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Bosnian
Kingdom Trail
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CAJENGRAD, VISOKO
During the
rule of the Bosnian Kingdom, Visoko
valley was
a very important trade, cultural and
educational centre of the Bosnian Church. Old
Town
„Cajengrad“ is a medieval fortress which
served to
defend Bobovac from enemies and today
represents
an archaeological site. The fortress
was
discovered by accident when a few locals
found a
stone structure with windows during a
rock
climb. Mile, which is believed to be one of
the
residences of Bosnian kings, is located 5 km
from the
city’s centre. Findings so far show
that
Stjepan II Kotromanic and Tvrtko Kotromanic
resided
there. This is also the place where
Tvrtko was
crowned and buried at the Church of
St.
Nicholas.Mile is also known for the trade
agreement
between Bosnia and the Republic of
Ragusa
(Republic of Dubrovnik) signed in 1189
under the
Charter of Kulin Ban, the oldest
preserved
Bosnian document written in bosancica
(Cyrillic).
Info:
Tourist Information Centre: 00 387 32
733 186,
visoko@bosnae.ba
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VRANDUK, ZENICA
Medieval Fortress “Vranduk” is
located
outside the urban area of Zenica in the
hills
above the Bosna River. It once served as
King
Stjepan Tomas’s residence. Vranduk has a
small
museum ethnographic collection within
tremendously preserved walls, a tiny café and
Fatih
Sultan Mehmet’s Mosque built on the base
of a
former medieval St. Thomas’ Church located
at the
foot of the fortress. Nearby is the old
mill in a
beautiful natural surrounding.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre, Zenica: 00
387 32 209
513,
zenica@bosnae.ba
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BOBOVAC, VARES
Bobovac
was founded by the order of King Stjepan
Kotromanic
in the mid 14th century as an asylum
for
royalties. As this royal fortress/town is a
burial
site of three kings: Stjepan Ostoja,
Tvrtko II
Kotromanic and Stjepan Tomas, the
fortress
encompasses a mausoleum.The site is
located 60
min on foot or 15 min by car from
Kraljeva
Sutjeska (30 min ride from Vares).
Info:
Tourist Information CentreVareš: 00 387
32 843
840;
vares@bosnae.ba
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KRALJEVA SUTJESKA,
KAKANJ
Kraljeva
Sutjeska was the residence of King
Stjepan
Tomas, King Tvrtko Kotromanic and Queen
Katarina,
also known as the last Bosnian queen.
Katarina
is still mourned in Central Bosnia,
where
Catholic women wear black scarves in
memory of
the Queen. The early 14th century
Monastery,
which stands to be a guardian of B&H
history,
comprises of a church, a museum and a
library.
The Venetian style church houses
beautiful
icons, Queen Katarina’s statue and the
oldest
organs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas
the museum
and the library have a great
collection
of valuable paintings, an incunabula
collection
(31 books dating pre 15th century)
and an
ethnographic collection.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre Kraljeva
Sutjeska:
00 387 32 552 160,
k.sutjeska@bosnae.ba
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MAGLAJ
Middle Ages in Maglaj remain to be visible in
over a hundred tomb stones and the Maglaj
Fortress, built in the late 13th century which
served to defend the town from conquerors. With
the arrival of Ottomans, the fortress was
reconstructed and a clock tower was added to it
in the 17th century. Stone spheres of unknown
origin and
purpose (dating back 20.000 B.C.) can
also be
seen – one of them is displayed in front
of
Maglaj’s City Library. Maglaj is also the
home to
one of five Catholic Church shrines in
Bosnia and
Herzegovina – the Shrine of St.
