Povlen Balls
One of the mysteries of this mountain are certainly the numerous stone balls whose unusual appearance, unknown origin and supernatural powers are still debated today. Many tried to break the ball with heavy hammers, but in vain. Sparks flickered on the surface of ball with each hammer blow. They couldn't even move it, it's so hard. They say that the balls are the tears of Kraljevic Marko (medieval Serbian hero) that fell from the sky or that they have supernatural origin. Some notice ancient runes on them, and that the spheres symbolize the solar system that the aliens scattered on Povlen. There are those who claim that the energy emitted by the balls has helped them and claim that the balls have healing and miraculous powers. There is a popular story about a mushroom picker who felt a sharp pain in his leg while walking through the often-impassable hills of Povlen. He sat on one of the balls to rest and instantly felt a strange and inexplicable current that completely removed the pain. Put your hand on the ball, imagine the wish… it will be fulfilled! This is another claim for which the only proof is the people whose wish was fulfilled. A popular legend says that it is enough to just put both hands on the ball, imagine a wish and it will come true. It is even better if it is repeated three times, because, as people in Serbia say - "three times God helps". There are plenty of such and similar stories. But who to trust in the end? What we can't tell you is whether this actually works.
A miracle of nature, a cannonball of giants or a masterpiece of aliens? Numerous archaeologists and scientists came to explore the spheres. They claim something completely different, that Povlen balls are a rare but common geological phenomenon. As expected, this theory failed to defeat the numerous myths and legends with which the locals explain the origin of their unusual neighbours.
One group of balls is located near the village of Mravinjci, and the other one some 1.5km further, below the spring of Bele Vode, one of the streams that make up the Povlen river Zabava. On the east side of Mali Povlen, at the source of the river Zabava, there are as many as thirty stone balls, 15 centimetres in diameter, up to two meters!
Povlenske kugle
Misterija ove planine svakako su i brojne kamene kugle o čijem se neobičnom izgledu, nepoznatom poreklu i natprirodnim moćima – i danas polemiše. Mnogi su macolama kuglu pokušali da razbiju, ali uzalud. Pri svakom udarcu čekića ispod kugle su vrcale varnice. Nisu mogli ni da je pomere, toliko je teška. Kažu da su kugle suze Kraljevića Marka, da su pale s neba ili da su onostranog porekla. Neki na njima uočavaju drevne rune, da kugle simbolizuju Sunčani sistem koji su vanzemaljci rasuli po Povlenu. Ima onih koji tvrde da im je energija koju emituju kugle pomogla, i tvrde da kugle imaju lekovite i čudesne moći. Popularna je priča o beraču vrganja koji je probijajući se kroz često neprohodna povlenska brda osetio oštar bol u nozi. Seo je na jednu od kugli da se odmori i momentalno osetio čudno i neobjašnjivo strujanje koje je potpuno otklonilo bol. Stavite ruku na kuglu, zamislite želju…ona će biti ispunjena! Ovo je još jedna tvrdnja za koju su jedini dokaz ljudi kojima se želja zapravo i ispunila. Legenda koja kruži kaže da je dovoljno samo obe ruke staviti na kuglu, zamisliti želju i ona će se ona ostvariti. Još je bolje ako se to ponovi tri puta, jer, kako kažu – “tri puta Bog pomaže”. Ovakvih i sličnih priča ima na pretek. Ali, kome na kraju verovati? Ono što vam ne možemo reći, jeste da li ovo u stvarnosti zapravo funkcioniše.
Čudo prirode, topovska đulad džinova ili remek-delo vanzemaljaca? Dolazili su brojni arheolozi, naučnici, istraživali kuglu. Oni tvrde nešto sasvim treće, da su Povlenske kugle retka, ali uobičajena pojava. Ova teorija očekivano nije uspela da pobedi mnogobrojne mitove i legende kojima meštani objašnjavaju nastanak njihovih neobičnih komšija.
Jedna grupa kugli nalazi se kod sela Mravinjci, a druga kilometar i po dalje, ispod izvora Bele vode, jednog od potoka koji čine povlensku reku Zabavu. Na istočnoj strani Malog Povlena, na izvorištu reke Zabave, ima čak tridesetak kamenih kugli, prečnika od 15 centimetara, do dva metra!