Tršić

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, who reformed the Serbian alphabet and orthography and collected the oral poetry and dictionary that fixed the modern literary language, was born at Tršić in 1787, and the village has been developed around his birth house into an open-air museum of timber buildings in the regional style: dwellings, a school, workshops and outbuildings, some original and moved here, some reconstructed. The Vukov Sabor, held each September since 1933, missed only during the Second World War, is the oldest cultural festival in Serbia and fills the site with recitation, music and folk performance. Tronoša monastery, where Vuk was schooled, stands a couple of kilometres away. Outside the festival the village is quiet and works as a walk through vernacular architecture.

What you'll find

• The birth house - the timber dwelling and its outbuildings.
• The village museum - houses, school and workshops in regional style.
• The Vukov Sabor - the September festival of language and folk culture.
• Tronoša monastery - the nearby foundation where Vuk studied.

When to go

April to October; the Vukov Sabor in mid-September is the main event and brings large crowds. Outside it the site is calm. Winter opening is limited.

Practical notes

Much of the village is reconstruction rather than original fabric. Interpretation assumes knowledge of Karadžić and is mostly in Serbian, so the significance may not land for visitors unfamiliar with him. Festival weekends are crowded and parking is difficult.

Nearby

Banja Koviljača lies northwest; Tronoša monastery is close by.