Šargan Eight
Šargan Eight | |
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760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) |
The Šargan Eight (
"Museum-Tourism Complex Šargan Eight" within the
History
Origin
Construction began during
Digging was extremely hard. Despite so many water sources, the slopes of the Šargan were barren and infested with snakes. The local population called the mountain rocks kremenjak (
From the station in Mokra Gora, the Austrians conducted the railway across the village cemetery in Markovo Polje . Despite begging from the local population to leave the cemetery alone, Austrian engineers and technicians were marking the route by digging wooden sticks next to the graves and tombstones. They were followed by the workers who were then digging the remains out of the graves. The cemetery was split in two, and remains so to this day, though the tracks were never operational.[5]
From the cemetery, tracks continue to lead along the valley of the Kamešina river and then disappear. Next to this ending are walls, which were used to dam the river. Tracks resurface later, continuing up the Šargan, reaching the Budim hill. In 1916, after an explosion during the digging of the "Budim" tunnel, the ceiling collapsed killing the entire shift of workers. Between 150 and 200 Italian and Russian prisoners were killed. After this, the Austrians quit further works on the construction of the railway.[5] They placed a small memorial to mark the disaster.[6] Today, the locality is on the route and is called Deveti Kilometar ("ninth kilometer"), because 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of tracks were built before the disaster.[7]
Yugoslavia
The works were halted and were only continued in 1921, in the newly formed
The construction of the railway was to be finished in April 1924. However, due to the problems with the constructors, which had to be changed, the first train to Vardište passed through on 25 January 1925. Additional number of bridges, tunnels and supporting walls than originally planned had to be built. At the portal of the Vardište tunnel, which was to be a border one before the war, there is a sculpture of Serbian soldier crushing the crown of the Austria-Hungary with his foot.[6] In total, there are 22 tunnels and five larger bridges on the route.[7] The railroad left Užice at the elevation of 404 m (1,325 ft), peaking at the Šargan tunnel at 808 m (2,651 ft).[8] The entire area is abundant in water, which gave name to the village Mokra Gora ("Wet Mountain"). There are 365 known water springs along the route. The water is literally dripping down the tunnel walls.[4]
The railroad connected Belgrade to the
21st century
Touristic complex Mokra Gora was opened in 2000.
An extension to Višegrad was finished on 28 August 2010, and the line became operational in September 2011.[1] The Mokra Gora-Višegrad branch is 25 kilometres (16 mi) long.[7] It was planned to extend the railway to the village of Kremna by the end of 2011, and in 2013 to extend to the city of Užice. However, by 2021, though 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of tracks were placed, the remaining 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) needed to reach Kremna were not finished.[1]
As of 2017, the train popularly named "Ćira" but officially called "Nostalgia", still runs only on the route Mokra Gora-Šargan Vitasi-Mokra Gora, with occasionally running to Višegrad. During the snowy periods, it runs only from Mokra Gora to Jatare. In 2017 season it had 75,000 visitors, out of which 25,000 were foreign tourists.[9] Attractions include the restaurant carved into the rock at Šargan and a rock named "crazy stone" (Serbian colloquialism for getting married) at Golubići, which "invokes love".[4] In the 2019 season, number of visitors grew to 88,000.[10]
By the 2020s, the area along the route of the Šargan Eight developed into the touristic complex. It includes Mokra Gora (with inns), Kusturica's ethno-village Drvengrad, ski resort Iver, excursion areas Jatare and Jatarice (with small river lake), Kamišina hiking path, Kamišina waterfalls, water spring Bele Vode (discovered in 1994 after the Kamišina flooding, declared a medicinal), resting areas and pathways made of old rails and car springs, etc. Along the Kamišina river there is even narrower, today out of use railway, which was used for the local timber transport. A small, wooden Orthodox church, was built in 2011, with blessing from both Serbian and Russian Orthodox Churches. Dedicated to the Seven Martyrs of Ephesus, it is a memorial chapel for all those who worked on the railroad's construction, including the killed prisoners of war. There is another church across the river, dedicated to the Saint John the Baptist. A bridge in front of the church was built in 2009.[11]
