The central place of the life of Vrnjačka Banja is the beautiful spa Promenade that stretches along the entire length of the Vrnjačka River on one side, and has cafes, restaurants, shops and other attractions for walkers on the other side.
There is also a cinema on the Promenade, as well as the city library Dr. Dušan Radić, in front of which is the Culture Square, a venue for various cultural and entertainment events. On the Square of Culture, there is a magnificent artificial waterfall that fits into Crkveno brdo so beautifully, as if it has always been there.
The central place of the promenade is one of the symbols of Vrnjačka Banja, Gočko sparrow, which is a must for your photography that will eternalize your memory of the visit to this spa pearl.
Along the entire river promenade there are linden trees that provide a pleasant refuge during hot days, and the promenade itself is connected to Vrnjačka Banja Park with more than twenty bridges, among which we can single out the Bridge of Love as one of the places you must visit when in Vrnjačka Banja.
What makes it easier to manage are the numerous signposts of the sights that should be seen and visited, such as the Japanese Garden, the Castle of Culture, numerous mineral springs, and numerous cultural and entertainment spots. Everything you want to find and see is the most accessible from the Vrnjačka promenade, because everything is at your fingertips from there.
The fountain occupies a central place in the large spa park. It is a place that attracts with its beauty the guests of Vrnjačka Banja, who often rest on one of the nearby benches and enjoy the murmur of water and the view of the beautiful flower gardens of the Central Spa Park.
The summer stage was renovated in 2017 and has 1,500 seats. The people of Vrnjačka Banja have always nurtured culture, and the summer stage is a place that has attracted many visitors over the years, both from the surroundings of Vrnjačka Banja and beyond…
In memory of the great Serbian actor Danilo Bata Stojković, his Memorial Room was opened within the amphitheater that has been named after him since 2010. That is how the most valuable of his possessions became available to the public. The Memorial Room on the Vrnjačka Summer Stage symbolizes the tie between the legendary actor and the most famous Serbian spa. The giant whose appearance used to gravitate crowds toward the Spa is still alive for the people of Vrnjačka Banja. And they still see him in a room filled with his books and personal belongings.
In this room, visitors and admirers of Bata’s character and work will be able to see his personal belongings – suit, ties, cigar holder and pipe, ashtray from Atelier 212, umbrella, cane, original scripts for s legendary roles, books he loved to read, favorite armchair, newspaper clippings, photographs from filming and theater performances, some of the many significant awards and recognitions.
The spirit of Japan in the heart of Vrnjačka Banja is what we can call the garden located in the continuation of the central spa park, and arranged according to the Japanese concept. It was opened in 2011 and this is not the first garden arranged according to this principle. There is one in Belgrade, but with an area of about 30 acres. The Vrnjačka Banja garden is more extensive and even more unique as it is located in a large park complex.
Conceived as a blend of living and non-living nature and their complementary elements, the garden demonstrates maximum use of space with minimal disruption of the natural environment. A place that exudes serenity as you walk along a narrow paved path that leads you to a small pond into which water flows from cascading waterfalls. Intoxicated by this beautiful sight, you can cross a wooden bridge and relax in a tea house. When the first dark begins to rise, this place continues to live thanks to the lamps that give the garden a special charm.
In addition to bringing together two cultures, the Japanese Garden in Vrnjačka Banja is a place that will further relax you from everyday stress and fatigue and bring peace to the soul of every visitor to this magical place.
The Central Park has another tourist attraction – a labyrinth with a total of 1 km of park paths and 440 conifers forming a green wall. The Labyrinth Park is right next to the Japanese Garden. It was formed by planting 440 cypress seedlings.
The labyrinth park is 32 meters long and 23 meters wide in a circular area. The hedge walls are about 2 meters high. The labyrinth also has several dead ends.
This cute sparrow was created as a symbol and mascot of the Games without Borders, held in Vrnjačka Banja in 1990. This event, which originated in France as an idea of the then President of France, Charles de Gaulle, aimed to strengthen the friendly relations between France and Germany through recreational and entertaining games. Over time, the manifestation went beyond its original framework and became global, and in the period from 1978-1982 our country was also a participant.
In 1990, Yugoslavia once again participated in the games, this time as the host, and the games were held in the queen of spa tourism, Vrnjačka Banja. As the games were of entertaining character, the contestants were dressed in unusual costumes and performed unusual tasks. Accordingly, the symbol of the games was a sparrow wearing a šajkača (Serbian national hat) and opanci (traditional peasant shoes), elements of traditional Serbian costume. Set up to wink greet the participants in the competition, he has remained in the same place since then to greet all those who visit Vrnjačka Banja.
Preserving the tradition, Gočko stands proudly and waves to everyone who comes his way. The area in front of it, Plato kod vrapca, is the central place of the carnival spectacle held every year in Vrnjačka Banja. Almost everyone who visits Vrnjačka Banja gets a souvenir or a photo with the cute sparrow to remember the moments spent in the spa. If the road takes you to Vrnjačka Banja, accidentally or intentionally, don’t miss to meet the always smiling Gočko.
“Bridge of Love” is today a meeting place for romantic lovers, as well as all lovers of tourism and those curious who want to hear the story of love. It may sound unbelievable that the bridge of love and the story that gives it charm almost fell into oblivion. We must thank Desanka Maksimović who prevented this from happening. She was a frequent guest of Vrnjačka Banja, and hearing the sad love story from older locals, she wrote the song Prayer for Love, thus reviving the memory of two lovers and continuing the life of this legend.
