In the northern part of the heart of Serbia, in the undulating area of Šumadija, there is the not-high, but beautiful and wooded mountain Kosmaj. Belgrade is close, as is the highway, which makes this mountain a favorite picnic spot and a perfect place to escape from urban and busy life. I'm not from Belgrade, but Kosmaj is very close to me, so I enjoy going to this mountain for one or two days with my family. It is interesting that both Kosmaj and Šumadija are named after the forest. The root of the word Kosmaj is of Celtic origin, and Šumadija is of Slavic origin, but the meaning is the same. The only difference is that the former forests of Šumadija have been cleared and replaced by orchards and arable fields, but the beech and oak forests of Kosmaj have been completely preserved..
Since I love geology a lot, and especially geomorphology, you won't blame me if I insert information that may not be interesting to everyone, but it is to me:) Namely, in the middle of Šumadija stretches the so-called Mesozoic Šumadija greda (beam), an elevation that connects several low mountains from Avala, Kosmaj and all to Rudnik. It used to be a peninsula between two gulfs of the former Pannonian Sea, which to the north was undulating for a million years. One gulf was inherited by the Kobulara River, one by the Morava River so that now the Šumadijska Greda divides these two basins. However, during the phase of the greatest progression of the Pannonian Sea to the south, these mountains were for a short period (geologically speaking) also islands.
Kosmaj has three peaks, Goli, Rutavi, and Mali, the highest being 626m above sea level. There are almost 100 sources of drinking water on this wooded mountain. The hiking trails are well marked, the lookouts are arranged and accessible, and there are enough restaurants with excellent food, playgrounds for children, monasteries, and monuments of the past. This wooded mountain is arranged for tourist visits, but at the same time, it has preserved its nature and its forests. The Romans especially loved this area, so traces of mining remain even today
Monuments and memories
The Second World War, Tito, and Yugoslavia, even today, cause conflicting opinions, emotions, and memories of the inhabitants of a country that no longer exists. Tito was both father and mother, ruler and judge, cruel and merciful, like any dictator. The West saw Yugoslavia at that time as a "golden cage", with no democracy at all, but it was a time of a strong middle and working-class society, so even today we look at that time with nostalgia, even though many people lost their lives because of a wrongly pronounced word. The ideology surrounding the lifelong President Tito was designed very skillfully, and one of the ways was the construction of huge monuments, large and imposing, which celebrated the national liberation struggle against fascism during the Second World War. It is estimated that more than 15,000 such monuments were erected in the former Yugoslavia. Many are forgotten, dilapidated, abandoned, and neglected, but one of the few that is preserved and very well visited is precisely on Kosmaj.
All these monuments, made in real socialism, are huge, built of concrete, and in places where battles used to take place. The five arms 30 meters high symbolize the spark, they are a symbol of the uprising and the fight that is forever smoldering, and the pedestal that surrounds these huge arms is a symbol of flame.
The monument was erected in 1971, as a memory of the victims and struggle of the Kosmajsko-Posavina partisan detachment.
Lookout
One of the most visited lookouts on Kosmaj is from the wooden tower, which overlooks the neighboring lower mountain Avala. I wrote about Avala, so you can take a look here. By the way, Kosmaj and Avala, which you see in the photos, were connected at one point in the long geological past and as such represented the peninsula of the Pannonian Sea.
The view from the lookout is fantastic and relaxing. I always like to recognize which settlements, rivers, and mountains are visible. We were lucky that the weather was clear, so the wavy Sumadija was in the palm of our hand. Even the Vrsac mountains could be seen.
Pavlovac Monastery
One of our favorite places in Kosmaj is the Pavlovac monastery. It was built by Despot Stefan Lazarevic in the 15th century. The monastery has been demolished and rebuilt several times. It is interesting that the walls of the monastery are white and that there are no frescoes, but that is because the walls are not plastered. The monastery is dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
We visited this monastery several times. Children especially like, especially to run on the ruins. Jumping over the Pavlovac stream is also one of their favorite pastimes. However, although this story is dedicated to the beauty of this area, I cannot help but mention that someone bought the source of the stream and the water ended up in bottles and store shelves, so the stream dried up. Only an empty river bed remained.
Kosmaj, although a low mountain dominates the surroundings and is increasingly visited. A local brewery, good restaurants with delicious traditional food, playgrounds for children, well-maintained paths, and sports fields are just some of the contents that attract tourists. I was still attracted by the wonderful nature, I like to retire to a wonderful forest where there is not much noise, and luckily Kosmaj is mostly like that.
I hope you liked this short trip to the heart of Serbia, and Kosmaj has a lot more to tell, so he deserves at least one more story.
Note: I'm a geographer, so I already know most of the information, while I took some from the book Putevima Yugoslavia, authored by S. Stanković, and from the info boards.