Paths

SMALL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF DIVČIBARE
Plateau of Clear Horizons
They say that this mountain resort is closest to the capital city and Vojvodina. Guides will talk about winter, mountaineering, health, sports and recreation, hunting, excursion tourism… But, only a few will tell you that this is where Bela Hamvas’ famous ”Scientia Sacra” was translated and Darko Tanasković’s ”Neo-Osmanism” written. That Bata Mihailović and Ivan V. Lalić spent their childhood and part of their youth here, that Dragoslav Mihailović, Živojin Pavlović, Vladeta Janković, Stefan Milenković have houses here and that Neda Arnerić, Miki Manojlović… used to visit here often

By: Bojana Nikolić
Photo: NR and Bojana Nikolić

In the early XIX century, almost the entire Divčibare was the estate of Turkish Deli-Aga Serchesma, where he grazed his cattle. Prince Miloš Obrenović bought the Divčivare field from him. On behalf of the prince, shepherds from the best families from Valjevo and Užice villages herded and grazed his stock. When he decided to stop grazing and trading cattle, the prince divided Divčibare into the Valjevo and the Užice part. He gave the land to peasants from nearby villages. Thus the first shepherds’ shelters appeared in Divčibare. The first time Miloš Obrenović visited Divčibare was in July 1822. When he came here during summers to rest, he stayed in the ”master huts”. A spring called Prince Miloš’ Fountain was in the vicinity. The prince was among the first who noticed the salutary effect of the local climate and air on human health. There is a legend that the spring on the left bank of the Žujan, one of the branches of the Crna Kamenica, was fenced by Princess Milica personally.

IN PICTURES, SOUNDS, NAMES

The regulation plan of the resort was designed by civil engineer Milorad Mile Babić (1902–1944), who later died in the Banjica Concentration Camp in Belgrade, only six months before liberation. Since its beginnings, the Divčibare resort attracted many visitors, including famous artists and cultural workers. The Marinković couple were among the first – prime minister Vojislav with his wife Ana, recognized academic painter, student of Nadežda Petrović, Beta and Risto Vukanović and Marko Murat, member of the plein air group of painters and member of ”Lada”. Ana often painted landscapes of Divčibare and eternalized this Maljen plateau in many of her artworks. It is interesting to say that Milan Rakić, significant poet of Serbian modernism, stayed for a short while in 1933, as guest of the Marinković family.
During the summers of 1932 and 1933, pianist Milka Đaja, professor of the Academy of Music in Belgrade since 1937, stayed in Divčibare. Besides playing the piano, she was also engaged in painting, especially during her stays here. Famous are her small format paintings, showing the beauties of Divčibare, especially the painting of an old rural shepherd’s hut with part of the meadow and forest in Stražare.
Milorad Jovanović, leading singer of the Belgrade Opera and professor of solo singing at the Academy of Music in Belgrade had a villa in this mountain resort.
After World War II, artists also liked to come to Divčibare. In the first years after the war, Pavle Vasić, painter, art historian and art critic, stayed with his family in the then ”Crni Vrh” inn. The Association of Visual Artists of Applied Arts and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS) has been granting the annual ”Pavle Vasić” award since 1995 to his honor.
Živorad Grbić, violin player and professor of music in the Valjevo Gymnasium, winner of the Order of St. Sava, Fifth Class, later professor of violin at the Academy of Music in Belgrade, also stayed here. The School of Music in Valjevo has been named after him since 1966.
This mountain resort was also visited by Žarko Cvejić, member of the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad and National Theater in Belgrade operas. People remember his performances on many European scenes, as well as numerous recognitions for his achievements in art.
Famous painter Milorad Bata Mihailović (1923‒2011), academician of SANU, also liked to come to Divčibare. He was brought there by his memory of early youth, when he spent July and August each year, until 1940, in his parents’ villa in Divčibare.
Composer Vasilije Mokranjac (1923‒1984), grandson of Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, spent his vacation of 1951 in Divčibare. He was professor at the Academy of Music in Belgrade, member of SANU, winner of valuable recognitions and awards.

