Guide

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE NATIONAL PARK ”TARA”
Cyrillic Mountain
In the monastery of Rača, likely a foundation of Dragutin, the famous Rača transcription school operated in the 16th and 17th centuries. Monastic, people’s, Cyrillic. In difficult times, Miroslav’s Gospel was preserved there. Serbian Patriarch, Pavle also resided there as a monk. Nearby, in the village of Rača, the first House of Cyrillic script emerges, which our generation could appreciate. Tombstones, known as Mramorje, those in Perućac and those in Rastište, have a long memory and speak the deepest language. When you find yourself in these parts, remember and do not miss out

The National Park ”Tara” encompasses a mountainous area in western Serbia that has been under protection since 1981. The protected area, covering nearly 25,000 hectares, includes the largest part of the Tara and Zvijezda mountain massif, bordered by the Drina River between Bajina Bašta in Serbia and Višegrad in Republika Srpska. The highest point is Kozji Rid (1,591 meters above sea level), and the lowest point is the Vrelo River (234 meters).
The primary value of this protected area lies in its mixed forests, covering over 80 percent of the surface. Close to 1,200 plant species have been recorded here, including Pančić Spruce (Picea omorika), an endemic and relict conifer species that survived the last ice age. This mountain is a refuge for over 150 bird species, 19 fish species, and 66 mammal species, among which the populations of brown bears and wild goats are the most numerous in Serbia.
However, in this national park, there is also significant cultural and historical heritage. Throughout the park and its immediate surroundings, numerous archaeological sites and monuments date back from the Neolithic period to the late Middle Ages. Some are true gems of our history and tradition. The most significant ones include Rača Monastery from the 13th century and necropolises with tombstones in Perućac and Rastište, which were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016.

Rača Monastery. On the right bank of the river of the same name, at the foot of Tara, it was most likely built at the end of the 13th century. The monastery church is dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord. It is assumed to be the endowment of Serbian King Stefan Dragutin Nemanjić. In the second half of the 16th century, Rača transcription school was founded near the monastery. In the 17th century, until the Great Serbian Migration, it was the last center of Serbian medieval culture. Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi noted that around 300 monks hidden in dense forests were engaged in copying liturgical books. During the day, they were involved in livestock farming and agriculture, and at night, by the light of a torch, they copied books. The people of Rača were the first to transcribe books in the vernacular. After the First Great Serbian Migration in 1690, Rača monks left the monastery and moved to Szentendre. They revived their school, where some of the best transcribers were educated there. Although some of them had never been to Rača Monastery, they called themselves ”Račans” because it was an honor to be part of this transcription school.
Sharing the destiny of its people, the monastery has been destroyed and burned multiple times. The first time it suffered was during the fall of the Serbian Despotate to Ottoman rule in 1459, then immediately after the Great Serbian Migration in 1690, and finally after the failure of the First Serbian Uprising in 1813. The first reconstruction was organized in 1795, thanks to Haji Melentije Stefanović, the archimandrite and later a leader of the uprising. However, after the collapse of the First Serbian Uprising, the Turks, under the command of Memiš Agha from Srebrenica, burned the monastery in October 1813. Upon his return to Serbia in 1816, Haji Melentije Stefanović organized the reconstruction for the second time but did not live to see its completion.
The reconstruction of the church was completed in 1836. It was built of stone in the Raška style, modeled after the Church of St. Ahilije in Arilje. The church has a free cross shape, with dimensions of 22x13.7 meters, a nave roof at 11.5 meters, and a dome at a height of 20 meters. The iconostasis and frescoes were painted in the mid-19th century in a post-Byzantine style, strongly influenced by the late provincial baroque.
At the end of the 20th century, a part of the relics of Saint King Dragutin (Monk Teoktist) was buried in Rača Monastery. The renovated treasury was consecrated and opened in October 1996 by the late Serbian Patriarch Pavle, a former monk of this monastery. The most valuable items in the new treasury include the possessions and personal items of Haji Melentije Stefanović: a golden cross with a chain given as a gift by the Russian emperor, an insurgent flag from 1807, an insurgent chest, as well as documents about the monastery’s land, letters addressed to significant figures in recent Serbian history, and more.

