Did you know ?
Mojkovac once had more inhabitants than London!
Crkvišta
Once upon a time, when roads were rare, on Easter many pilgrims came from around Prijepolje (Serbia) to pray in the Dobrilovina Monastery. They ended up in the Prošćenski town of Crkvišta, and in the early dawn they would descend down the Tara rocks, barefoot, to the monastery. They crossed the Tara River over a bridge located in the town of Kuline. Its ruins still exist. A suspension bridge was built on them, which connects Bjelojevine with Dobrilovina.
Bear’s
Hazelnut Tree
A natural phenomenon grows in the forests of the Prošćenske Mountains. It is a word for the bear hazel plant (Corylus colurna), which actually belongs to bushy plants (shrubs), but often grows like a tree. Hazelnut trees are spread over the mountain and surrounding villages, but the most famous one is the one hidden on Gradac Hill. Few people believed in the reports about its size. With a diameter of 1.2m and 470 years old, as measured and determined by forestry engineer Dragan Marković, it is one of the thickest and oldest examples of this species in the world.
Watchtower (Karaula)
from the Prošćenske Mountains
During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, the Prošćenski region was the border with Montenegro. The Turks chose favorable places for setting up watchtowers - karaule, of which there were several in Prošćenje. Today, however, there are very few remains of these buildings (one of them is the ruins of the watchtower above the village of Gostilovina). They were built by the forced labor of peasants in 1906, and a few years later, in 1912, they were set on fire by the Montenegrins. All of them were destroyed, save the watchtower in the village of Slatina, which was converted into a school.
Wedding
Cemetery
Those who walk through Bjelasica will come across a place called Svatovsko Groblje. This story represents one of the saddest local legends that can be heard, and which everyone who has visited this area knows. "Once, in those ancient times, the wedding guests from Mojkovac set off for a bride via Bjelasica. On the way back, they were met by a severe storm. A blizzard and a storm trapped them there. The wedding guests also froze in that place. And today, in that same place, there are stone slabs that resemble graves. That's how the Bjelasica Pass is also called Svatovsko Groblje (Svatovsko Graveyard).” That pass is also known for its constant winds, both in winter and summer. Anyone who passes by can see that grass never grows there, and that there are eternal rocks. That is why scattered stones on the pass, resembling graves, actually reminds one of the death of the wedding guests.
Đavolje
lazi
In the Tara Canyon, at the place located at the very mouth of the Tara in the canyon, at the foot of Crna Poda, there is a place called "The Devil’s Lazi". In that place, the left and right banks of the Tara are so close to each other that one could jump over in just one step. In this gorge, the bed of the Tara is more than ten meters deep, so that fear grips passers-by at the thought of having to cross over it. Thus in this place, called Đavolje Lazi, people who had to cross from one bank to the other, out of necessity of course, with logs or sledgehammers, did so with great fear. They most often made the crossing during the Ottoman Era, going to hajdučija and for other necessary jobs, when the fear of the Tara and the bridge on it could not leave passers-by alone. This bridge was, on several occasions, the only crossing-point over the Tara during World War II for partisan units. The name Devils Lazi, according to the story, comes from, allegedly, very often-seen creatures in the form of goats. These could easily jump from one side of the bank to the other - sometimes over the bridge, screaming. They did this especially if there were passers-by on the road leading from Bjelojevina to Prošćenje, or the other way round. Those apparitions imitated a goat, reared up on their hind legs, and jumped high. This had a terrifying effect on those who looked at them. However, mischief such as this would never happen during the day. That's why, according to folk tales, this place is called the Devil's Lazi.
The Legend of
Lake Zabojsko
There is an interesting legend about the origin of Lake Zabojsko. They say that when the wicked ruled this land, a bloody war broke out over who would control the meadow where the lake is today. Since the day was cloudy, St. Elijah drove his fiery chariots through the sky above Sinjajevina. When he saw the wicked, he got angry and killed them all with one thunderbolt. He then turned the meadow into a lake where today there is clear water "on which all kinds of fish swim, whenever you want to eat them". Leaving on his fiery chariot to the heavens, St. Elijah said: "This is ZA-BOJ" (“for the battle”), from which the name of Lake Zabojsko is derived.
