At the foothills of the mountains Bukulja and Vencac, at the altitude of about 255 m, 76 km far from Belgrade, the town of Arandelovac is situated and Bukovicka Spa is in its center. This territory used to belong to the village Vrbica, in which Prince Milos Obrenovic often used the mineral water benefits. As long ago as in 1811, Dositej Obradovic improved his health by it, and since the mineral water from Bukovik was pleasant also for Princess Ljubica, Prince Milos instructed Dr. Emerich Lindemeier, Chief of the Army Medical Corps and Superintendent of the Sanitary Department, to start the research. The received analyses were confirmed by the Vienna Laboratory and the water became curative also officially. In 1858, Prince Milos had the Church Pokajnica, devoted to St. Archengel Gavrilo, built and decided to form a town from sections of the villages Vrbica and Bukovik, called by him Arandelovac. So, with his assistance, the development of the spa tourism in this region began. The mineral water, already at that time supplied and used at the Royal Court, upon personal request of Prince Milos, was bottled by hand as Bukovicka Water Knjaz (Prince) Milos, in time, as table water, it was awarded international quality awards (in 1906, in Brussels, in 1907, in London, in 1996 in Brussels and Varna).

Although this region history goes back to prehistory, the remnants of which may be seen in the nearby Risovaca Cave and the National Museum of Arandelovac, safekeeping many exhibits within paleontology, archeology, ethnology and history as witnesses of the financial and spiritual culture in the regions of this section of Sumadija, the Arandelovac synonym is certainly Bukovicka Spa, the medical tourism center. It is surrounded by a park having the area of more than 22 hectares. The park land was bought already in 1849 and the first paths were marked at that time, the trees were planted, the springs and baths Talpara and Dulara were arranged. In the 1870’s, during the rule of Prince Mihailo Obrenovic, Bukovicka Spa became one of the best arranged balneology tourism settlements and building of the Old Edifice, the oldest preserved facility in the park, an example of Serbian Romanticism Architecture, was started as the Dynasty’s Summer Residence and the Assembly House. And when so-called ‘Picnic Train’ was introduced, in 1906, and used by Belgrade inhabitants every weekend in the season to travel from Topcider to Arandelovac, it was clear that Bukovicka Spa became the most popular fashionable meeting point of Serbia at that time.

Although the times changed and Bukovicka Spa is not what it was anymore, the tourists still have something to see and experience. Arandelovac has got two Churches of St. Archengel Gavrilo – One of them was built in 1835, on the foundations of the Medieval Church since 1480 and the Archpriest Atanasije Bukovicki swore the rebels to the fidelity to their fatherland and the other one was built by Prince Milos. The Clog Churches in Vencani and Darosava are also worth seeing, as well as the newly built Church of St. Apostels Peter and Paul, one of the largest ones in Sumadija. The freedom tradition of this region left the memory to the First Serbian Uprising in the village of Orasac, when creation of modern Serbian state began. In addition to the Prince Milosa Pavillion and several mineral water springs, the park under Bukulja is famous at present also for the greatest sculpture outdoor collection. These sculptor works of local and international artists were mostly created within the White Vencac International Symposium, included by the UNESCO into the most important worldwide attractions within painting arts. The beneficial characteristics of Bukovicka mineral water, although not used in once beautiful and now rather ruined buildings anymore, are still the treatment basis in the Special Hospital Bukovicka Spa, but they found their new usage value in the swimming pools and Aqua Park of the modern Izvor Hotel, currently the tourism development holder in this region.

WHAT TO SEE   ORASAC On February 15,1804, at the Presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple, it was decided at the village of Orasac, near Arandelovac, to raise the First Serbian Uprising and Karadorde Petrovic was proclaimed the superior leader. A monument complex was built in the memory of it, consisting of the Assumption Church, Memory School and Memory Fountain in Maricevica Ditch, Karadorde Museum and Sculpture.       RISOVACA CAVE At the Arandelovac entrance, there is Risovaca Hill, with the Cave under the same name, famous among scientists under the name „The Underground Paleolythic Museum“. It includes the prehistoric man and animal reconstructions       VENCAC AND BUKULJA Marked hiking paths, starting from the Spa Park, lead to the mountain Bukulja (696 m). On the top is 19 m high view point. Vencac (658m), famous for marble, from which the St. George Church on Oplenac, French Embassy in Belgrade and a section of White House in Washington were built.       THE GARASI LAKE At the foothills of the mountain Bukulja, there is the accummulation lake of Garasi, famous picnic place of Arandelovac inhabitants.       TOPOLA - OPLENAC 15 km far from Arandelovac is Topola, with the Karadordevici Memorial Complex on Oplenac.

Tourist organization of Arandelovac + 381 34 715335 office.toar@gmail.com www.bukovickabanja.rs