Boris

This hike had two objectives: 1) To check and map on OSM the short trail from Kruševački Put Street to St. Anne’s Church. The trail does exist - it’s an old stone staircase. It has no markings but is easy to follow and provides a quick way up to the church without making a long detour along the road. 2) To see how far the trail from St. Nicholas Church continues toward Morinj, and hopefully reach the summit near St. Jeremiah’s Church. The trail is good and runs along the slope at elevations of about 200-300 m, passing through the abandoned village of Gornja Konstanica, after which it starts climbing. However, after a spring I lost the trail and all attempts to find it again were unsuccessful. The area is full of ruins and abandoned terraces, but everything is heavily overgrown with thorns and bushes, making progress very difficult. If the trail still exists, I couldn’t find it. It might be worth trying to locate it from the summit and follow it downward instead. On OSM I mapped the section that is clearly visible and passable.

This hike had two objectives: 1) To check whether the trail between the summit of Grlica and the network of trails connecting the St. Elijah - Vrmac Fortress road with the road to Gornji Bogdašići still exists. This trail is marked on Yugoslav maps from the 1960s. Result: the trail does exist. In some places it is hard to follow, but judging by the ruins it likely follows an old Austrian road. Near a spring there is a junction, and closer to the road to St. Elijah I surprisingly discovered a complex of ruins - probably Austrian barracks, at least four buildings. 2) To check where the trail junction just below the summit of St. Elijah leads. The trail is very good - well used and clear - but it gradually starts descending. Since I wasn’t planning to end up in Prčanj, I eventually turned back.

This hike had three objectives: 1) To check whether the trails exist in the area between the Leskovački Potok stream, Slapi Potok, and the ruins of St. Nicholas Church. As I expected (and as indicated on the Austrian maps from 1901–1903), the trails are indeed there. Some sections consist of stone-paved steps, and there are also terraces supported by retaining walls. I followed one of these paths, but it continues further downhill, likely into the Slapi stream valley (this requires further exploration). 2) To closely examine the area around the ruins of St. Nicholas Church. Several suspiciously rectangular stones lie there - too regular in shape to be natural, especially since the surrounding rock is heavily fractured. However, there are no inscriptions on these stones, so the gravestone hypothesis is not confirmed. The area around the church ruins is also rich in terraces that extend in traverses toward the southeast. 3) To photograph and map the remains of Austrian field fortifications on the summit of Popova Glava. The condition of the fortifications is very poor - almost everything is overgrown - but the trench line is still visible, along with what appear to be positions for two artillery pieces oriented toward St. Elijah.

This hike had several exploratory objectives: 1. The Vrmac ridge is scattered with Austrian field fortifications from World War I, and they are not marked on modern maps. No one seems to know their exact locations (perhaps the information exists in the archives in Vienna). I suspected there might be something on the summit of Mount Glavica, as it’s potentially a good position for artillery placement. I was also simply curious about the view from the top. The trail starts from the pond and follows a traverse, but I eventually lost it and continued straight uphill. The forest there isn’t dense, so the ascent was easy. At the summit, there are signs of fire pits - locals clearly come here - but I didn’t find any ruins. The view is decent, though partly obstructed by trees. On the way down toward the trail to Gornji Stoliv, I came across remains of old terraces (there are many of them here, as across the whole peninsula), as well as some ruins and stone walls along a dry river 2. The second objective was to find a trail to the summit of Mount Sv. Ilija from the northern slope. I had seen trails in that area on maps from 1901 and from the 1960s, so I was curious whether they still exist. I did find a trail - in fact, more than one. There are several junctions that require further exploration; one of them likely leads directly to Prčanj. The discovered trail to Sv. Ilija is quite clear and clean, without overgrowth, and leads to a platform near the Austrian reservoir.

This is a short hike done mainly for reconnaissance purposes. The trail from St. Anna Church to St. Nicholo Church is unmarked, but very good - clean, easy to follow, with ruins of old houses and stone retaining walls along the way. After St. Nicholo Church, the trail remains passable and clearly readable (as of February 2026), though it becomes a bit narrower and there are some thorny sections in places. The views are stunning, especially just beyond St. Nicholo Church. The trail continues further as a traverse toward Morinj. It’s worth following it further to see where it leads.