Welcome to Vrnjačka Banja

The bridge of love is a meeting place for both lovers and all tourists and curious people who visit Vrnjačka Banja. Today, it is rightfully one of the most visited and most important places in the tourist offer of the spa, although the story that gives it its charm has almost fallen into oblivion. To prevent this from happening, we owe our gratitude to Desanka Maksimović who, as a frequent guest of Vrnjačka Banja, learned about the tragic love story from the older residents and, inspired by it, wrote one of her most beautiful love songs "Prayer for Love" and thus revived the memory of two people in love and contributed to keep the legend alive.
The love story is set in the period immediately before the First World War, when teacher Nada and Serbian officer Relja fell in love. The great love captured the attention of all the people of Vrnjačka Banja, everyone was talking about them, and the favorite meeting place of the two young people was precisely the bridge in the park. Their love was interrupted by the war, which took Relja to the front in Greece, and left Nada waiting for his beloved. However, Relja never returned, all because of the beautiful Greek woman for whom he broke off the engagement. Nada is left to suffer and, crushed by pain and grief, eventually dies. The story grew into a legend, and the legend lived on. Shaken by the fate of the young teacher, and wanting to preserve their love, girls today write their names and the names of their boyfriends on padlocks, tie them to the fence of the bridge, and throw the keys into the river.
Symbolically, the Bridge of love was the inspiration for holding the first Lovefest in Vrnjačka Banja, and today it holds a traditional competition for the longest kiss and is an unavoidable point for all couples who celebrate their love in this symbolic way.

One of the symbols of Vrnjačka Banja, Vrabac Gočko (Gočko The Sparrow), is located in the central part of the Vrnjačka promenade, which is an indispensable place for taking photos. The statue is decorated with traditional Serbian "opanak" and "šajkača" (traditional peasant shoes and hat), and it got its name from Goč mountain, at the foot of which Vrnjačka Banja is located. This cute sparrow was actually created as a mascot for the "Games without Borders", a very popular television game show in Europe during the 20th-century, which were held in Vrnjačka Banja in 1990. Placed to wink and greet the participants of the competition, he remained in the same place and since then greets all those who visit spa. The statue is a popular tourist destination for capturing a photo, and it is also the most popular souvenir in Vrnjačka Banja. The mascot can be found in stores and gift shops as, figurines, refrigerator magnets, t-shirts, cups, postcards, and much more.

The parks of Vrnjačka Banja are the right place for walking, relaxing and enjoying the beautiful greenery, flower arrangements and the pleasant murmur of the Vrnjačka river. The main spa park has been built since 1888, but has been remodeled several times. With over 70 hectares of landscaped park area, Central spa park represents a real oasis of peace and enjoyment in the very core of the spa. It has grown and developed over the years. The central place in the large spa park is occupied by the fountain, a place that attracts the guests of Vrnjačka Banja with its beauty, who often rest on one of the nearby benches and enjoy the view of the beautiful flower beds of the park. The labyrinth with a total of 1 km of park path and 440 conifers forming a green wall is another attraction of the park that is enjoyed by visitors, especially the youngest ones. It was born from the idea to further enrich the unique park of Vrnjačka Banja and has grown into a real work of art. The 2 km long promenade protected by linden trees, a Japanese garden that evokes the vegetation and way of life in Japan, low ornamental plants, but also numerous sculptures by local and foreign authors, make the park a symbol of Vrnjačka Banja.

On the hill above the "Topla Voda" mineral spring, there is one of the oldest buildings in Vrnjačka Banja, Belimarković Castle. It was built at the end of the 19th century as the summer house of the influential general Jovan Belimarković, according to the idea of his cousin, the construction engineer Pavlo Denić. The castle was modeled after those from northern Italy and Poland. The project was led by the Austrian civil engineer Franz Winter, and the works lasted from 1888 to 1894. Until the seventies of the last century, the heirs of General Belimarković lived in it, when it was purchased and, according to the law on the protection of cultural monuments, declared a cultural property under the protection of the state. Today, it houses the Native Museum of a complex type with an archaeological, ethnographic, historical, artistic and natural history collection. The museum gallery contains original objects of use from the legacy of the Belimarković family and offers an extraordinary opportunity to learn about life in Serbia, from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, while the display of the art collection presents a rich fund of sculptures, Serbian graphics and paintings from the second half of the 20th century. The castle, in addition to the museum headquarters, is also a place where serious music concerts, dramatic collages, lectures and summer schools and academies are held.

The panoramic wheel is another in a series of new tourist attractions in Vrnjačka Banja. It is located in the park next to the spring of mineral water "Jezero". It is as high as 50 meters, with thematic night lighting and contains 32 air-conditioned cabins that will offer visitors a view of the entire panorama of Vrnjačka Banja.

Aqua park "Raj", as the largest and most attractive water park in this part of Serbia, provides unforgettable summer fun for the youngest and unprecedented relaxation for adults. Conceived as a place to enjoy water attractions for all generations, the park in Vrnjačka Banja covers an area of 3.5 hectares with pools for children and adults. An unforgettable adventure for the youngest is on a pirate ship, a platform with sprinklers and in the company of animators, while a lazy river ride is a delight for all visitors. A real adventure is the wave pool, which gives visitors the feeling of vacationing in one of the world's exotic destinations. Lovers of adrenaline activities have at their disposal top slides, the largest of which is as high as 30 meters, and there are also shallow pools with water cannons, a hydromassage pool, bars and a restaurant. Vrnjačka Banja got one of the most modern and beautiful aqua parks in Serbia, thus the content of the tourist offer has reached a level that allows meeting all the needs of the "modern" guest.

The Carnival of Vrnjci is one of the most significant manifestation that take place in Vrnjačka Banja during the summer and represents the crowning event of the tourist season. During the seven days of the carnival, Vrnjačka Banja is the scene where a large number of masquerade balls, concerts, theater performances, exhibitions and sports events are held. At that time, numerous carnival groups from many countries of Europe and the world come here, to perform in a spectacular carnival procession and make this event even more magical and interesting. A special attraction for the little ones is the Children's Carnival Parade, where children have the opportunity to show their creativity and be part of a unique event. Year after year, this event gathers an increasing number of participants and visitors, both from our country and from all over the world.

Lovefest is the largest music festival in central Serbia that promotes music, art and urban youth culture. Attendees can enjoy various musical genres, with a special emphasis on the promotion of electronic music. The idea for holding this festival arose in 2006 as a response to the insufficient number of cultural events in central Serbia, with the aim of promoting live energy, quality music and good entertainment. The festival was created in 2007, and from the city party held that summer on the Bridge of Love, in just one year it grew into a music festival, and today it is the best regional festival. Good music, socializing and the rich content offered by this festival contribute to its growing year by year, the more and more content program attracts more and more visitors, and the festival itself is held on several music stages and has more than 40 performers. For many years now, Lovefest has gathered the biggest names of the electro scene, and in the past few years it has been included among the best European electronic music festivals.