The Rtanj mine and the Minh family
The Minh family, industrialists who owned a textile factory in Paraćin, opened a coal mine on Rtanj in 1902. At first the coal travelled to Paraćin by ox cart, until the Paraćin–Zaječar railway opened in 1912. In the 1920s it was one of the most important mines in Serbia.
A settlement for the miners
A whole settlement grew around the mine: homes for the workers and their families, a school, a clinic, a shop and a cinema in the Sokol hall. The mine’s carpentry made the furniture for the homes and gave it to the workers for free. Around it a park was laid out with about 150 species of trees and shrubs and a glasshouse.
Julius and Greta Minh
After his father, the mine was run by Julius Minh with his wife Greta. They had no children and are remembered for their care for the miners and their children. After Julius died, Greta built a chapel on the summit of Rtanj in his memory; its ruins still stand on Šiljak. During the Second World War she had to leave the villa and the mine, and she spent her last years in this region.
Greta’s rose garden
The rose garden is part of the park the Minhs laid out between the two world wars, and it was Greta’s favourite place: covered in roses, surrounded by flowers, with a view of the mountain. About 3,000 roses once grew here; today there are around 1,500. It sits at the entrance to the park forest, next to a board telling its story, and is the best preserved part of the old park.
What you can see today
The settlement still has remains of the mine buildings, the park forest and Greta’s rose garden. One of the main trails to Šiljak starts on this side of the mountain, so a walk around the settlement and the rose garden is a good start or end to a hike.
Getting there
The Rtanj settlement lies at the foot of the mountain, not far from the village in Ilino, and is easy to reach by car. The visit combines easily with a hike or with Bogovina cave.
