Do you know what the White House in Washington, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York, the obelisk in the centre of Buenos Aires, the facades of the airport and museums in Cairo and Tokyo have in common with the St George Church in Arandjelovac, Serbia?
They were all made from the same high quality marble, mined from one small place in central Serbia, Vencac in Arandjelovac. My last post was about playing volleyball in Arandjelovac but during my visit I noticed a lots of sculpture scattered around the town and they are all white. When we spoke to the locals they mentioned huge reserves of high quality marble in Vencac Mountain which is within walking distance of the town.
On the way to the town we stopped at a small village called Orasac, the birthplace of the First Serbian Uprising. As well as the school, church and museum there is 12-ft high statue in white marble dedicated to the leader of the uprising and later king. Later, his successors built the Royal Mausoleum, St George Church, from the same marble at Oplenac.
In the local park full of empty benches, scattered with linden trees and a few monuments to the fallen soldiers from who knows which war as there were so many in this country, it is very much in evidence, even on the shop fronts – it is plentiful and therefore cheap. The main park, adjacent to the Old Manor Hotel built in 1865, is full of sculptures carved from huge pieces of marble from Vencac, monuments not just to their subjects or the skill of the artist who created them, but to the king of marble which has found its way all the way to the White House.
I don’t know what the laws are in Serbia about taking rocks and minerals but I took a small sample of marble with me. It will take a special place in my mineral collection.
Arandjelovac town, a tourist place well known for its thermal waters and spa treatments, just 75km from Belgrade, is well worth a visit if you’re travelling between Orasac and Oplenac. If you wish to spend more time in Arandjelovac and maybe take a hike to the mountain please email tara@readyclickandgo.com for information and advice!
About the author: Tara
The travel professional with years of experience in the travel industry – in guiding, reservations, operations, contracting, customer service and product development – and have travelled extensively in Asia and Eastern Europe not just on holiday but also for work, inspecting hotels, visiting attractions and seeing exactly what each destination has to offer. The only way I could do this properly was with my own guide, car and driver and this inspired me to create my own range of customised private day tours for other people to be able to explore in-depth and learn to love their destination as much as I do.
Website: www.readyclickandgo.com
Website: http://www.readyclickandgo.com
