Kostic: Despite the tensions in the north, the pilgrims' interest in Serbian holy places in Kosovo is not waning

Visnja Kostic, a representative of the donation agency of the Eparchy of Zica "Jez", told for Kosovo Online that the tensions in the north did not affect the interest of believers and tourists in visiting the Orthodox shrines in Kosovo, and that most of them were delighted with Prizren and the Visoki Decani monastery.

Kostic says that interest in devotional trips has been recorded throughout 2023.

"From our experience, the number of believers who visit Kosovo and Metohija is always large and so far we have not noticed any oscillations in interest, so the shrines that are visited always deserve equal attention and there is always a great interest in Serbian shrines in Kosovo," said Kostic.
 

Speaking about the periods of the year when most people are interested in pilgrimages, Kostic says that believers are most interested in visiting shrines during religious holidays. He states that, in this context, the month of May is singled out, when Saint Vasilije Ostroski is celebrated, the period around Miholjdan and the glory of Saint Stefan Decanski.

Kostic points out that devotional tourism is specific in that each of the believers’ experiences what they are "looking for" in a different place in a spiritual sense.

She points out that visitors say that they are mostly impressed by Prizren, where they can visit the monastery of the Holy Archangels, but also the old fortress above the town of Kalaju.

"It seems to me that Prizren is the crowning glory of travel, but I could not single it out as something that is ahead of the rest of the holy places. Devotional tourism is a specific form of tourism, and I think that each of us experiences what we are looking for in a different place. Simply someone can find their spiritual experience in Decani, someone in Prizren, someone in Gracanica, someone in Budisavci, which are not on the route of usual tours. So it's all an individual experience," explains Kostic.