Village Ljubanci – Kostenite – Peak Crn Kamen

Ljubanci – a village in Butel municipality, in the area of ​​Skopska Crna Gora Mountain, in the vicinity of the city of Skopje.

The village is located in the northwestern part of the Skopje Valley, on the territory of the Butel Municipality, whose atar rises to the top of the Skopska Crna Gora mountain, where it touches the area of ​​the Lipkovo Municipality. The village is hilly, whose houses rise to an altitude of 570 meters. From the city of Skopje, the village is 15 kilometers away. The houses of this large village are located in the valley of the Ljubanska Reka, on the border between the mountain slope in the north and the low land in the south. The locals were supplied with drinking water from springs located in taps. The main springs in the village are Čausevac, Dolna Cheshma, Gorna Cheshma and Mlaka.

The village of Ljubanci is one of the older settlements of Skopje Montenegro, as evidenced by the majority of churches and monasteries in its surroundings dating back to the XI and XII centuries, as well as the large number of preserved ancient clans and clans immigrated from two surrounding villages (Lopushani and Zgurovci). which do not exist now. On the atar of the village of Ljubanci, there are remains from different cultural eras, especially old graves, money, remains of churches, which the villagers excavated in the places of Grebište, Delba and Sv. John.

Macedonian revolutionary Gjorche Petrov gives an extensive and detailed description of Ljubanci and its inhabitants, their spirit, economic occupations and life in the 19th century in his book “Materials for the study of Macedonia” from 1896. At that time, there were 120 Macedonian houses in Ljubanci, and the atar was small in proportion to the village, the mountain was more bare, because of which the inhabitants were miserable, but migrant workers made them quite alert. Open, lively and cheerful people are Ljubanci people and they do not fall below even in hospitality, so the saying: “In the village, on guests, on tevna kotek” is true and applicable to all villages, but in Ljubanci you remain so satisfied and in charge of their helpfulness that you forget the usual village accidents.

Archaeological sites:
Ljubanci — solitary finds from Roman times.

Churches:
Church “St. Nikola” — the main village church.
Church “St. Bogorodica” — burial church, originates from the medieval period. It was in ruins for a long time and the exact date of its erection was not known;
Church “St. Nikola” — a monastery church, built in 1337, and restored in 1847 with paintings dating back to the 17th century. The villagers say that it was built by the same masters and painters who worked on the cathedral church “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” in Skopje.
Church “St. Jovan” — a smaller church, around which in more recent times lodgings and a large bell tower have been built.

Monasteries:
Ljubanski monastery — a monastery east of the village

Rivers:
Ljubanska Reka — flows through the village, flows into Serava

Source: Wikipedia

Tour

The trail starts just below the monastery of St. Nikola in the village of Ljubanci. Arrival is on a paved and quite good road. The trail is marked with mountaineering markings. After passing all the wild weekend houses, the trail enters the locality “Kosteni” (EN: chestnuts) which during the harvest is jealously guarded and visited by the locals. Then, you enter one of the most beautiful and preserved forests of Skopska Crna Gora.

At the end of the forest, the path sinks to the river where there is a wooden bridge for crossing. When it is raining or the snow is melting, Ljubanska River can produce large amount of water and crossing can be an obstacle.

Immediately after that, the ascent to the top of Crn Kamen begins. The trail passes in front of the sheepfold almost in front of the top (be careful with the shepherd dogs).

This trail, in our opinion, is convincingly the most picturesque and most beautiful tour of Skopska Crna Gora. It is a little longer than the others and if you plan to visit it with children, plan 3-4 hours walking in direction. The trail is really beautiful at any time of the year, but you still have to plan enough time to return in order to avoid night movement on the mountain.