PLACE FOR A CHURCH

Since the settlement in Divčibare was already formed, raising a church logically followed. Thus, in late July 1940, Metropolitan of Skopje Josif (Cvijović) and Bishop of Žiča Nikolaj (Velimirović), now St. Nikolaj of Ohrid and Žiča, arrived. In his book about Divčibare, Bogoljub Boka Loma picturesquely speaks about this event: ”On a wonderful sunny day in July, around 10 a.m., a large group of owners of summer cottages from Valjevo and Belgrade, led by (…) manager of the resort (…) greeted the church dignitaries. I was present at the gathering in the center of Divčibare, in front of the social hotel, but on a decent distance, because, according to the customs back then, my young age did not allow me to enter conversations with mature people. The Metropolitan and the Bishop came with the intention to choose a place for building a church. After a longer conversation, together with the present locals from Divčibare, they headed over the small bridge on the Crna Kamenica towards the space where today ‘Maljen’ hotel and ‘Krušik’ and PTT resorts are. I don’t know which location they chose. However, entering the war in 1941 disabled the realization of their intention.”
About sixty years later, the church was raised after all. On the day of St. Panteleimon (August 9) in 2001, Bishop of Šabac and Valjevo Lavrentije consecrated the newly built Church of St. Panteleimon, designed by architect Tihomir Dražić. The church harmoniously fits the natural surroundings. Its architectural solution relies on the local tradition of building log churches, adjusted to strong winters with much snow. Protopriest-Staurophore Stojadin Pavlović, then priest of Divčibare, today manager of the Managing Board Office  in the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarchy, founder and first editor of the ”Church” television had the greatest contribution in building the church as well as the Church Cultural Center (quarters) next to it.
Great Serbian poet Ivan V. Lalić had a house in Divčibare, where he spent most part of his childhood. In his first collection of poems Former Boy, where he ”confronts” his childhood, we recognize the motifs of Divčibare as very important. The ”Rusty Needle” speaks about Lalić’s childhood and depicts Divčibare. He mentions dark pine needles, the wind, crickets, pinecones, resin. We see a picture of a cold, windy night and a boy tucked in a warm house; the boy carelessly falls asleep as if falling into soap bubbles. The former boy remembers his now destroyed house, with only foundations left grown in weeds. In his poem ”The Wind”, from the same collection, the poet mentions ”the bosom of Maljen”. While reading it, we have the impression of hearing and feeling the cold night wind in the mountain.

BIRTH OF GREAT BOOKS

Professor Sava Babić, PhD, founder of the Hungarian Studies Department at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, regularly spent his summers in Divčibare. He brought his camper, had a place for anchoring it and stayed there two-three months. Some very important books were translated in that camper in Divčibare, such as the famous Scientia Sacra, written by Bela Hamvas, ”the last European sage”.
Vladeta Janković, PhD, professor of General Literature at the Belgrade University Faculty of Philology, former ambassador of Serbia in London and Vatican, has a summer house in Divčibare. During his work in Great Britain, he collected money and helped the building of the elementary school building in this resort.
Professor Darko Tanasković, PhD, reputable orientalist, translator, diplomat, has been coming to Divčibare since mid-1960s. In his rich career, he was university professor at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, ambassador in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Vatican, UNESCO… He told us that he came to Divčibare for the first time as a guest of his gymnasium friend. Then, in the seventies, he served the army in Valjevo and walked, even crawled, all over Divčibare. Later, through his friendship with people from Valjevo, he developed a connection with this area. Thus, his wish to create conditions for longer and more frequent visits initiated him to buy a house near the ”Stevan Filipović” children resort from his good friend, unfortunately now deceased man from Divčibare, from the Radovanović family. Although scenes of snowy meadows and pine trees covered in white is truly enchanting, professor Tanasković avoids staying here in winters, because he doesn’t like winter sports and the cold, but he often stays there during other seasons.
”I write enthusiastically and successfully in Divčibare, incomparably more productively than in Belgrade, and read without burdens and with more concentration”, he tells us. ”The working conditions are almost perfect in every aspect, except when we’re out of electricity. Peace, fresh air, relaxing view of Crni Vrh through the window, occasional recuperating walks, all that creates extraordinary conditions for intellectual work. I have written many pages in Divčibare, including a great part of my book Neo-Osmanism.”

