panels on the sidewalk, around the monument itself, and the like, so it is obvious that it needs more attention. It used to be one of the symbols of Belgrade and the whole of Šumadija, and today, as a part of, apparently, unwanted history, it reminds a bit of a homeless who is cared for here and there by some individual or local patriot. Certainly, we hope that the authorities will soon recognize its value and that with a little more care and some more investment in tourist facilities, this monument and this entire Belgrade mountain beauty will once again shine with its full splendor and attract rivers of visitors with its nature and historical contents.

The spark of freedom - a five-pointed star or a flower, depends on the perspective (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

If, even after visiting this monument, you are still missing things to see, you can also visit the Pavlovac and Kasteljan monasteries on Kosmaj, as well as the Despot Stefan Monument. Speaking of despot Stefan, let us say that folklore mentions him as the founder of these two monasteries, in addition to Tresi, and historical data say that when he moved the capital from Kruševac to Belgrade, he liked to spend time hunting on Kosmaj. It is assumed that he also had a summer residence there, something like a hunting castle. And on Kosmaj, unfortunately, he died, presumably from a stroke while hunting. Right at the place of his death, in the gate of the Church of St. Elijah in the hamlet of Crkvine, there is also the Monument to the Despot Stefan in the form of an obelisk, which can be found to be the oldest monument on the territory of Belgrade, erected in 1427.

Rich canopy, an opportunity to escape from polluted city air (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

As you can see, the history of this area is full of various events and feats, so it deserves to get to know it a little better. Maybe you don't need to see everything at once. Create your own route from everything on offer. We have offered you this one for this time, mainly for those who are less active. If you want to take full advantage of the beauty of Kosmaj and its nature, forests and air, we also suggest a little hiking. Know that 551 plant species and as many as 300 types of mushrooms have been recorded on Kosmaj, so you really have a lot to see on a walk through the beautiful nature.

Only one of 551 recorded plant species (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

A suggestion for the most active - one of the hiking trails

Let us mention at the very beginning that it took us about two and a half hours for the proposal that we are going to present to you, that we covered about 6 km and about 8,000 steps. As in the first scenario, we suggest that you park near the Tresija monastery, and from there you have two paths. One is towards the Monument to the Kosmaj Detachment, the beginning of which is not so noticeable when you are here for the first time, and that path is shorter than the one we will present to you, but also steeper. That path of ours includes the ascent from the Tresije Monastery to the Memorial Ossuary on Beli Kamen, the wooden lookout point, the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment Memorial, and from there downhill again to the Tresije Monastery.

For this path to the Memorial Ossuary, you need to go around the monastery and from the fountain on its upper side, take the path that leads you to the left, towards the Memorial Ossuary. The path is well marked, only the beginning near the fountain is a little unnoticeable, but you can also seek help from monks or visitors in the monastery. For the other path - to the Kosmaj Partisan Squad Memorial - you will still need their help because the beginning is really inconspicuous. Therefore, for the first time, we certainly suggest this to the Memorial Ossuary.

Excellently marked hiking trails (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

By the way, the first part of this path is a little steeper and full of natural obstacles in the form of fallen trees, humps from roots, crossing over a dry streambed, etc. After passing through the forest, you will reach the Forest House, and there we suggest that you go out onto the asphalt for a short time and continue left along the road. We remind you to pay attention to the traffic on that section because, even though it is only a few hundred meters of walking, there is traffic and such, so be careful. When you see a bricked-up stone barbecue fireplace on the left, turn there and continue along the path to the right through the forest that leads you directly to the Memorial Ossuary. Please note that you should follow the path along the marked hiking marks on the trees. This trail is suitable even for hot summer days because it leads through the rich canopy of oak and beech trees, with some conifers. About 1.5 km from the monastery, you will reach the Beli kamen, as this Memorial Ossuary is often called, as one of the Kosmaj peaks.

There are also benches for rest. You will also be able to see the monument, about which we have already told you enough in the first part of the text, and from there you will continue the route to the wooden viewpoint. It is 300 meters from there, which is also written on the really excellent hiking trail signs. By the way, there is also a Night Mountaineering Trail in this area, which is not a frequent occurrence. When you reach the lookout point, you will meet tourists a little more often, and when you finish visiting the lookout point, from here you continue on the asphalt towards the previously mentioned fountain and the Kosmaj Detachment Monument, which is about 1.2 km away. This is the moment when, after visiting the monument, you would like to sit somewhere or take a break for a drink or lunch, but that's why we advise you to take everything you need for a day in nature with you.

Circular path

From the monument back to the Tresje Monastery - on a circular path - you need to walk about another 2.3 km through the dense forest. The trail from the monument starts on the opposite side from the one you came from. So, you pass by the monument and go down the other stairs to the red hiking sign that says Tresje and that points you into the forest. There you turn left and continue along the wide forest path following the clear mountain markings, almost to the end. In one part of the trail, tree markings will direct you to turn right off the main trail, along a narrow and sometimes slightly overgrown path, but that part will be short. Afterwards, you will come out again on a slightly cleaner and wider path, and then you will soon see the first buildings, after which you will reach the monastery.

Only for the more active - ascents and obstacles (Photo: Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov)

After that, you can go by car to one of the Kosmaj restaurants. The offer in this area changes frequently, but check the ratings and recommendations from the internet before heading here. And if one of them seems interesting to you, book a place in time. It can very easily happen that you won't find a free table in the best-rated ones, because even the less active Belgraders like to go at least for weekend lunch in these parts, so be prepared in time and reserve a place. You'll need a really good meal after a walk like this, and it's easy to get hungry - don't ask how we know.

Danijela Stanimirović-Gavrilov

PHOTO GALLERY:

Spomenik Kosmajskom partizanskom odredu

Google Maps

U blizini:

manastir Tresije Kosmaj Sopot

650 m

Drveni vidikovac Kosmaj

1 km

Spomen kosturnica Beli kamen Kosmaj

1,5 km

manastir Kasteljan Nemenikuće Kosmaj

1,5 km

Fotografije:

Tags:

Kosmaj

Šumadija

Monument to the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment

Wooden Viewpoint Kosmaj

Memorial Ossuary White Stone

Monument to Despot Stefan

Despot Stefan Lazarevic

King Dragutin

Tito

Avala

Monument to the Unknown Hero on Avala

herbal and animal species

recreation

hiking

tourism

where for the weekend

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