Sokobanja

Sokobanja is located in the central part of South-Eastern Serbia, at the latitude of 43° 63′ N and longitude of 21° 87′ E, at the altitude of 400 m. It is situated in a valley, surrounded by a wreath of medium-high mountains: Ozren (1174 m) in the south, Rtanj (1560 m) in the north, Devica in the south-east (1116 m), Slemen (1099 m) and Krstatac (1069 m) in the east and Bukovik (894 m) and Rozanj (897 m) in the west. The river Moravica which flows through Sokobanja makes the Bovan lake, in the western part of the valley.
Sokobanja is 35 km away from the highway E-75 and the main rail-road, which are reachable by regional road to Aleksinac. Sokobanja is 230 km away from Beograd and the airport „Nikola Tesla“ and 58 km away from Nis and the airport „Emperor Constantin“. It is also connected with the Timok region by the roads that go through Boljevac and Knjazevac. Municipality of Sokobanja occupies the area of 525 km² and has around 16.000 inhabitants and the town itself has 8.000.
Nowadays Sokobanja is a well known spa and health resort, not only in Serbia but also abroad. Throughout the history, at first roman terme, than turkish „amam“, and Duke Milos’s bath, it has developed into a modern health-recreational center built on its healing wells.
By order of Duke Milos Obrenovic, the first expert analysis of the Sokobanja thermal water and its healing effects were carried out in Vienna, in 1834, and the first officially sent guest, with a written recommendation (voucher), arrived in Sokobanja on the 8th of June in 1837 (by the Julian calendar), which indicates that Sokobanja has the longest tradition of organized tourism at the territory of „EX Yugoslavia“.
At the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century, Sokobanja was an elite summer resort and the meeting place of Serbian aristocracy and bohemians. The regular guests of Sokobanja were well-known writers, actors, artists: Branislav Nusic, the creator of the famous saying: „Sokobanja, Sokograd, one comes old but leaves young“, Stevan Sremac, Isidora Sekulic, Ivo Andric, Meso Selimovic, Milos Zutic…
Sokobanja is one of leading spas in Serbia regarding the health tourism and one of the most visited touristic centers in Serbia.