Stitkovo Awaits All Lovers of History – Village Where Shields Were Made for the Nemanjic Army and Which Still Has a Turkish-Era Tavern

When you’re on Zlatar and you come to the Uvac, where you might go on a cruise sail that day, don’t hesitate to go a few kilometers more and visit a small village called Stitkovo. It hides many stories, centuries old, and you are sure to enjoy discovering them.

This village in the municipality of Nova Varos is located on the slopes of Javor and Zlatar, in the valley created by the Tisovica River and its Vrelo spring. The road to it goes through fantastical areas which will remove you from the present time for a moment. And that is the real introduction to the story that awaits you, and the legend says that it dates back to the era of the Nemanjic dynasty. It is believed that it is precisely here that shields were made for the army of the famous Serbian royal dynasty and that the village was formed in the 13th century.

However, the only medieval thing here are the legends, even though the potentials are enormous. As Milojko Ckonjevic told us over a cup of coffee, interested people from Slovenia came here, but the projects that could have been realized fell through. The place will therefore have to wait for someone with a vision and money, because it certainly deserves big investments and can be a remarkable destination for field trips for lovers of history and nature, and especially for children and their parents.

On the other hand, you will be able to see here what life was like 200 years ago. Houses from 1836 and 1896 have been preserved, for example. You will also see what a Turkish tavern (kafana) looked like, but also an authentic store from that era.

The central place in the village belongs to the Holy Trinity Church, built in 1867. It was raised in the place where the monastery raised by Patriarch Gavrilo Raskovic was located. The interior of the church is dedicated to the fallen soldiers from this area who took part in the wars between 1912 and 1918.

Right by the church, you can rest by a small lake, whose water is green in color and next to which is a school, built in 1887.



After this travel through centuries, make sure to visit the Vrelo cabin, which is located nearby. You will be welcomed by the host Milojko Ckonjevic, a descendant of those who lived in the Ckonjevic house, located right next to this small hospitality building made of wood. He will show you photographs from past times, when one could ride a small boat on the lake.

Of course, real home-roasted coffee and Turkish delight are mandatory, and there are also various drinks, including the inevitable fruit brandy (rakija). We opted for home-made juice, without added sugar and featuring a perfect combination – raspberries, aronia berries and Cornelian cherries. In addition to being an energetic vitamin bomb, the flavor is such that you can safely call it the best juice in the world. Those who get hungry can enjoy a pie made with buckwheat dough, and you can have all this sitting on low wooden chairs on the soft grass in front of the Turkish tavern.

If you like to explore, if you love history and short, but educational conversations, if it is important to you to peek into the hidden corners of our country – head for Stitkovo and feel the spirit of times long past.

Aleksandra Kekic

Milojko Čkonjević

Zlatar

Javor

Uvac

Tisovica

Vrelo

Štitkovo

Holy Trinity Church

Nemanjić dynasty

Patriarch Gavrilo Rašković

Štitkovo lake

Štitkovo school

buckwheat crust pie

home made juices

aronia berry juice

raspberry juice

Cornelian cherry juice