Čačak

About Čačak

Just downstream from Čačak, the West Morava squeezes between the mountains Ovčar and Kablar and loops back on itself in a series of perfect meanders, with small Orthodox monasteries tucked into the forest on either bank. That gorge is the reason many travellers come, but the town itself, a busy regional centre of western Serbia on the banks of the same river, has a story worth stopping for.

Čačak grew around the medieval Church of the Ascension, its oldest building, and played a key part in the Second Serbian Uprising, when rebels fought the Ottomans on nearby Ljubić hill in 1815. Remains of a Roman bath lie in the centre, the National Museum gathers finds from across the region, and an art gallery honours the modernist painter Nadežda Petrović, who was born here.

Around the main square, cafes spill onto the pavements and the monument to Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović, the First World War commander who spent his last years in the town, keeps watch. Spa baths at Ovčar Banja, mountain walks and hearty plates of grilled meat with kajmak complete the picture.