By September 2022, the Jatare station was the only one of five where not one ticket was ever sold. The Golubići station was actually one of the sets for Kusturica's film Life Is a Miracle. The sets developed into Drvengrad after the filming was finished, and Golubići became a tourist attraction of its own. Jatare's scenic viewpoint is Devojačka Stena ("girl's boulder"), with view on Mokra Gora and Bele Vode, with its water spring. Attraction along the route also include the 14th century's Dobrun monastery.[7]
In 2019 reconstruction of the tunnels began. Works should be finished by 2021, a centennial of the construction works on the railroad.[4] Also in 2019, the connection to Višegrad was again discontinued, but was restored in late August 2022.[12]
Protection
The area surrounding the railway was placed under the preliminary protection by the government in 2005. In 2008. the area was officially protected as the "Šargan-Mokra Gora" nature park. It covers an area of 108.13 km2 (41.75 sq mi) and includes the whole of the Mokra Gora basin, part of the Kremna basin, southeast slopes of the Tara, northwest slopes of the Zlatibor, and the Šargan pass, which divides these two mountains. The preservation of Šargan Eight was specifically named as one of the reasons for protection in government's decree.[13]
Gallery
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See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Branko Pejović (13 June 2021). Пунолетство "ћире" на Шаргану [Maturity of "Ćira" in Šargan]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1237 (in Serbian). pp. 18–19.
- ^ Branko Pejović (3 December 2021). "Mokra Gora izabrana za najbolje turističko selo sveta" [Mokra Gora selected as the best tourism village in the world]. Politika (in Serbian). pp. 1 & 14.
- ^ "UNWTO ANNOUNCES LIST OF 'BEST TOURISM VILLAGES' 2021". United Nations World Tourism Organization. 2 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Goran Volf (12 July 2019). Обнова пруге кроз једно село на три планине [Reconstruction of the railroad through one village on three mountains]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 13.
- ^ a b c d e Branko Pejović (15 February 2020). Окупатор правио пругу преко српског гробља [Occupational forces built railway across Serbian cemetery]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 20.
- ^ a b c d e f Branko Pejović (31 December 2020). "Vek od graditeljskog podviga na Šarganu [izvodi iz knjige Pecajući starom prugom od Užica do Višegrada Dragana R. Filipovića" [A century from the construction feat at Šargan [excerpts from the book Fishing along the old rail from Užice to Višegrad by Dragan R. Filipović]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 20.
- ^ a b c d e f g Miroslav Stefanović (11 September 2022). Пруга на Мокрој гори - "Носталгија" пуна чежње и лепоте [Mokra Gora railway - "Nostalgy" full of desire and beauty]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1302 (in Serbian). pp. 28–29.
- ^ Branko Pejović (4 April 2023). "Tuneli kraj Đetinje doživeli stotu" [Đetinja tunnels reached 100 years]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 18.
- ^ Branko Pejović (31 October 2017), ""Ćira" na "osmici" ove sezone prevezao 75.000 putnika" ["Ćira" on "Šargan Eight" transported 75,000 travelers this season], Politika (in Serbian)
- ^ Branko Pejović (26 November 2019). Рекордна сезона на "Шарганској осмици" [Record season at "Šargan Eight"]. Politika (in Serbian).
- ^ Branko Pejović (28 November 2021). Адут Мокре Горе у избору за најлепше село [Mokra Gora's trump in the selection of the most beautiful village]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1261 (in Serbian). pp. 20–21.
- ^ N.K. (29 August 2022). ""Nostalgija" ponovo saobraća prugom uskog koloseka od Mokre Gore do Višegrada" ["Nostalgia" again connects Mokra Gora and Višegrad via the narrow gauge]. Danas (in Serbian).
- ^ Slavica Stuparušić (26 January 2021). "Čari Mokre Gore" [Charms of Mokra Gora]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 34.