Negotin and Vratna

King Milutin annexed eastern Serbia at the beginning of the 14th century, and to strengthen his presence and Serbian rule, he built a series of monasteries. Two of them can be found near the city of Negotin, which is located on the Bulgarian border not far from the Danube, where we will head next. The most important and active monastery is the large and impressive Bukovo Monastery, located on a hill overlooking the city, and to the north of it is the abandoned Koroglaš Monastery.

The small and beautiful Monastery of Vratna was also built by King Milutin, but unlike the other two, it is hidden among the mountains an hour’s drive from Negotin. In the canyon, a short walk from the monastery, is one of Serbia’s natural wonders—giant natural stone arches with a river flowing underneath. According to local belief, this is the home of the Valve, a kind of nature fairy who is half deer, half girl—perhaps a remnant of the ancient pagan belief in the horned god and the female deity. The monastery was destroyed during the Ottoman period and rebuilt in the 19th century and is now inhabited by two nuns.

vratna monastery serbia