In continuation of the river Kolubara one first crosses a landscape of hills and wavy valleys one comes to mountain ranges of the massive of Balkans. Valjevo, with its 96,000 population is the first stage on the road to Bosnia and Montenegro and the first town on the height of West Serbia. Its natural environment and its tourist offering make it a perfect first stop coming from Belgrade. Placed in a plane 185 m above the sea surface, Valjevo has been spread on the banks of the rivers of Kolubara and Gradac surrounded by the forested mountains of Medvednik, Jzblznik, Povlen and Maljen.
Its natural situation offers numerous tourist offerings. Its greenish and of the spring nature at the same time permit to give oneself to pleasures of walks to the kayak and to speleology. The town of Valjevo itself is rich in monuments of its situation at the Turkish border. There is a Turkish town and a Serbian town separated from each other by a river, and the monuments the resistance to the oppression during two World Wars.
History
Already in the paleolith there are the traces of human settlements around the caves of Petnica in an environment very favourable indeed. The valley is wedged between the old mountains and the red fruit crop. The village organised about it master or knez has already been mentioned in the religious manuscripts in 1019. in XIV century Valjevo is a little town, residence of a count in the Serbian monarchy of Dragutin and surrounded by many monasteries. But the Ottomans conquered in 1458 et Valjevo has often been plundered by Austrian and Turkish Armies in XVIII century. This did not prevent them to maintain. Because of its position on the border there was intense artisan and commercial activities.
At the beginning of XIX century Valjevo learnt a dramatic fate in the moment of Serbian insurrection against the ottoman occupation. Since the knez Nenadovic and Bircanin have established the centre of insurrection against Turks bloody and cruel battles have taken place terminating with the decapitations of these two men on February the 4th 1804. but this spirit of resistance has been repeated a century later because in environment of this town the Serbian Army have in 1914 defeated the five times more numerous coalition Austro-German Army. In 1941 the young partisan Steva Filipovic became famous thanks to his refusing to comply to the Nazi orders, and that is why he had been killed together with many comrades of his.
Monuments
QUARTER TESNJAR. On the right bank of the river Kolubara the first thing to be seen is Valjevo. The houses and little shops dated in the XVIII century and remained unchanged since. There are also artisans not known by us. Decide by yourself: saddlers, wavers, potters and even the skirt producers. This well known quarter of Valjevo was the most important in the town till the I World War and it still keeps the perfume of well done work and of the exchange between the shops on both sides of the street. Today it is the place where one uses to have a coffee or at the time of “Tesnjar Evenings” to see the festivals.
NENADOVIC TOWER on one of the heights near the centre one of the symbolic monument of the struggle of Valjevians for their independence in XIX century. Erected 1813 by Vojvoda Nenadovic this three stories square tower of stone was determine to defend the town liberated 1804 from Turks. Unfortunately the tower was used a little only because from the end of the year 1813 it had fallen to the hands of Ottomans. They transformed it into the prison and here the Ottoman police tortured the leaders of the first two insurrections.
SQUARE VOJVODA MISIC. A nice square in the central European style with Grand hotel and the buildings colour tan with great windows. An atmosphere of quietness comes from the large walking street from the Vojvoda Misic monument this Serbian general is well known by the victorious counter-offensive against Germans 1914.
Thirty meters upwards you will notice the Square “Pesnistva” surrounded by very nice houses from the beginning of XX century. The hotel itself is in red and today it is the residence of “Radio Valjevo”. The sculpture is of the great poetess Desanka Maksimovic, born in the environment of Valjevo, in Brankovina.
THE PARTISAN MONUMENT. Even if the natives do not want to speak extensively, one should go to see this monument dedicated to the struggle of the partisan communists against the Nazism. Situated on the hill of Krusik beneath the town this monumental sculpture representing the young Stevan Filipovic with the arms held upwards symbolising the refusal to put down one’s face before the occupier. In 1941 This young metal worker from Valjevo in the place of execution called to arousal. The symbolic served evidently communists, but one should go to take a look will only be to plunge into the atmosphere of an age immensely revolutionary.
Galleries
THE MUSELIM PALACE (MUSELIMOV KONAK), Desankin Venac. Open from 9.30 am. to 2 p.m. from Monday to Friday (on Saturdays also in summer time. Entrance 60 dinars. A Museum to be seen absolutely. Constructed in XVIII century in a Serbian mountain style, this building remains the most ancient house in the town. It represents a memorial because in its cellar knez Aleksa Nenadovic and Ilija Bircanin had been decapitated by Turks. The Museum has been divided into two parts. On the ground floor there are more than 150 pieces from the time of the First Serbian insurrection, rifles a la Turk, the elongated cannons, daggers filled in and incrustated with stones, but also the flags embroidered with gold of the first Serbian squadrons from XIX century as well as the documents written in these years from 1804-1815. then this guide will lead you to the basement where there is the reconstructed scene of execution of February 1804 of two leaders of the Serbian arousal. One part of the history will explain to us the tragedies the Serbian people had to endure.
NATIONAL MUSEUM, Trg Vojvode Misica 3, site: www.museum.org.yu. At he same office hour as for “Muselimov Konak”. Entrance 40 dinars. In the very nice house there was the lyceum of Valjevo before. More than 1,000 pieces displayed in four sections: History, Beaux arts, Archaeology and Ethnology. In reconstruction since2002, but the reopening anticipated January 2005.
MODERN GALLERY, Vuka Karadzica 11 Open from 10 a.m. to6 p.m. Next to the very nice present lyceum, a gallery determine to the modern painting. A permanent exhibition of the painter Ljuba Popovic with about thirty pictures from the period 1953-1963, but also the temporary exhibitions of the more recent artists. An agreeable atmosphere thanks also to its library and to the internal decoration.
TRNAVAC GALLERY, Suvoborska 48, site: www.ius.trnavac.org.yu Open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Gallery and the artistic studio at the same time. This complex dedicated to the artist Radovan Trnavac presents also his atelier and his studio next to the gallery. Here could be seen his works as well as 40 pieces which are also the presents of the artist having come from Soviet Union, USA, Ukraine or Peru.
