A few happily colored houses in the spacious courtyard of the family Knezevic in Ethno village Latkovac near Aleksandrovac, like in the fairytale captures you with warmth and lures you to look in every corner. This is what immediately attracts tourists of different generations, and recently more and more of younger population.

Three sisters, Anna, Tanja and Sanja Knezević, could not anticipate that it would be like that when, in September 2006, they started to set in order the family estate, without any previous knowledge of rural tourism. Large cities in which they acquired college degrees have lost the race, Latkovac won, and they driven by a good idea, did not dream what they got themselves into and what awaits them. The only support were their parents, now fully involved in the job. In the meantime the first in-law arrived, two are still pending, and Sanja says that it will take time, cause it seams that young guys won’t come to the village. She also says that she jokingly suggested many times to people from the Ministry of Agriculture to make grants for the guys who would get married in the village. 

It is difficult to see how old buildings are, because they were masterfully reconstructed and rearranged to receive guests. Satisfied with the achievements, they aren’t thinking about building new ones. Perhaps, only rearranging one old building to apartment and that's it, leaving the rest to neighbors, wishing for them to join in the revival of the village, because there is enough work for everyone.

Visits are usually from Belgrade, Kragujevac, Niš and from Vojvodina. Stories are told, and new people are arriving. Slatko (fruit sweet), coffee and homemade brandy are served for welcome, everything else is in agreement with guests. Menu is not strictly defined and works by the principle of who likes what and when. Basically everything is homemade, and it often happens that guests, along with the hosts participate in the preparation of food.
Knezević family has small vineyard, and father Dragan is in charge of making brandy and wine, which often visitors of Latkovac want to buy and bring home, along with cheese, cream and jams.
Not wanting it all to be only provision of accommodation and food, but for Latkovac to become a cultural center, guests are allowed to engage in various thematic workshops and thus fulfill the day. Upon request, the hosts can take them for wine tasting in the winery Ivanović in the center of Aleksandrovac, Museum of ethnology, Museum of enology and viticulture and to the monastery Drenča. For those with a spirit of adventure, campaigns in the mountain Koznik are organized, visit to the Monastery of Svetog Vrača Kozme i Damjana, and sometimes even to the pond at the Rasina river.

By: Senka Lučić, “Politika” reporter