Radenkovac is a village located in the south of the territory of the municipality of Sokobanja. It is 25 km from Sokobanja itself. The village is located at 700 m.a.s.l. on the southwestern slope of the Virgin Mountain, in the area known as "Golak". Radenkovac is one of the typical mountain villages with good conditions for livestock development.
According to the 2002 census, the village had 114 inhabitants. Today it has about 15 residents. The village is dying out. Bad conditions, poor traffic connection with Sokobanja, old population, non-existent natural growth, and the closure of the cooperative are the main culprits that no one returns to this village.
While I was walking, I ran into a local named Boža, born in 1964. A pleasant and realistic man of short stature told me his story and the story of the village. Boža is not very optimistic about the return of young people to the countryside. He is unemployed and unmarried, afraid to leave the village because he thinks no one will hire him because of his age. Boža deals with cutting firewood for the winter, a little farming, and killing time and solitude by watching several TV programs.
Today, tourists and young people can be seen in this village thanks to mountaineers from Sokobanja who turned the village school into a mountaineer's home. For now, Radenkovac is crossed out only on the traffic sign, but if something doesn't change drastically, that line will also mean no more residents in the village.
This is another in a series of stories about extinguishing Serbian villages. Unfortunately, that trend continues and the state has no strategy to change anything for now. Blinded by Belgraderization (focus on the main city), they will destroy everything.
Text and photo by : Aleksandar Marković
Radenkovac je selo koje se nalazi na jugu teritorije opštine Sokobanja. Od same banje udaljeno je 25 km. Selo se nalazi na 700 m.n.v. na jugozapadnom obronku planine Device, na području poznatom kao "Golak". Radenkovac spada u tipična planinska sela sa dobrim uslovima za razvoj stočarstva.
Prema popisu iz 2002. godine, selo je imalo 114 stanovnika. Danas broji oko 15 meštana. Selo izumire. Loši uslovi, slaba saobraćajna povezanost sa Sokobanjom, staro stanovništvo, nepostojeći prirodni priraštaj i gašenje zadruge, glavni su krivci što se niko ne vraća u ovo selo.
Dok sam šetao naleteo sam na jednog meštanina po imenu Boža rođenog 1964. godine. Prijatan i realan čovek onižeg rasta ispričao mi je svoju priču i priču sela. Boža nije veliki optimista po pitanju povratka mladih na selo. Nezaposlen je i neoženjen, strahuje da napusti selo jer misli da ga niko neće zaposliti zbog godina koje ima. Boža se bavi sečenjem ogreva za zimu, nešto malo poljoprivredom a vreme i samoću ubija gledajući nekoliko tv program.
Danas se u ovom selu mogu videti turisti i mladi zahvaljujući planinarima iz Sokobanje koji su seosku školu pretvorili u planinarski dom. Radenkovac je za sada precrtan samo na saobraćajnom znaku ali ako se nešto drastično ne promeni ta linija će ujedno značiti da u selu više nema nijednog meštana.
Ovo je još jedna u nizu priča o gašenju srpskog sela. Nažalost taj trend se nastavlja a država za sada nema strategiju da nešto promeni. Zaslepljeni beogradizacijom uništiće sve.
Text and photo by : Aleksandar Marković