Sokobanja (Serbian Cyrillic: Сокобања, pronounced [sɔ̂kɔbaɲa]) is a spa town and municipality located in the Zaječar District of the eastern Serbia.

It is situated in the southern part of Sokobanja valley, surrounded by mountains Ozren, Devica, Janior, Rtanj, and Bukovik.

The 1945 edition of the Politika newspaper reports about the export of the crayfish from Sokobanja, stating that "they were transported from Moravica by airplanes to Paris, London and Monte Carlo".

After being printed in the Politika newspaper on 7 July 1934, the catchphrase became popular, surviving till today as the trademark of Sokobanja, inspiring several songs.

[6] The first physician to the spa was appointed in 1833 by the Serbian ruling prince Miloš Obrenović, only 20 days after the town was liberated from the Ottomans.

It was a surgeon Georgije Đorđe Novaković, originally Leopold Ehrlich, a Jew from Galicia, who switched to Serbian Orthodox Church after moving to Serbia.

In 1835, on prince's invitation, German geologist August von Herder among other thermal springs and mining localities, visited Sokobanja.

[4] In 1837 Prince Miloš ordered the construction of hospital (špitalj) in Sokobanja, with "20 rooms with floors", including the accommodation for the guests, physicians, and Turkish bath (hammam) workers.

[6] On 21 June 1837, Prince Miloš signed an order for a sergeant major Lazarević from the Military-police office in Kragujevac to be sent to Sokobanja for a healing treatment.

The prince's bathtub, which still in use today just as the entire hammam complex, is short but deep, has its own tap and is placed in a separate room.

[4] The spa became quite popular among the cultural elite and was visited by writers, poets, painters, sculptors, actors, directors.

Apart from Nušić, it was visited by Jovan Cvijić, Isidora Sekulić, Stevan Sremac and Meša Selimović, while the Nobelist author Ivo Andrić draw a graphic of the town.

[6] In September 2023 construction of the heating pipeline which would conduct hot spring water from the Ozren mountain to the town began.

[9] Soko Grad (Соко Град), also known as Sokolac, was a medieval city and fortress 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Sokobanja.

[4] It was founded in the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, to prevent incursions of Pannonian Avars and Slavs into the Balkan peninsula.

The town was destroyed in 1413 by the Ottomans during the 1402–13 civil war, in the battle between Musa Çelebi and the local Turkish chieftain Hamuz Beg.

[11] Other attractions include swimming in the Moravica river and the Lake Bovan, which is especially popular among fishermen, galleries, museums, various concerts and festivities, hiking, wellness centers, hotels, aqua park, saunas, etc.

Hiking is organized on the Ozren, Rtanj, Devica, and Bukovik mountains, while the popular excursion sites are the Sesalac cave, Očno, Kalinovica and Lepterija, known for the natural phenomenon, an apparent image of the Mother of God in the boulder.

According to the folk story, military commander and rebel Hajduk-Veljko and female hajduk Čučuk Stana, exchanged vows at this location.

Closer to Sokobanja, on the Ozren mountain, there is a Jermenčić Monastery, founded in the 14th century by the Armenians who were fleeing the invading Ottomans.

[3][15] Aside from the town of Sokobanja, the municipality consists of the following villages (2022 population):[15] The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):[16]