Brestovac

Brestovac exists because mineral water bubbles up 8 kilometers from Europe's copper capital—and because Prince Miloš needed a spa retreat. This village in the Bor municipality preserves one of Serbia's oldest spas, where sulfurous oligomineral water at 20-41°C treats muscle and bone ailments. The Konak kneza Miloša (Prince Miloš Residence) marks when Serbian royalty discovered what geology had provided: healing water in mining country.

The contrast defines the region. Brestovac Spa offers therapeutic retreat; Bor's copper mines, 8 kilometers away, have scarred the landscape since 1902 when Paun Meždinović reportedly discovered the first ore lump. French industrialist Đorđe Vajfert formalized extraction in 1903; by World War II, the mines supplied 50% of Nazi Germany's copper requirements. Chinese mining giant Zijin now owns 63% of RTB Bor, producing 450,000 metric tons annually—up from 170,000 at the 1980s peak.

Brestovac's future depends on which geology wins: the healing water that attracted royalty or the copper exploration that EMX Royalty and others are pursuing at Brestovac West. By 2026, the village sits at the edge of an industrial transformation—Zijin's investment reshaping the district, spa tourism offering an alternative economy, mining leases extending into new territory. Prince Miloš chose well; whether his successors can balance extraction and preservation remains open.