5 Top Historic Sites in Bosnia

Vranduk in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a picturesque town best known for its medieval castle. Located approximately 10km north of Zenica, numerous preserved travelogues and manuscripts describe Vranduk as one of the most interesting and resilient parts of Bosnia.

The medieval Vranduk Castle sits on a hill above the Bosna river and once served as the residence of King Stjepan Tomas, who ruled Bosnia in the mid-fifteenth century AD. There are several other interesting attractions in the town including the Ottoman-period Fatih Sultan Mosque.

The Tjentište War Memorial is among the best known of the modernist World War Two memorials constructed in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia known as spomeniks. The Tjentište spomenik is an angular sculpture made of cement located in the Sutjeska National Park, near the Spomen-Dom (Memory House) Museum.

Together, the Tjentište and Spomen-Dom commemorate the Yugoslav Partisan soldiers who died during the Battle of Sutjeska, which took place between 15 May and 16 June 1943, during the Axis Fifth Enemy Offensive aimed at destroying the Partisan force in south-eastern Bosnia.

Mostar Bridge, also known as the Stari Most (‘Old Bridge’), is a reconstructed 16th century Ottoman bridge in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The original bridge stood for 427 years before it was destroyed in 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak War.

It was described by 17th century Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi as “like a rainbow arch soaring up to the skies, extending from one cliff to the other.” He continued: “[I] have passed through 16 countries, but I have never seen such a high bridge. It is thrown from rock to rock as high as the sky.”

The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge is an Ottoman-era bridge that crosses the Drina River in the city of Višegrad, in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The construction of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge took place between 1571 and 1577.

It is 179.5 metres long, and was designed by the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. It was also a site where Bosniak civilians were massacred in 1992 during the Bosnian War. The bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage site and open to walk across.

Radimlja Necropolis is an important medieval monument in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which features large tombstones known as stećci. Most of the tombstones at Radimlja Necropolis date from the 1480s to the 16th century.

The tombstones are carved with detailed portraits of the deceased as well as visual motifs depicting hunting scenes and grapevines. It’s a straightforward journey if you are near Stolac (3 km) or Mostar (33 km), and is sometimes included in tours of the region.