Stone Bridges of Eastern Serbia | Natural Heritage of Serbia

No, this is not a story about stone-built bridges, but about natural stone bridges, known as natural arches, a unique natural phenomenon that, although not necessarily rare in the world, is attractive, unusual, and inexplicable at first glance.

Simply put, these are natural rocky arches of varying sizes, clearly distinguished from the surrounding relief as stone bridges that usually span over a river. In this case, the bridge is merely a symbolic term for easier understanding of this captivating geomorphological form.

Geographers and geologists still debate the origin of these arches, and two theories stand out as the most logical.

According to one of them, stone bridges are remnants of ancient, archaic caves that, through natural processes, collapsed over hundreds of thousands of years, leaving only parts of their ceilings as a series of tunnels or arches, now known as arches.

The other theory starts from the fact that some rocks in nature are more solid and resistant to erosion than others, and this is why stone bridges, being more durable rocks, have withstood erosion and now protrude so prominently from the surrounding relief.

Regardless, this attractive relief phenomenon appears exclusively in mountainous areas, and in Serbia, it can be found in several places in the eastern part of the country. Moreover, in the relatively small area of "Carpathian" Serbia, between the Velika Morava, Danube, and Timok rivers, the concentration of these rare geomorphological forms is the highest in Europe. The most famous among them are:

VRATNA ARCHES, stretching over the Vratna River in the vicinity of Negotin. This is the most beautiful example of arches in Europe and believed to be one of the tallest natural stone bridges on the continent (26 meters). The Vratna Arches actually consist of three stone bridges in a row - Suva, Mala, and Velika Arches. The arches can be reached on foot via a beaten earth path that leads upstream from Vratna Monastery, following the valley of the Vratna River.

RAJSKA ARCH on the Zamna River, near the village of Plavna, also near Negotin. This stone bridge is less accessible than the aforementioned one, but reaching it is a real adventure for nature lovers, involving a little wading through the river, hiking, and overcoming some minor physical obstacles along the way - nothing that rubber boots and a bit of physical fitness cannot handle.

OSANICA ARCH is probably the most accessible of all the previous ones. It is located in the Osanica village area, near Žagubica, in the Osanica River gorge, where its valley sides connect, forming a kind of tunnel in the middle of the river valley, about thirty meters long. The Osanica River flows through the tunnel, so boots or waterproof footwear are also necessary to pass through it.

VALJA ARCH is located approximately halfway between Majdanpek and Rudna Glava on the regional road. It is possible to reach the arch via a 1.3-kilometer hiking trail that leads from the regional road to the stone bridge itself. Valja Arch spans over the eponymous stream, forming an arc with a height of 48 meters, making it the tallest arch in Serbia. This natural monument is of exceptional importance and, as an easily accessible site, is one of the main tourist attractions in the municipality of Majdanpek.

These four attractive stone bridges in a relatively small geographic area are an exceptional natural rarity in the world. Therefore, if you possess a bit of adventurous spirit, curiosity, and physical fitness, I highly recommend an exciting (ad)venture through eastern Serbia.