Brankovina

At 11 kilometres away from Valjevo an outstanding tourist and cultural place in the country. Take the road to Sabac and just after the village of Brankovina mind, by descending, a plate indicating a cylinder to the left “Tourist Complex Brankovina”. Keep going on and you will arrive quickly in the historic village recognisable by its wooden fences which surround it completely. The entrance is 50 dinars.

In an idyllic framework this village appeared in XV century, and in XIX century it became the cradle of the family of Nenadovic. Knez Aleksa, vojvoda Jakov and the archpriest Mateja, and additionally Sima and Ljuba. Otherwise the school of Brankovina had greeted in its benches the poetess Desanka Maksimovic. All this makes the Serbs to visit the village very often.

If you begin your visit on the left you will discover the Saints Archangels Church Michael and Gabriel constructed in 1830 to take places of many little churches made of wood burnt by Turks. The interior is enough sober, but contains two treasuries: the manuscripts of Hadzi Ruvim as well as the Ancient and the New Testaments being brought from Russia by the archpriest Mateja. By coming out of the church go to the left to see the tombs of Knez Nenadovic and Desanka Maksimovic. On the right from the main entrance there is first the museum where the books, photos and several texts by Desanka Maksimovic. Here the Serbian poetess used to study because the school had been constructed in 1895. Then you enter the ancient primary school where the ancient school benches, the true schoolrooms of that age and the wall maps and the donkey hats are displayed. Built in 1834 by the archpriest Matej, it tends to give a picture of a typical school in Serbia. 1804. finally this square house of wood is a “vajat”. That is a traditional peasant house. Consisting of one piece only. Here the new married used to receive the dowry. One sees the waved things and a rustic bed. Beside, “vodenica” or a wheel for water.

Brankovina has been led to develop itself with an ethno village on its extreme right created by all parts with the houses brought from the nearby mountains.
But Brankovina that is important cultural manifestations on each May 16th, the day of the anniversary of Desanka Maksimovic, the prize for the best poetry appeared within the rustic framework, and in October a meeting of all world writers. Each time the folklore groups use to dance, the poems are read or sung.