Drežnička Gradina

Drežnička Gradina
Drežnička Gradina
Location in Serbia
Highest point
Elevation 932 m (3,058 ft) [1]
Coordinates 43°47′02″N 19°56′14″E / 43.783889°N 19.937222°E / 43.783889; 19.937222Coordinates: 43°47′02″N 19°56′14″E / 43.783889°N 19.937222°E / 43.783889; 19.937222 
Geography
Location Serbia

Drežnička Gradina (Serbian Cyrillic: Дрежничка Градина) is a mountain in western Serbia, between cities of Požega and Užice. Its highest peak, Gradina, has an elevation of 932 m (3,058 ft) above sea level. On the cone-shaped hilltop, there is a small stone-built pyramid erected as monument to Yugoslav Partisans died in a battle against German forces in August 1941, at the time of the Republic of Užice.[2]

Potpeć Cave

View from the inside of the Potpeć cave

A prominent feature on the mountain is the cave Potpećka pećina (43°47′44″N 19°55′59″E / 43.79556°N 19.93306°E / 43.79556; 19.93306), located near the village of Potpeće. Its main entrance, 72 m (236 ft) tall, is the largest of all caves on the Balkans. Apart from the main, upper entrance for tourists, there is a smaller, lower entrance into an underground lake, which overflows in rainy seasons, creating an intermittent water flow called Petnica, flowing into Đetinja river. The upper hall has lightened tourist trail, 555 m (1,821 ft) long, reachable by a circular staircase of over 700 stairs. The hall with stalactites and stalagmites is still geologically active, and is protected from outer atmosphere by an iron gate.[3][4]

Seen from the inside, the main entrance resembles the shape of the mammoth. The cave was explored by the geographer Jovan Cvijić in the 19th century and by Radenko Lazarević in the mid-20th century. A rare form of speleothems, helictites, developed in the cave. The speleothems are given jocular names: Single guy, Uncle Ljuba and his cats, Eagle on the rock, Snow White and the seven dwarfs. The largest hall is called Cvijić hall. In the lower section of the cave, artifacts were discovered which show that the Neolithic people inhabited the cave. The cave's open season is from April to November and in 2016 it had 7,000 visitors. Additional attractions in the vicinity of the cave include numerous trout fish ponds along the Petnica and the adjoining restaurants, so as the village tourism in the villages of Potpeć, and especially, Zlakuse, known for its pottery.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Drežnička Gradina (in Serbian), Staze i Bogaze
  2. ↑ Radoslav Poznanović, Istorijski i kulturni spomenici (1945-1975) (PDF), City of Užice
  3. ↑ Potpećka Pećina
  4. ↑ Ivana Kladarin Panić (2010-06-22), Potpećka pećina, podzemni biser Srbije, JAT Revija/B92
  5. ↑ B.Pejović (2 June 2017), "Pećinski ulaz u obliku mamuta", Politika (in Serbian), p. 27


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