In this episode of Balkan Trip, we travel to the eastern reaches of Serbia to explore the ancient wonders along the Danube. From the imposing fortress of Golubac to the prehistoric settlement of Lepenski Vir, we uncover the secrets of a region steeped in history and legend.
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00:00Welcome to Balkan Trip. Did you know that in the area of Serbia there is the oldest European city, Lepenski Vir, dating from the period 6,000 to 5,500 BC.
00:20That right through Serbia, on the Danube river, there is the narrowest, but deepest gorge in Europe.
00:26And that from the surrounding cliffs, there is an incredible view of the Djerda gorge.
00:31That's why you join me on this beautiful journey through Eastern Serbia.
00:42About 130 kilometers east of Belgrade, there is a fortress that you will recognize by the views of Serbia.
00:49It is the Golubac fortress, the place where the national park Djerdap begins.
00:54It is not known who exactly built the Golubac fortress, but it is believed to be in the spirit of the Serbian fortresses of the 13th and 14th centuries.
01:01The Serbs, Hungarians and Turks constantly fought around it, so that it went from the hands of some rulers to the hands of others.
01:08It was never conquered. And here's how it got its name.
01:12The story is about a Byzantine princess, Jelena, who was actually trapped in the highest tower of the fortress.
01:19That is the Šešir tower, which is located at an altitude of 75 meters today.
01:23So she was trapped there all her life. She was very sad, very sad.
01:29And the story says that her only real friends were the pigeons.
01:33And at the end of her life, she actually said a sentence that will remain here,
01:38the reason why people start calling this place after that.
01:42She said that this beautiful city was her secret during her whole life,
01:46but one thing remains here, that she had a real friendship with the pigeons,
01:50so she starts calling her secret by a nice, gentle name, and that is Golubac.
01:56Today, the Golubac fortress is part of the national park Djerdap,
02:02which is rich in rare plant species and is located in the eastern part of Serbia.
02:08On this Danube stream, in these 100 kilometers that pass through the national park Djerdap,
02:13it is specific that here is the widest Danube, and in some parts the narrowest,
02:19and the deepest, about 110 meters, and that is the largest river depth in Europe.
02:24Here you have over 40 cultural, historical and archaeological sites,
02:29which only shows the fact that in the last 10 millennia,
02:32here are the first modern civilizations, so various times have intertwined.
02:41By the way, this region was once part of the Great Roman Empire,
02:45where the gorge itself represents and presents a history more than 2000 years old.
02:49And the key evidence that the Romans were in these areas is the Triangle Table.
02:54And the Triangle Table is actually the inscription carved into the rock above the Danube.
03:00In the National Park Djerdap, you can also see the Decebal's Head,
03:04the tallest sculpture in Europe, 40 meters high,
03:08but it is located on the other, Romanian side of the gorge.
03:11Decebal was the last king of Dacians, who resisted Roman attacks for a long time,
03:17but Trajan still ruled him.
03:19When the Roman troops surrounded him in 106, he committed suicide.
03:24This was the end of the great campaign of Trajan against Dacia.
03:28Emperor Trajan, by the way, traveled through the Danube gorge,
03:33during the preparation of the war with the Dacians.
03:36The Dacians were on the other side of the Danube, in today's Romania.
03:40The main opponent of him and his army was Decebal, or Decebalus,
03:47the last Dacian king.
03:50Trajan and Decebal are still seen today, probably under the dock and over the Danube.
03:59When you visit the Djerdap gorge and the National Park Djerdap,
04:04take a break and try the obligatory fish soup,
04:08which is made from fresh fish caught from the Danube.
04:12They say that every part of Serbia has its own recipe for preparing fish soup.
04:16We prepared a traditional Golubac soup with several types of fish.
04:21This is all fresh fish, caught yesterday.
04:25It is cooked on the trees that we gather next to the Danube.
04:29It is best to cook it on those trees, it is usually fir, poplar, whatever.
04:34The smoke from those trees gives it a soft taste.
04:38This is a real Alaska soup, we learned to cook it from our ancestors, the way they cooked it.
04:47I can't wait to try what we made today.
04:50Eat it!
04:55An inseparable stop before visiting the National Park Djerdap
04:59is certainly the archaeological site of Lepenski Vir,
05:02which is the result of an intensively populated place, almost 9000 years old.
05:07They say this is the oldest city in Europe.
05:10Lepenski Vir is the oldest organized human settlement in Europe.
05:15It is the beginning of the settlement way of life in Europe.
05:19The Lepenskis left a lot of it for us.
05:22People who lived here started to inhabit this area more than 10.000 years ago.
05:28The oldest traces are marked about 9500 years before our era.
05:37The highest level of development was reached about 6300 years before our era.
05:43At that time, they already perfected the way of building houses, their architecture.
05:49Certainly, the most recognizable and significant representatives of the culture of Lepenski Vir are not people,
05:55although they were very interesting.
05:58Those are famous sculptures that represented the fishermen of divinity.
06:03In that way, we saw that Lepenskis brought the adoration of water and fish to the level of divinity.
06:11Some of the weapons, clothes and figurines can be seen in the new exhibition of the museum.
06:20It seems that life here has been connected to the river for a long time,
06:25as well as to the belief in deities, but also in creatures from the Danube.
06:29Some stories are still believed today.
06:32There is a carpenter after 200 years, some say 200, some say 50.
06:37He closes himself, like a fish.
06:42Once, it was early, about 6 o'clock, I went to the shop.
06:47The neighbor of the deceased from the other street was returning from the shop.
06:52We met on this bridge.
06:55We talked to each other.
06:58We heard something from the carpenter, but we didn't know what it was.
07:03Suddenly, like a fire, we hit each other in the head.
07:11He goes over the river, the carpenter goes up the river.
07:17He goes like a fish, a big fish.
07:25Whether you believe in myths and legends or stories about creatures from the Danube,
07:29you will agree that the visit to the east of Serbia is inevitable,
07:33if you are taken to the Balkans.
07:36You watched the Balkan trip.
07:38I believe that you have returned centuries ago,
07:41while we visited the national park Djerdap,
07:44where we saw the Golubac Fortress, Trajan's Table,
07:47but also the first permanent settlement in the area of Europe, Lepenski Vir.
07:51With new stories. See you soon!