Sokobanja

Sokobanja, a spa town in eastern Serbia, has a population of 7,188 as of 2022. Comprising the town and its environs, the larger municipality has 13,199 people. Offering the perfect mix of natural beauty, historical relevance, and therapeutic advantages, this picturesque place has become one of Serbia’s most visited tourist destinations.

Strategically in the southern side of the Sokobanja valley, Ozren, Devica, Janior, Rtanj, and Bukovik round the town. Apart from providing amazing views, this geographical location helps Sokobanja to have a unique temperature, which has made it a popular spa place. A major river, the Moravica River runs past the town and creates an amazing gorge barely two kilometers before it enters the city. This natural aspect adds to the appeal of the town by giving guests a taste of the varied surroundings of Serbia.

Near the Moravica canyon is the remains of Sokograd, a fortification with origins going back to Roman times and subsequently strengthened during the Middle Ages. These ruins give guests a clear link to the rich past of the area, enabling them to journey back in time and picture the strategic relevance of this site throughout years.

Long recognized for their glistening cleanliness and once-abundance of crayfish, the Moravica River is The river’s past grandeur is vividly shown in historical records. Reporting on the export of crayfish from Sokobanja, a 1945 edition of the Politika newspaper said that these precious crustaceans were flown to well-known locations including Paris, London, and Mont Carlo. This story highlights not just the caliber of the local aquatic life but also Sokobanja’s global reputation even in the middle of the 20th century.

About ten minutes from the town core, west of Sokobanja, sits the manufactured Lake Bovan. Designed by damming the Moravica River, this body of water has grown to be a natural feature of the area offering extra leisure activities for residents as well as guests. While other areas of Sokobanja reach higher altitudes, the town itself is situated at an elevation of roughly 369 meters above sea level, therefore adding to the varied geography and temperature of the town.

Sokobanja has been known by various names over its long and remarkable past, each reflecting the period and cultural influences of the time. One recurring theme, though, has been the identification with its function as a spa town from Roman times. Serbian names including Balnea, Banja, Velika Banja (“Great Spa”), and Aleksinačka Banja (“Aleksinac Spa”) all employ the word “banja,” which denotes spa. The present name Sokobanja combines the history of the spa with a reference to the nearby Soko-grad fortress.

Sokobanja is a thermal and air spa as well as a town with long-standing medical reputation. The great quality of its mineral waters and pure air helps to establish this resort as a health one. With his masterful rhyming “Sokobanja, Soko-grad, dođeš mator, odeš mlad” (“Sokobanja, Sokograd, you come old, you leave young”), the comic Branislav Nušić popularized Sokobanja. Originally intended for a friend’s encouragement of sales on a postcard, this smart remark found publication in the Politika newspaper on July 7, 1934. Since then, it has become Sokobanja’s unofficial motto, catching the rejuvenating power of the spa treatments in the area.

The history of the spa is linked with that of several civilizations that have left their traces on the area. Remains of Roman thermae, including timber foundations, bricks, mosaics, and spherical baths, testify to the old passion for hot waters. The Ottomans converted old Roman foundations for a Turkish spa in the sixteenth century. Unlike the square forms seen in conventional hammams, the Ottomans maintained the pools’ original circular form. Every pool features a dome with ventilation holes, a clever architectural solution encouraging natural air flow.

Serbian reigning prince Miloš Obrenovič helped Sokobanja grow into a contemporary spa resort in the 19th century. Prince Miloš appointed the first doctor in 1833, barely twenty days after the town was free from Ottoman rule. After moving to Serbia, Galician Jewish doctor Georgije Đorđe Novaković, sometimes known as Leopold Ehrlich, converted to Serbian Orthodox Christianity. Apart from military medical experts, he was among only three doctors in the whole nation.

Major advancements came from Prince Miloš’s curiosity over Sokobanja’s possible health resort status. He had samples of the mineral waters delivered to Vienna for research in 1834, which confirmed their therapeutic properties. German geologist August von Herder paid Sokobanja a visit at the prince’s invitation the next year and noted that its waters resembled those of famous Austrian spa Bad Gastein. Sokobanja’s image as a top health resort benefited from these sponsorships of international experts.

The prince’s commitment to spa development resulted in the construction of a hospital in 1837 featuring 20 rooms with suitable flooring, guest and physician housing, and facilities for Turkish bath workers. Officially beginning spa tourism in Serbia on June 21, 1837, Prince Miloš issued an order sending a sergeant major for treatment to Sokobanja.

Prince Miloš participated in the expansion of Sokobanja outside only administrative decisions. He rebuilt and enlarged the Turkish bath, created well-known structures such the Prince Miloš Fountain and Miloš’s Konak—now a restaurant—and built a personal bathtub in the hammam. Still in use today, this royal bathtub is a unique feature of the spa complex that also features separate male and female pools supplied by subterranean hot springs.

Long attracting a wide spectrum of artistic luminaries, Sokobanja has drawn authors, poets, artists, sculptors, actors, and directors. Among the illustrious visitors are Jovan Cvijić, Isidora Sekulič, Stevan Sremac, and Meša Selimović. Visited and drew a graphic representation of the town, Nobel winner Ivo Andrić Andrič found safety in Sokobanja during World War II, first at the villa Mon repos and then at “Bota,” which is now part of the hospital complex. He completed his short story ” Snake” here and started on some of his most significant literary creations, including “The Bridge on the Drina” and “Woman from Sarajevo.”

Sokobanja is flourishing today as a varied resort town with lots of activities for visitors. Officially named Staro banjsko kupatilo (“Old spa bath”), the Turkish bath is still the only functioning institution of its kind in eastern Serbia. It is formally a cultural monument. Its historical and cultural value was confirmed in 2002 when it was used as the filming site for the hit Serbian film “Zona Zamfirova.”

Rich in both trace levels of radioactive radon and potassium as well as helpful microelements, the spa’s hyperthermal and hypothermal waters Sokobanja is a successful treatment center for a variety of maladies, including respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, rheumatism, neurological and gynecological problems, and general physical and mental weariness, because of these unique qualities.

Apart from its health-oriented initiatives, Sokobanja presents a wide spectrum of leisure and cultural events. Visitors can swim in the Moravica River and Lake Bovan, visit galleries and museums, go climbing in the surrounding mountains, and lounge in wellness facilities and saunas. The calendar of the town is bursting with events including the “Marathon of the Wishes” in September, the “Green Heart Fest” music festival in August, and the “Saint John the Herbs-picker” festival in July, which honors the medicinal plants of the area.