Beloljin
Copper Age neighbor—Beloljin's 399 residents live 4km from Pločnik, where 7,500-year-old metallurgy predates every empire that ruled here.
Beloljin exists because the Toplica valley needed settlements between Prokuplje and the archaeological wonder at Pločnik—and because villages cluster around discoveries that predate written history. This settlement of 399 in Prokuplje municipality sits just 4 kilometers from Pločnik, where archaeologists discovered the world's second-oldest copper smelting site, dating to 5500–4700 BCE. The Vinča culture that flourished here produced copper tools 500 years earlier than previously thought possible.
The Toplica District's history reads like a palimpsest of empires. Romans called this region Hammeum and built the Via Militaris through it. Byzantines rebuilt it as Komplos. Ottomans held it for 423 years as Urcub. When Serbian forces captured Prokuplje on December 19, 1877, Beloljin and its neighboring villages joined the modern Serbian state. The 1878 Berlin Congress formalized what the battle had established.
Today's Beloljin exists in the shadow of both ancient metallurgy and modern decline. The 2002 census counted 569 residents; by 2022, that number had fallen to 399—a 30% decrease reflecting rural Serbia's demographic trajectory. The Pločnik site continues to attract archaeologists studying early Bronze Age technology; Beloljin provides housing for those who remain in a region whose prehistoric importance far exceeds its contemporary population. By 2026, tourism development around the archaeological site may offer a lifeline—or Beloljin may continue its quiet contraction.