Zlatibor

ZLATIBOR is a mountain of exquisit beauty. It has pleasant and mild climate, large clearings, exuberent pastures intersected with mountain streams and pine trees-which this mountain was named after.

Zlatibor is on the high – way Belgrade to the coast of Montenegro. It is situated 230 km from Belgrade and 25 km from Užice. The average height above sea level is 1000 metres and it is surrounded by peaks called Čigota ( 1422 m ) , Murtenica – Brijač ( 1480 m ) , Тоrniк ( 1496 m ) , Viogor ( 1281 m ) and with lots of other lower hills.

 
The first inhabitans on Zlatibor were the Illirians, then the Romans and after them this region was inhabited with the Slavs. From these periods there are remains of ancient cities. Up to the middle of the 19th century this region was called Rujno and later it was named Zlatibor. This mountain is marked by the rivers: Uvac, Kamišina and Sušica and the Black Rzav runs through the middle of the mountain. In the eastern part of Zlatibor two rivers, the Prištevica and the Katušnica run through.

It was recorded that Zlatibor had its first tourists in 1750, but till the end of the 19th century staying on Zlatibor was a sort of fashion and luxury. On August 19th ( the day of Trausfiguration ) the Serbian king Aleksandar Obrenović was staying here and this date is the begining of the organized development of tourism on Zlatibor. The interest in Zlatibor has increased since the king’ s first visit. The building of wooden summer houses, villas, hotels, sanatoriums and other objects has started.

The fact that people can be cured on Zlatibor from deseases which attack both the soul and the body at the same time – psychosomatic illneses has been old for over more than a hundred years. At the same time the experts have been searching for the reasons of healing which this mountain offers and it is reflected in the mild climate on the height of 1000 metres. Mountain and sea gulfs encounter here which speed up the curing and the recovering from a large number of lung and heart illneses, especially from illneses of thyroid gland and anemia. There are a lot of cultural monuments on the territory of the community of Čajetina which are of the great importance for the culture of the Republic of Serbia. Most of them have been protected by the state. They are: the Museum ” Old Village ” in Sirogojno, the Stopica cave in Rožanstvo, the Monastery Uvac in the village Stublo, wooden churches in Dobroselica, Jablanica and Kucani, the birthhouse of Dimitrije Tucović in Gostilje, the church in Sirogojno.

For the recent years Zlatibor has been completing its touristic offer with a lot of various contents which enable the guests to satisfy their different needs. Sport fields have been built: football, tennis open and indoor swimming pool, ski – lifts and the paths and slopes for skiing on Tornik and Obudovica.

There is a nice lake which has been restored. There is a very good shopping centre and the green market, as well. There is a bus stop, too. A number of new restaurants, hotels, apartments, resort objects have been built. Some of them are private and some of them are state. A lot of symposiums, conferences, congresses and the preparations for sport teams are organized on Zlatibor every year. More than ten hotels, thirty hostels, one exclusive apartment area, many privately – owned suites and villas, houses to rent in local villages, fifteen travel agencies, a great number of restaurants,cafes, bars and various shops are all available at Zlatibor. The total number of beds in hotels and hostels amounts to 4 000 whereas in private accommodation there are about 5 000 graded and 5 000 non – graded ones, which makes 14 000 beds altogether.

During the year you can visit versatile cultural events such as Delikatessen Fair at the local village of Mačkat called ” Prshutiada ” , Hunting Days, Miss Serbia Beauty Contest, Trumpet Band Festival. Arts and Crafts Exhibitions, art colonies, Ethno Fair, as well as New Year’ s Eve at King’ s square.

Visitors and guests have an opportunity to come and see the other popular destinations such as Sirogojno village, Mokra Gora, Bajina Bašta, Mileševa and many others.