Photo: Philippe Le Moine from Paris, France · CC BY-SA 2.0

Serbia · Central Serbia

Ćelije Lake

Directions

Ћелије · Ćelije

Ćelije Lake is a reservoir on the Rasina between the Kopaonik and Jastrebac mountains, about half an hour’s drive from Kruševac and Aleksandrovac, in the municipalities of Kruševac and Brus. Its irregular shoreline gives it an outline likened to a Chinese dragon on the map, and locals also call it the Golden Lake.

How it formed

The dam was built as part of the regulation of the Velika Morava, to stop silt reaching the Iron Gates reservoir on the Danube. Drinking water came later: a treatment plant opened at Majdevo in 1984, and the lake now supplies Kruševac and neighbouring towns. In 2019 the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia found grounds for protecting it as a natural monument.

History

The village of Zlatari was moved before the valley was flooded. Local legend tells of a drowned church and cemetery, and of a cross seen above the water, though people in Brus say both still stand and the church has simply been restored.

Visit

Getting there

Nearest settlement: Kruševac

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

The lake lies beside the main road, which makes it popular with cyclists, and its shores suit easy walks and photography. Anglers come for carp, zander and catfish. In summer the water can reach about 27 °C and people swim here, but there are no lifeguards and drownings have happened, so take care and stay out after drinking.

Nearby lakes

Show on map

Photo: Geograf208 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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~43 kmaway

Photo: Senka at Serbian Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Reservoir · artificial

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250 metreselevation

Photo: PrincesSasha · CC BY-SA 4.0