ZLATIBOR - mountain of gold

T here are three legends about the origin of today's name Zlatibor :

        ..."By the first one Zlatibor is supposed to get its name by white pine trees with yellow conifer (the colour of old gold), which used to cover the rolling slopes of Zlatibor. There has only one such tree remained (in the village of Negbina) and it was given the scientific name Pinus silvestris variegata Zlatiborica, by eng. Omanovic, who studied those conifer trees.
    In the second it is said that Zlatibor got its name because it was so rich with pine tree forests, that the immigrants from Monte Negro and Hercegovina boasted: "It is really a pine tree made of gold!"
    The third legend says that it got its name by the mountain pastures, that get a yellow, a golden colour in autumn.
   Which of these legends is the right one make a decision by yourselves! Or, better come to Zlatibor, maybe you'll hear a new version in the song of Zlatibor pine trees!" 

Zlatibor is a mountain of exquisit beauty. It has pleasant and mild climate large exuburent pastures intersected with mountain streams and pine trees which this mountain is probably was named after. Zlatibor is ond the highway Belgrade to the coast of Montenegro. It is situated 230km from Belgrade, capitol city of Serbia and Montenegro and 25km from Uzice. The avarage height above sea level is 1000 metres and it is surrounded by peaks called Cigota (1422m), Murtenica-Brijac (1480m), Tornik (1496m), Viogor (1281m), and with lots of other lower hills.

The first inhabitants on Zlatibor were the Illirians, then the Romans and after them this region was inhabited with Slavs.From these preiods there are remains of ancient cities. Up to the middle of the 19th century this region was called Rujno and later it was named Zlatibor.

Zlatibor - is marked by the rivers: Uvac, Kamisina and Susica and the Black Rzav runs through the middle of the mountain. In the eastern part of Zlatibor, two rivers, the Pristevica and the Katusnica run through.

It was recorded that Zlatibor had its first tourists in 1750., but till the end of 19th century staying on Zlatibor was a sort of fashion and luxury. On august 19th (the day of Trausfiguration) the Serbian king Aleksandar Obrenovic was staying here and this date is the begining of the organized development of tourism on Zlatibor. The interest in Zlatibor has increased since the king`s first visit. From this period Zlatibor was calling KRALJEVE VODE ( King`s water)

After kings first visit

The buildings of wooden summer houses, villas, hotels, sanatoriums and other objects has started. The fact that people can be cured on Zlatibor from deseases which attack both the soul and the body at the same time - psychosomatic illneses has been old for over more than the houndred years. At the same time the experts have been searching for the reason of healing which this mountain offers and it is reflected in the mild climate on the height of 1000 metres. Mountain and sea gulfs encounter here which speed up the curing and the recovering from a large number of lung and heart illneses, especually from illneses of thyroid gland and anemia.

There are a lot of cultural of cultural monuments on the teritory of the comunity of Cajetina which are of the great importance for the culture of the Republic of Serbia. Most of them have been protected by the state. They are :

• The museum "Old Village " in Sirogojno
• The Stopica Cave in Rozanstvo
• The Monastery Uvac in the village Stublo
• Wooden churches in Dobroselica, Jablanica and Kucani
• The birth house of Dimitrije Tucovic in Gostilje
• The church in Sirogojno