Another legend is connected to this lake. According to this legend, the lake existed on the right bank of the Tara, on Mount Zaboj. A shepherdess who was feeding her cattle on that lake became pregnant, but she was not married. In order to hide her shame, she drowned her newborn child and fled to the monastery of Dobrilovina. She started tending sheep on Jelina Gora for the monks, but God punished her for her misdeed by having a strong wind lift all the water from the lake and pour it down on her and Jelina Gora. Thus, the lake moved from the right to the left bank of Tara, but its name remained. Now, there is a large meadow in the place of the former lake.
Legends of the Mrki Krš (Dark Rock)
The cave in Mrki Krš is believed to have been the treasury of Uroš I Nemanjić.
The curious, adventurers and enthusiasts, serious explorers of the past, and tourists who visit the remains of old Brskovo and the mysterious Mrki Krš rock, ten kilometers away from Mojkovac, are believed to be entering the royal treasury of Nemanjić. According to legend, there are still untouched fairy-tale treasures in Mrki Krš, which were accumulated by famous kings during the golden years of Brskovo's medieval town-square and rich mine of silver and gold.
The secret of the royal treasure, which is still occasionally searched for by incorrigible hunters of buried treasure, has been jealously guarded for centuries by Mrki Krš, a lonely dark rock of an unusual shape, which emerges from the forest at the foot of Mučnica - the northern peak of Bjelasica.
For some mysterious reason, part of that wealth in gold and silver, according to legend, was well hidden in a cave in Mrki Krš - difficult to access and finished by the hand of a master. As the legend goes, there was always a guard in armor standing in front of the cave, waiting for the master. Since this guard never saw the master, he stood at his post so long that he eventually turned to stone. The legend does not tell why the Nemanjić’s left without their treasure.
The treasure was never found. Legend has it that when nature calms down, the clinking of treasures is heard in the depths of the cave.
Who could resist entering the legendary royal treasury?
Gate of Desire
A wooden staircase with more than 200 steps leads to the viewpoint. From this place there is a view of the dense forest and, in the distance, the town of Mojkovac. Near the viewpoint, there is the entrance to the caves with three rooms connected by corridors. The walls of those rooms are carved and polished, which proves that they were made by top craftsmen - perhaps those famous miners from the Ruhr and Saar who worked in Mojkovac’s mines in the Middle Ages. Those who have entered these rooms say that there is space for up to 50 people to sleep in them.
According to legend, on Mrki Krš, the fairy from Bjelasica fulfills the wishes of travelers passing by. In order for the wish to be fulfilled, it is necessary to go through the cave at this point, and come out on the other side.
Fairy Water - Popularly known as "holy water" to which barren women come
There is a special spring on the southern side of Mučnica, one of the northern peaks of Bjelasica. The spring, they say, has the power not only to quench thirst, but also to create life! Go up, to the mountain, to see that miraculous Fairy Water.
It is easy to reach the rock from which water springs. This rock, to the joy of those who believe, is holy water. According to legend, this water cures infertility if one come to the spring below the top of Mučnica and drinks this water! Many have believed in this since ancient times, so says the legend. One good fairy, whose name has not been remembered, is "to blame" for everything.
The story, from a long time ago, says: “In those days, when fairies often socialized with people, a woman wandered throughout the mountain. Her life turned into pain. She was crying. She had no children. There was no hope anymore. In the end, because of that, people looked at her as something worthless. She began to think so herself. “No more!” she decided, and sat down on a rock. There she shed her last tears. She regretted not herself, but her unborn child. She wanted it so much... “Everything will stop today", came the soft voice, more like a sob, of a woman who only dreamed of being a mother. “She will die there, on that rock,” she told herself. “It doesn't matter, no one will pity her, they won't even notice that she's gone…” Then, a good fairy with golden hair heard her words, saw her tears, and told her to drink some water from the spring that just then appeared in the rock. She would then go home, and she would finally be a happy mother... The fairy from Mučnica was more than generous - the woman she saved at the last moment, according to legend, gave birth to three sons and two daughters. “
This spring, whether there are the greatest droughts or floods, is always a constant source of water.