Leopold
Mandic. St. Leopold was known as the
Apostle of
Confession and the Apostle of Unity
and his
hand bones are kept at the church. A
special
mass is held on Wednesdays when all
visitors
are welcome.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre Maglaj: 00
387 32 609
570,
maglaj@bosnae.ba
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TESANJ
Tesanj is
where the ancient and the modern era
meet. The
Fortress of Tesanj, dating back to the
Illyrian
period, was furnished in the Middle
Ages and
later was added a clock tower. The
fortress
has two garrisons and a restaurant/café
and is
often a venue of various cultural and
entertainment events. The other sightseer
attraction
is the 17th century Ferhat-bey’s
Mosque
built by Ferhat-bey, a relative of the
Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre Tešanj: 00
387 32 650
022,
tesanj@bosnae.ba
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FOJNICA
Kozovgrad, the Fortress of Fojnica,
was the
last asylum of Queen Katarina on her
escape
from Bobovac to Dubrovnik, and then to
Rome. The
legend says that the Queen ordered the
horses to
be shoed in reverse to mislead the
enemies.
Traces of horseshoes leading towards
Zenica are
still visible in Kozovgrad. Some
other
must-sees are the Franciscan monasteries
in Fojnica
and Kraljeva Sutjeska. The Monastery
in Fojnica
dates back to the 14th century and
its museum
and library have over forty thousand
titles and
a significant incunabula collection
(books
written before the 16th century).
Ahdnama,
the oath decree, which provided
independence and religious freedom to Bosnian
Franciscans as declared by Fatih Sultan Mehmet
in the
16th century, is still kept at the
museum.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre Fojnica: 00 387
30 802
521;
fojnica@bosnae.ba
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TRAVNIK
The Travnik Fortress, tombstones and
the
Maculja Necropolis are some of the medieval
remains to
be found in Travnik. The Fortress of
Travnik is
a well preserved structure located
between
two brooks, Hendek and Sumece, and
approachable from the north across a stone
bridge.
With the arrival of the Turkish Empire,
Travnik
became the capital of Ottoman in Bosnia
and in
1699 the residence of viziers. The
Bosnian
viziers presided in Travnik for over 150
years.
Sulejmanija Mosque, or the so-called
Colourful
Mosque due to floral motives and
calligraphic scripts, was originally built in
1757.
Other Travnik must-sees include: the Town
Museum – a
great number of photos, paintings,
ethnographic artefacts and numismatic
collections and a library; the Museum/Birth
place of
Ivo Andric (1892 – 1975), a winner of
Nobel
Prize for Literature – the birth room,
Travnik
chronicles, library and art collection.
Tourist
Information Centre Travnik: 00 387 30
518 140,
travnik@bosnae.ba
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PRUSAC
Prusac is
a small hill town in a coniferous
forest and
white-stone houses scattered all over
it. The
old town of Prusac with remains of the
fortress
and a recently renovated clock-tower,
used to
serve as an army fort during the Ottoman
period.
Prusac was a birth place of Hasan
Kjafija
Pruscak, an academic devoted to
enlightening the population, well known among
scholars
from Istanbul. At the time, Prusac was
the
gathering place of numerous intellectuals.
Today,
this is the largest Islamic pilgrimage
site in
Europe. For more than 500 years,
thousands
of Muslims have gathered at the holy
site of
Ajvatovica. The site was named after
grandfather Ajvaz, who according to legend,
spent 40
days praying to God to send rain in the
period of
great drought. As on the fortieth
morning
rain came, people began visiting this
site where
God’s miracle took place.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre Prusac: 00 387
30 205
500,
prusac@bosnae.ba
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JAJCE
The Medieval Fortress of Jajce rises
above the
22-m high Pliva Waterfall. The
Fortress
encompassing ramparts, towers (Church
of St.
Maria and Tower of St. Luke) and 15th
century
catacombs is one of the most impressive
and
universal cultural heritage sites in the
country.
During the rein of King Tvrtko II,
Jajce
developed into a royal town, and later the
residence
of Bosnian kings. The last Bosnian
King
Stjepan Tomasevic, whose bones are kept at
the
Franciscan Monastery in Jajce, was crowned
in Jajce.
Some other attractions are: the 18th
century
Krslak’s House with a small ethnographic
collection
and the late 3rd century Temple of
the Roman
god Mithras.
Info:
Tourist Information Centre Jajce: 00 387
30 658
268;
jajce@bosnae.ba
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