Cyrillic House. The construction of the Cyrillic Museum, the first of its kind in Serbian territory, is the initial phase in creating the Cyrillic House complex in Rača near Bajina Bašta. The history of preserving and nurturing the Serbian script has been here for centuries, through the efforts of renowned monks-scribes and the safekeeping of the Miroslav’s Gospel in Rača Monastery, as well as numerous activities undertaken in Bajina Bašta to protect Cyrillic. The Cyrillic House, as a new cultural institution, will unite and continue these traditions.
During 2023, the reconstruction of the former school building in Rača and its transformation into a facility suitable for museum activities were completed. The works were largely financed by the Ministry of Culture of Serbia through the ”Cities in Focus 2023” program. The Municipality of Bajina Bašta provided funds for preparatory work and the necessary project documentation.
The preparation of a permanent exhibition is underway, designed by renowned experts in the fields of the Serbian language, history, and the protection and preservation of Cyrillic. In addition to presenting the history of Cyrillic and the importance of the Rača literary and scribal school, the goal is to use modern methods and digital technologies to convey the beauty and significance of the Serbian script, as well as the importance of its continuous use. Simultaneously, an exceptionally beautiful space next to the Rača River, near the monastery, will be arranged.
The Cyrillic House is the culmination of efforts in Bajina Bašta to preserve Cyrillic. It will contribute to the lasting strengthening of the local culture and the long-term development of this region.

Stećci. Stećci, also known as medieval tombstones, are large monolithic stone monuments, sometimes carved with decorative images or inscriptions. They are found in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in border regions of Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia. They date from the 12th to the 16th century and come in both horizontal and vertical forms. Predominantly, the lying monoliths in the shape of slabs, chests, or purlins, resembling sarcophagi, are more common. They are in groups, in family, tribal, village, and aristocratic necropolises, near churches or apart from them. Over 70,000 stećci have been discovered so far, with the majority located in Herzegovina. They were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016 as a shared treasure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. In the territory of the National Park ”Tara”, there are two necropolises of the same name, Mramorje, in Perućac and Rastište.
Mramorje or Bagruša in Perućac is considered one of the largest and best-preserved medieval necropolises in Podunavlje. Of the once-observed 200 stećci, 88 have been preserved, including slab types, gables with and without pedestals, chests with and without pedestals, and two amorphous ones. They vary in dimensions, are finely crafted overall, and one of them exhibits a larger relief floral ornament. The archaeological team from the National Museum in Belgrade initiated the exploration of the necropolis in 2010, examining eight skeletal graves. In two graves, silver coins from the 15th century were discovered, suggesting earlier use. The necropolis was conservatively treated by the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in the summer of 2011.
Mramorje in Rastište comprises two necropolises with stećci from the 14th and 15th centuries. They are located on the slopes of Uroševine and Gajevi, about 500 meters apart. On the UNESCO list, they are treated as a single entity. The necropolis has not been archaeologically explored, and its conservation was conducted by the Republican Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from Belgrade in 2012.
Uroševine is located approximately 300 meters from the church in Sedaljka and contains 33 preserved stećci. Eighteen monuments are oriented east-west, which is characteristic of a Christian environment. However, in one part of the cemetery, an orientation north-south is observed. The stećci exhibit uniform craftsmanship, with the prevailing form being in the shape of purlins or chests on pedestals. Characteristic are the double monuments, featuring two purlins or a combination of slabs and purlins. Four purlins are relief-decorated with motifs of circles, bows and arrows, and swords.
Gajevi is situated about 500 meters northwest of Uroševine and comprises 35 stećci. Varying in dimensions and uneven in craftsmanship, they are properly arranged in 3-4 elongated rows oriented east-west with very small spacing between them. The most common form is a slab or a low chest without a pedestal. Three monuments stand out, decorated in the same way with a relief representation of a crescent on the upper surface.

Kulina – Solotnik. Approximately nine kilometers from Kaluđerske Bare, within the territory of the village Solotuša, lie the remains of the medieval Solotnik Castle. The fortress was built on a rocky plateau, below which stretches the limestone rock descending to the source of the Solotuška River. It is a typical medieval castle, lacking historical records or specific folk legends, except for the names Grad, Kulina, or Jerinin Grad. During archaeological excavations, fragmentary remains of fortifications from the Iron Age were discovered, with continuity in the early Byzantine period, while the castle with the lord’s residence originated in the 15th century.
The stone lime mortar, numerous findings of weapons, and sparse fragments of pottery indicated that Solotnik was hastily constructed and likely conquered in a Turkish attack, most probably between 1459 and 1463. It had an approximately trapezoidal foundation, measuring 16.85 x 28.20 meters, with two entrances and a circular defensive tower above the main gate from the southeast. The walls were 1.20 to 1.70 meters wide, preserved to a height of 4.2 meters. Archaeological research at this site has not been completed.
While these mentioned monuments may not be the main reason to visit the National Park ”Tara” they can certainly enhance your stay in this region.

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Guardians
During World War II, Rača Monastery preserved the Miroslav’s Gospel, dating back to the 12th century, which is the oldest Cyrillic document in Serbian. Today, in the monastery’s treasury, one can see its first phototypic edition.

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Memory Keepers
Stećci are mostly found in the western part of Serbia, predominantly in the Zlatibor region. Over 5,600 stećci are adorned, with more than 363 stećci featuring inscriptions, and over 350 of them bearing inscriptions in the Cyrillic script.