GATHERINGS IN DIVČIBARE

”A kind of a broadened family feeling is created among those who regularly visit Divčibare”, continues professor Tanasković. ”Most locals in Divčibare know and greet each other, sometimes have a small chat. I am privileged because, in my immediate or a bit further neighborhood, I have a few people particularly close to my family and me. For example, reputable attorney Branimir Radovanović; my colleague from the classical gymnasium, Faculty of Philology and diplomatic missions Vladeta Janković; our great writer and simple, yet extraordinary man Dragoslav Mihailović; famous music pedagogue Đorđe Minev… Of course, I also meet other acquaintances from Belgrade who occasionally choose Divčibare as a place for a short rest. Since a certain number of years, we have established a nice tradition of gatherings of friends once a year, in the summer, in the hospitable home of the reputable Valjevo architect and tourist worker in Divčibare Miša Maksimović, for the occasion of the birthday of his uncle and my dear friend, deserved journalist and editor of more than 200 books of conversations with authors from different fields, Miloš Jevtić, also from Valjevo. Interesting and colorful people can be seen at these gatherings, including president of Matica Srpska, professor and writer Dragan Stanić, Archbishop of Belgrade, monsignor Stanislav Hočevar, priest in Divčibare for many years and now manager of the Patriarchy Office, father Stojadin Pavlović, appreciated ophthalmologist professor Miloš Jovanović, physiatrist and writer, colonel Aleksandar Đurović, experienced economist, director of CIP Milutin Ignjatović, sociologist and writer Slobodan Gavrilović, business legend and diligent cultural worker from Gornji Milanovac Jova Tomović, anesthesiologist Toma Marenović, expert in forgotten history and our mountains, professor Branko Matić, publisher and refined expert in Serbian language Milan Tasić, unique pioneer of heritage tourism Zaga Stojanović, and many others not mentioned here… During one of such gatherings, the exhibition of the tireless photography artist Toma Grujičić was opened in the building intended for an elementary school.”
Stefan Milenković, remarkable Serbian violinist with an international career, is also one of the admirers of this mountain resort. He said that his most favorite place between performances is his house in Divčibare, where he rests and tries to spend as much time as possible outside, in the fresh mountain air.

