"Serbian Pompeii" on Mt. Tara: Pancic discovered the famous spruce species near Zaovine Lake dam

Photo: Ivan Strahinic

In the Tara National Park, in the southern part of the mountain by the same name, lies Zaovine Lake, an artificial accumulation created between 1975 and 1983.

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It is filled up by two streams - the Konjska River and the Beli Rzav, and as the water level often oscillates, capillary action allows water from four smaller nearby lakes to flow into Zaovine.

In order to form the lake, the village of Zaovine had to be flooded and sumberged.

That is why the locals often call this area as the "Serbian Pompeii," a reference to the ancient city that was destroyed in a Vesuvius eruption. When water is low in Zaovine Lake, the remains of flooded houses can be discerned.

Beautiful nature, clean water and, as many claim, the tastiest trout in Serbia, attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to this part of Mt. Tara.

It is also a challenge for mountaineers, because one can reach the top of Janjac via Karaklija, which offers a panoramic view of the new village of Zaovine on one side, and the town of Visegrad and the famous bridge on the Drina River on the other.

It was precisely near Zaovine, near where the dam is today, that Serbian botanist Josif Pancic in 1875 first noticed a spruce, which he called "the ice beauty" and which was later named after him. This conifer tree is still a great scientific mystery, because its origin has not been fully studied.

Photo: Ivan Strahinic

(Ona.rs)