Cultural site: ROMAN BRIDGE

History

In the village of Kumanica on the 16th km southwest of Ivanjica in the direction of the Golija mountain near the old neglected watermill-brook, there is an old stone bridge over the river Moravica. The old bridge over the upper course of the river

is located on an old, neglected road passable exclusively for pedestrians and pack horses, which led from Ivanjica, through Medjurečje, through the village of Bratljevo, to Sandzak (Sjenica). Today, this bridge is used only by pedestrians, and mountain roads branch off around it, one of which leads to the village of Ercege. It is impossible to determine who built this bridge in the village of Kumanica and when. But it is undoubtedly a skillfully created and beautiful building, with unusually slender and harmonious lines. It belongs to the type of the most beautiful Turkish bridges.

Cultural site details

The opening of this bridge is similar to the only preserved opening on the bridge over the river Uvac. Judging by his technique, it could be built at the same time as the bridges in Prizren, which means in the 15th century. In the tradition of this area, the bridge exists under the name "Roman Bridge", although there is nothing Roman in it. It is surrounded on all sides by greenery, which simply merges with nature, so that it does not act as an imposed building, it is an integral part of the landscape.

The width of the bridge is 2.40 meters, and the total length of the bridge with pillars is about 14 m, the size of the arched opening is 6.72 m, and the height is about four. It is built of crushed stone and large slabs of slate rock, which is found in large quantities on the banks of the Moravica.

Due to different materials, it is assumed that the bridge was made in several periods, and according to the legend circulating, 30,000 eggs were used as a binding material, although this has not been confirmed.3 Once the only connection to Sandzak, the old stone bridge on Moravica is today a tourist attraction and is used only by pedestrians. Numerous roads branch off from it, leading to the villages of Podgolje, where hardworking farmers live. The restoration of this bridge in the eighties of the last century was performed by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from Kraljevo.