STAIRWAY TO THE MYTHICAL

The second part of the TV movie We Are Sorry, We Are So Sorry from 1976, directed by Soja Jovanović and written by Milan Nikolić, was filmed in Divčibare. Besides recognizable landscapes, it also presented the then ”Balkanija” hotel. For that occasion, Milena Dravić, Bata Paskaljević, Slobodan Đurić… all stayed and worked here. Another two great actors, Neda Arnerić (who, unfortunately, is no longer with us) and Miki Manojlović chose to spend their free time in their houses raised in this mountain resort.
It is worth mentioning that Živojin Pavlović, famous director and writer, had a house in this resort. Painter and academician Ljuba Popović, his friend, in an interview observing the anniversary of Pavlović’s death, said: ”Žika was a home person. He only went to Divčibare from time to time, where he wrote, separated from the city pollutions of both body and spirit, physical and intellectual.” The unfortunate Herzegovinian Mirko Kovač, originally important Serbian writer and then not even his own, in his Notebooks from Sarajevo, shared his memories of the May 1st holidays, which he spent for years with his close friend, film author and writer Žika Pavlović in his house in Divčibare”. The director’s daughter, Milena Pavlović, actress and theatrical director, most famous for her roles in Srđan Dragojević’s We Are No Angels and Emir Kusturica’s Underground, said for a portal that she goes to this summer house during school vacations today as well, emphasizing that it is their main place for resting.
Academician and great writer Dragoslav Mihailović although already over ninety, regularly visits Divčibare, where he rests in his summer house.
Writer Ljubomir Simović, also academician, on his way from Belgrade to his homeland of Jelova Gora, often stays in Divčibare, so it is no wonder he mentions this part of Serbia, which he loves and knows, in his poems. In his poem ”Breakfast”, from the Horizon on Two Waters collection, he depicts the mountains in the Valjevo area, including Maljen, covered with snow. ”The poem about carrying the cut off head of Dušan Radović Kondor through the villages and over the mountains of western Serbia”, from the Sources collection, also passes over Maljen. In his poem ”The View from Tometino Polje” describes Divčibare with Crni Vrh and how he experiences it from Tometino Polje, a nearby plateau. He sees it as the stairway heroes used in the autumn to carry rams and wine into the clouds, and sometimes gods came down that stairway to get married. The poet sees Divčibare as a fairytale-like and almost mythical area, extraordinary in every way.
This Maljen plateau was eternalized in Bogoljub Boka Loma’s book Divčibare. While writing this text, we also relied on its fourth, corrected and amended edition from 2004, edited by the author’s son, professor Miodrag Loma, PhD. The book introduces us to the geographic position of Divčibare, its climate, flora, fauna, history of the resort and tourism, urbanization, touristic possibilities… However, it enables us to feel the ”other side of the tourist destination, its soul” through various stories from Divčibare, whose main characters are the so-called ordinary, small people, witty and good-hearted rascals.
As Miodrag Loma says about his father in his afterword, ”Divčibare was a relatively easily accessible parallel idyllic world”, the lost paradise; and the entire book is pervaded with such specific atmosphere.
”For more than thirty years – from 1953 to 1984, he was one of the most active propagators and organizers of tourism in Serbia, as member, secretary and president of tourism societies and associations of the municipality (Valjevo), county, region and republic”, writes Miodrag Loma about his father. ”He fell in love with Divčibare as a ten-year-old boy, and later became president of the Divčibare Aerial Spa Managing Board and one of the creators and organizers of the ‘White Narcissus’ Tourist Event.”

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Features
Divčibare is a plateau in the central part of Maljen mountain, 38 kilometers southeast from Valjevo, which it administratively belongs to. The Stražare height divides it into Pitomine, spreading from Kraljev Sto (King’s Table) and Veliko Brdo (Great Hill), and Divčibare in the narrow sense, which makes the part towards Crni Vrh (Black Peak). According to the legend, the name means ”divine bare” (girl’s puddle), after a shepherdess who drowned in the Crna Kamenica river. The climate is favorable, hidden from winds by heights from all sides. The average altitude is 980 meters, with an incredible view.

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Plants, Animals, Birds
The entire Maljen, especially the Divčibare part, is famous for wonderful flower meadows. There are many narcissuses and pine trees (black pine, spruce, fir, juniper…) Numerous animal species live in this plateau: rabbit, wolf, fox, wild boar, squirrel, jackal, stone marten, pine marten. Bird species include rock partridge, large colorful woodpecker, village woodpecker, crossbill, jay, mountain nightingale…

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Fair
A fair was held every year on the day of St. Panteleimon (August 9) in Kaluđerske Bare. In 1926, it moved to the newly founded resort in Divčibare, where it is still held today.

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Bishop and Writer
Bishop of Timok Melentije Vujić (1891‒1911), born in the neighboring Maljen village of Osečenica, liked to stay in his birth village, in the family cottage in Kaluđerske Bare. Melentije’s life served writer Svetolik Ranković as material for his novel ”Broken Ideals”. The bishop and Svetolik Ranković attended the Seminary in Belgrade together and became great friends. The bishop spent his last years in Chilandar, where he passed away. There is a copy of the mentioned novel in the monastery library with Melentije’s notes, from which we notice that he often sharply criticizes Ranković for what he wrote in the book. However, the last notes show that Melentije was not angry anymore: ”At last – this book is a novel and many things and events in novels are entirely made up – they are skillfully tailored lies.”