Lepenski Vir

Lepenski Vir was a settlement of hunter-fishers on a terrace above the Danube where the river swirls in an eddy full of fish, occupied for thousands of years from around the ninth millennium BC, and it produced something nobody expected: dozens of boulders carved into figures with staring eyes and downturned, fish-like mouths, placed at the hearths of trapezoidal houses laid out to the same plan for generation after generation. They are among the earliest monumental sculptures found anywhere in Europe. When the Đerdap dam raised the river in the early 1970s the entire site was cut up and moved to higher ground, where it now sits under a modern shelter with the houses and sculptures reassembled in their original relationship, looking out at the gorge.

History

The first settlement on the low plateau dates from 9500-7200 BC, when the climate grew warmer, and occupation ran for 1,500 to 2,000 years through phases from Proto-Lepenski Vir to Lepenski Vir III; in the late phase, 6300-6000 BC, the trapezoidal houses were built to a single geometric plan. The cliff of Trescovăț, 679 m high across the river, may have served as a solar observatory (Wikipedia, Lepenski Vir).

The main sights

• The fish-faced sculptures - carved boulders from the house hearths.
• The trapezoidal houses - the repeated floor plan of the settlement.
• The reconstruction shelter - the site reassembled after being moved for the dam.
• The Đerdap gorge - the Danube narrows the settlement faced.

When to go

April to October, when the road along the gorge is at its best and the site is comfortably visited; it closes or reduces hours in winter. It combines naturally with the Đerdap national park road and Golubac fortress in a long day along the Danube.

What to expect

The site is a reconstruction under a modern roof rather than an in-situ excavation, since the original terrace lies under the reservoir, and knowing that changes how it feels. It is small, an hour or two, and remote, several hours from Belgrade along the gorge. Interpretation is decent but a guide adds a lot to what are, physically, boulders and floor outlines.

Nearby

Golubac fortress and the Đerdap gorge road are along the Danube; Donji Milanovac has accommodation.

Key facts