Tamnjanica, lavender fields and echoes of the past

Tamnjanica is a small village near Bela Palanka, best known today for its lavender fields on the slopes of Suva Planina. While lavender is usually associated with Provence and the Mediterranean, the area's limestone soil and elevation of around 450 to 550 meters provide ideal conditions for growing it. But what I find even more interesting is the village's history, which goes back much further than you might expect. In 333 AD, an unknown Christian pilgrim traveling from Bordeaux, in what is now France, to Jerusalem kept a record of the places along his journey and the distances between them. His account became one of the earliest surviving Christian travel records, known as the Jerusalem Itinerary. Among the places mentioned is Ulmo, a Roman roadside station somewhere between the ancient cities of Naissus and Remesiana. Its exact location remains unknown, although some historians believe it stood near present-day Tamnjanica, around Crveni Breg and Ploča. More than a thousand years later, this area appears in historical accounts once again, this time in connection with the Battle of Kunovica in 1444. Konstantin Mihailović of Ostrovica mentions a place called Tajanica, believed to be present-day Tamnjanica, along with the grave of a high-ranking Ottoman official killed in the battle. According to local tradition, the village even got its name from the incense burned to honor those who lost their lives. But old roads and battles aren't the only reminders of its past. At a site known as Crkvište, the remains of what locals called the Latin Church of St. Petka were once documented, and old coins were reportedly found among the ruins. No one knows for certain how old these remains are, but it's fascinating how much history can be found around such a small village.