At the dawn of World War I, while the war was not even suspected yet, a schoolmistress Nada and a Serbian officer Relja started having deep feelings for each other. They fell in love indeed and made a commitment to each other. It was a love widely talked about, attracting the attention of all the people living at Vrnjačka Banja. But the war did break out with all the horrors it entails. Relja went off to war fought in Greece. He left never to return on account of a beautiful Greek woman he had fallen in love with and therefore broke up the engagement to Nada. The legend does not say anything about his further fate, whereas, on the other hand, every inhabitant of Vrnjačka Banja is familiar with Nada’s destiny. Overwhelmed with sorrow, she faded away day after day and finally died, young and miserable.
Upset by Nada’s destiny and wishing to keep their own romances, girls started writing down their names along with the names of their lovers on padlocks they bound to the railing of the bridge which used to be the favorite meeting place of Nada and Relja. Afterward, they symbolically threw keys into the river. New wars and sufferings came up. The story fell into oblivion, and the girls’ custom to ‘bind’ their love became uncustomary. It had been the case until Desanka Maksimović, according to the stories of old residents of Vrnjačka Banja, while being on one of her numerous visits to Vrnjačka Banja, learned about the tragic story. Inspired by it, she wrote down one of her most beautiful love poems, ‘Prayer for Love.’ Although we tend to forget things, this story remains to be unforgotten; to preserve it, young couples kept on with the tradition of ‘binding’ their love – hence the bridge name ‘The Bridge of Love.’
Vrnjačka Banja has recently got another pedestrian bridge that adorns the Vrnjačka River. The bridge with the interesting name “Who is Singin’ Over There” was built in honor of the great Yugoslav and Serbian actor, and on the initiative of the association “Danilo Bata Stojković.”
In this way, a kind of recognition was given to film artists, many of whom were welcomed guests of Vrnjačka Banja. Vrnjacka Banja also has a film bridge with a railing decorated with themes and motifs from the film whose name it bears. If you visit Vrnjačka Banja, be a part of film history, visit the bridge “Who is Singin’ Over There,” and keep in mind the replica from the legendary film: “I would drive the bus this way.”
One of the bridges on the Vrnjačka River is dedicated to mathematics. It is perhaps the only bridge in the world dedicated to this science. And it all started in 2011 when our most prominent chess player Svetozar Gligorić organized in Vrnjci a simultaneous exhibition on several dozen boards by the river.
Among the participants in the simultaneous exhibition were several mathematicians, who at that time attended the first international symposium of mathematicians in the Belimarković Castle in Vrnjačka Banja. Enthusiastic about the event, the mathematicians agreed that one bridge would be dedicated to their science, in memory of the first gathering of mathematicians in the spa.
Boards with verses and quotes from our famous writers, songwriters, poets are found next to flower pots on the “Spomenar” bridge.
Here are verses by Miroslav Antić, Desanka Maksimović, Duško Trifunović and others who marked an era in our lives and whose verses and quotes will live forever.
The “Daljinar” bridge is located in front of the “Srbija” restaurant, next to the most beautiful alley of linden trees, planted by the legendary president of the Vrnjačka municipality, Duke Lune, in the late 1920s.
According to former Vrnjačka Banja priest Sava Petrović, the famous spa waiter Nedeljko Neđa Ilić was often seen on this bridge, gathering guests around him and telling them how far it is from the great world capitals. In order to preserve the memory of Neđa, this bridge was named “Daljinar” (distance meter).
Belimarković Castle is, along with the Vrnjačka Church, is the oldest building in Vrnjačka Banja. It was built on a slope above the mineral water spring “Topla voda,” modeled on castles from Italy and Poland. The conceptual solution was by the general’s nephew, civil engineer Pavle Denić.
The works were supervised by Austrian civil engineer Franz Winter, in the period from 1888 to 1894. Most of the work was completed in 1889. Until the seventies of the last century, the heirs of General Belimarković lived in it, when it was bought to be converted to a culture facility. Today, this cultural property is managed by the “Cultural Center of Vrnjacka Banja.” Today it houses the Homeland Museum, which is a complex type and relates to the territory of Vrnjačka Banja and its surroundings, with archeological, ethnographic, historical (collection of graphic and tourist propaganda of Vrnjci, collection of architectural heritage, collection of old postcards, collection of photographs, collection of old photo negatives on glass), art collection (sculptures, paintings, graphics …) and General Belimarković’s room “.
The permanent exhibition consists of three settings:
- “Ladarište – prehistory of Vrnjci,”
- “Ethnographic Heritage of Vrnjačka Banja”,
- “Memorial Room of General Belimarković.”
One of the sights certainly gets a special dimension as it offers cinema projections, both to tourists and locals. The Vrnjačka Banja Cinema as part of the Cultural Center of Vrnjačka Banja is an integral part of many cultural events, among which we can certainly single out the Screenplay Festival as screenings important for the festival are given in the cinema hall. The Vrnjačka Banja cinema is located on the Vrnjačka Banja promenade in Villa “Evropa”, which is one of the first spa facilities built in absolute accordance with the construction laws of the time.
The cinema was and remains a kind of window into the world, bringing the spirit of world cinematography to Vrnjačka Banja. If you are a fan of motion picture, you will not be deprived of current world titles. We must single out a special program for the youngest, where kids can enjoy the latest titles from the world of animated and cartoon films. If you visit Vrnjacka Banja, you can be sure that apart from nature and healing spa water, you can enjoy the latest world movie titles and thus remain in the heart of events, even though you are actually far from the crowds.
