Stephen Wordsworth

Valleys, caves and monasteries

On 13 June, Culture Minister Bradic organised a tour for members of the diplomatic corps to eastern Serbia - Senjski Rudnik, the Resavska Cave and the Ravanica and Manasija monasteries.  The main business was to announce, in Senjski Rudnik, the launch of a project to assist in the transformation of this small coal-mining village into an 'eco-museum' and regional cultural centre.  The coal is all but exhausted, and there is no other industry in the area, but the region has a long and fascinating history, going back to the beginning of Serbia's industrialisation. The museum project, which is expected to get support from the European Commission and the Council of Europe, will help open up this past to future visitors, and provide future generations in the village with a secure livelihood. 

The two monasteries we saw nearby are well-known in Serbia, but almost unknown outside - I, at least, had never seen a photograph of either of them, or realised how beautiful they are.  Manasija in particular, with its strong walls still standing, is a very interesting place to visit.  And Resavska cave nearby must be one of the most impressive cave systems in Europe, but again seems to be largely unknown outside Serbia's borders.  All these sights are set in beautiful wooded valleys, which were looking at their best at this time of year. 

Travelling around the area, I was struck by the many similarities between eastern Serbia and my home region of South Wales.  There too we have beautiful scenery; an old mining village converted into a modern tourist attraction, at "Big Pit" a beautiful network of underground caves, at Dan-yr-Ogof; and monasteries, at Neath and Margam (though in our case they are ruins, thanks to King Henry VIII).  And just as, if you go a little further in eastern Serbia, you can get to the medieval castle of Golubac, or the Roman remains at Felix Romuliana, South Wales has castles such as Raglan, or Roman remains at Caerleon.  The two areas have a lot in common, but in Wales tourism is much more developed, and has created a lot of jobs.  Maybe I need to think how we can get some Serbian officials responsible for tourism development to go across to South Wales, to see what ideas they can pick up there.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Posted at 16:51 15 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]