Bogdanje
Roman vine legacy—Bogdanje's 1,055 residents tend vineyards planted since the 1st century AD in Serbia's largest wine municipality.
Bogdanje exists because the West Morava valley needed villages to cultivate vines—and because Romans introduced the Vitis vinifera that still defines this region's economy. This village of 1,055 in Trstenik municipality sits in the heart of Serbia's Three Moravas wine region, where the West Morava, South Morava, and Great Morava basins converge to create 7,529 hectares of vineyards. Trstenik municipality hosts the largest vineyard area of any Serbian municipality.
The wine tradition traces to Roman occupation in the 1st century AD, when legions established the Stražbe castrum on the West Morava's right bank and began cultivating grapes that thrive in the continental climate. Medieval Serbia continued the tradition; Prince Lazar's 1381 Ravanica charter—the first written mention of Trstenik—documents an established wine economy that Bogdanje participated in.
Today's Bogdanje cultivates Prokupac (the indigenous red variety), Tamjanika, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Italian Riesling on slopes that face the Morava. The village sits 3 kilometers from Trstenik proper, close enough to access markets but far enough to remain rural. By 2026, the question is whether boutique winemaking can provide the economic base that prevents further population decline—whether the vines planted by Romans two millennia ago can sustain villages in the age of supermarket consolidation.