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This paper analyses the conditions and possibilities with regard to preserving vernacular architecture in the area of Stara Planina Mountain, Serbia. The field research, conducted from 2003 to 2015, recorded and documented architectural heritage in the villages on the western slopes of Stara Planina Mountain. The areas of Gornji Visok and Zabrdje on the slopes of Vidlič were primarily explored. Considering that the valuable architectural heritage in this area is in a state of alarming threat, and disappearing at high speed, the article discusses the possibilities with regard to its preservation through the formation of an architectural reserve, as a spatially defined and functionally unique place based on a synthesis of created and natural heritage. The reserve's structure would consist of architectural cores that are entire villages, or isolated localities with authentic houses of vernacular architecture. The architectural cores would be interconnected by road infrastructure, forming a specific architectural route. The constituent elements of the reserve would also include natural heritage, and geomorphological, geological, hydrological and hydrogeological features. The formation of the architectural reserve also aims to utilise built and natural structures, educate inhabitants and visitors, and develop tourism. In that way, the potential for financing the preservation of the unique architectural heritage of Stara Planina could be initiated.

Developmental potential of rural settlements of Kalna and Minićevo should be reviewed in the wider context of the area in which they are located. The natural resources of Stara Planina mountain, as a special purpose area focused on tourism and agriculture, represent the basic components for sustainable development of the mentioned settlements. The heritage of autochthonus, traditional rural architecture and sacral buildings, together with natural resources potentials, represent attractors for the development of a specific form of rural tourism. This research paper presents an analysis of the options for the development of rural tourism in the territory of Knjaževac municipality, aimed at sustainable development of rural settlements of Kalna and Minićevo. The basic idea of the paper is for Kalna and Minićevo to become the centres towards which the population of smaller surrounding villages will gravitate: towards Kalna as a potential tourism centre and towards Minićevo as a transit tourist settlement with accompanying public and other services. The purpose of the paper is not to offer a solution that would completely eliminate economic and demographic changes, but to review different options for the development of rural settlements that could keep up with modern social needs.