Stari Ras and Sopocani

We visited all four sites of the Stari Ras and Sopocani cluster in October 2023, by public transport with two nights in Novi Pasar. As we had stayed in Studenica the night before we made it to Novi Pasar by the early afternoon (on three different busses) and saw St Peter’s already from the bus going into town. After checking into our accommodation there was time to walk out to St Peter’s and back (about 30 minutes each way). Later, we checked out the busses for Sopocani.

The next day we took the bus towards Bacica at 10.30 – the first one would have been around 6 am. The bus passes first Stari Ras, then Sopocani, and returns an hour later. So we got off at Sopocani, notified the driver that we would go back with him, and indeed caught the same bus going back after our Sopocani visit. Only for 10 minutes or so, when we got off at Stari Ras.

The few ruins along the road, Trgovište, didn’t require more than a quick glance. We immediately set off to find the path behind the resort hotel (near the playground inside the hotel gardens; there was also a map) and walked up. City shoes were not really appropriate for the steep gravel path to the Gradina Fortress. Going up took about 30 minutes; we walked the length of the fortress and took a second path from the far side down (the path forks somewhere on the hillside).

I visited this WHS in 2022. This WHS is made up of four completely different locations and sites, and is one of those WHS which turned out to be a sort of mini treasure hunt to complete, reminding mostly of the Val de Boi churches in Catalunya or the Romanesque churches of Andorra, probably because of the Sopocani Monastery which stands out from all the other locations.

I must say I enjoyed my visit overall but I didn't have high expectations. I based myself at the comfortable and cheap RAS Pazatiste also mentioned in Philipp's review, away from the hustle and bustle of Novi Pazar. Just opposite the parking lot there are a few foundation remains and graffiti of what was once the Ras Medieval Town and Market Place. If it weren't for the brown sign just opposite the hotel's parking lot I wouldn't have even noticed. Near the wooden bridge entrance of the hotel, there is a UNESCO information board showing the tiny steep uphill trail to the Gradina Fortress wall remains on an outcrop high above the hotel. The trail begins from just next to the children's playground. Don't get startled as I did; there are a couple of stray dogs that made this trail their home. There isn't much to see if truth be told, not even a decent view. It is definitely the weakest location of the four.

Around 5 km away from the hotel, there's Sopocani Monastery, the highlight of this WHS (together …

Site visited July 2016. Stari Ras and Sopoćani is generally least known and visited among the six Yugoslavian sites which were inscribed in 1979. Although the name makes you think that there are two sites the inscription consists of four separate sites around the town of Novi Pazar. This group of medieval monuments of the first capital of Serbia gives you an interesting insight to the history of the country.

I travelled to Novi Pazar by bus from Belgrad and visited the Studenica Monastery during the trip. I spent the whole next day exploring these four sites. Novi Pazar is predominantly a muslim city which is noteworthy in Eastern Orthodox Serbia. You can immediately notice that on the streets. The border of Kosovo is just a few kilometers away. I hired a taxi to take me to the sites. This is very cheap like everything is in Serbia. Three of the sites are outside of Novi Pazar: Stari Ras 8 kilometers, Sopoćani 13 km and Djurdjevi Stupovi 5 km from the city center. Only the Saint Peters Church is within a walking distance from the center of Novi Pazar.

This site is the only one of Yugoslavian legendary 'six of 1979' (the others are Dubrovnik, Kotor, Ohrid, Plitvice and Split) which is not a target of international mass tourism. It would be interesting to know why Stari Ras and Sopoćani has been selected to the same group among the huge potential of former Yugoslavia. …

I visited Sopocani as part of a road trip through Serbia, starting and ending in Belgrade. The site is a bit off the beaten path and certainly not in a tourist region. Novi Pazar is one of these towns that make you doubt you are in a developed part of the world. The sites within the city however are easy to find. St Peter’s church and the cemetery were open for visit without entry fee. We spent the night in Stari Ras, which is actually just a hotel and some ruins.

From the hotel (RAS Pazatiste) there is a small footpath leading to the fortress ruin on the top of the hill. It’s a nice little hike and chances are you won’t meet anybody and have the ruins all for yourself. From the hotel you can follow the road to the Sopocani monastery (around 7mins by car). You will find a smaller version of the Studenica monastery, but still enjoyable enough to be worth the effort.

I had to create another WHS hunting trip itinerary around my annual skiing trip, and this winter the ski resort of my choice was at Jahorina, Bosnia, the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics. So I attempted to bag remaining WHSs in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. Unlike last winter when I couldn't move around in Bulgaria due to criplingly heavy snow, there wasn't so much snow in the Balkan this winter, so I was able to follow my itinerary fairly well, although bus timetables I got off internet in Serbia and Bosnia were way off. 

Flew from Berlin to Nis in Serbia and took bus from Nis through Kraljevo and Usce to Novi Pazar. 

The day I arrived in Novi Pazar, I just walked to St. Peter's Church, which was about 2 km from my hotel. 

A woman at the bus station of Novi Pazar had told me there was no bus to the Stari Ras area, and completely forgetting seeing a bus in Els' photo at the Stari Ras area, I decided to take a taxi the following morning from Novi Pazar to Stari Ras and Sopocani Monastery for 13 Euros. Well, the woman probably thought infrequent bus would be too inconvenient for me...

We headed to the Sopocani Monastery first, and I saw a bus passing by the Monastery...Damn...

There was no attendant at the Monastery, so I just freely walked around, having the taxi wait for me for about 20 min. 

After Sopocani I was …

This WHS lies about 60km south of Studenica Monastery, and their histories are strongly related. The area was the heartland of medieval Serbia. Now the region lies at the end of a beautiful winding road through a valley. It ends at Novi Pazar, the current regional capital that has preserved some buildings from Ottoman times. There is somewhat of an "end of the world"-feeling to it, as the area is close to the borders with Montenegro and Kosovo.

The site consists of 4 separate monuments. These are all scattered around Novi Pazar within a circle of some 10km. I planned to visit all of them, and fortunately, each is well-signposted via the large brown signs that are signaling to monuments worldwide.

My first stop was Sopocani Monastery, which I found at the end of a small backroad full of potholes. There's a tiny car park, and the man attending the monastery shop was already on the lookout for me. I did visit the main church first. It's a large romanesque structure, not too spectacular from the outside. The interior has a wealth of murals, painted in the same style as the ones in Studenica. This church is much larger and higher though, so the murals get more natural light.

On the road to Sopocani the remains of the old town, Stari Ras are to be found also. Well, I noticed some piles of stones across the street from Motel Stari Ras, so I guessed that must be …