Jezdina

Jezdina exists because Jelica Mountain's slopes offered defensible elevation above the West Morava valley. Perched on the 929-meter massif's northern face, the village occupied terrain too steep for easy agriculture but suitable for pastoralism and forest exploitation. The mountain's position between Čačak basin and the Ovčar-Kablar gorge created natural isolation—protection during centuries of Ottoman rule when highland communities could evade taxation and conscription.

Jelica's archaeological record reveals continuous human presence: a Roman fort at Gradina with a martyrium and necropolis dates to Justinian's 530s rebuilding program. Medieval monasteries at Stjenik and Ježevica, founded by King Milutin and the Mrnjavčević nobles in the 14th century, established the mountain as sacred space. Jezdina emerged in this landscape of fortress ruins and monastery endowments, its residents living among physical layers of prior civilizations.

The village experienced a singular cosmic event on December 1, 1889, when a meteorite shower scattered stones across an 8x5 kilometer area. The largest fragment weighed 8.5 kilograms—the Jelica meteorite now ranks among the most massive LL6 chondrites with witnessed falls. This extraterrestrial intrusion left the village with an unusual footnote in planetary science literature.

Today, Jezdina holds approximately 246 residents, severe contraction from mid-20th century peaks. The municipality of Čačak (population ~73,000) cannot reverse mountain village depopulation. Hiking trails now crisscross Jelica, drawing weekend visitors to the Stjenik stone arch and monastery circuits. In 2026, Jezdina's fate depends on whether rural tourism creates economic niches for remaining residents or the village empties entirely, leaving another ghost settlement on Serbia's mountainous periphery.