Kraljeva Sutjeska
 With its rich history
as well as unusual location Kraljeva Sutjeska represents an ideal holiday
destination throughout the year. Its geographic position and relative proximity
to Kakanj (12 km), Zenica (45 km) and Sarajevo (56 km) make it a „harbour of
salvation“ and a perfect holiday destination in the Central BiH.
The place used to be called Sutiska, a name which dates back to the 14th
century. Kraljeva Sutjeska once was the capital of the Bosnian medieval kingdom,
the place of residence of the royal family of Kotromanic and last of the Bosnian
rulers, queen Katarina Vukčić-Kosača and king Stjepan Tomaš.
Queen Katarina spent 17 years in the area of Bobovac and Kraljeva Sutjeska. She
holds a special place in the memory of the people of Kraljeva Sutjeska and she
remains present in their everyday lives to this day. The day of the queen's
death, October 25th, is traditionally marked with various manifestations in
Sutjeska's monastery, church and the royal town of Bobovac.
There is also a traditional manifestation “Save Bobovac”, with cultural-historic
and ecological activities, which gathers a large number of both domestic and
foreign guests.
The monastery of St. John the Baptist, built in 1340, represents a national
cultural monument of BiH. Within the monastery there is a famous library and a
museum with a rich collection of numerous exhibits of immeasurable cultural,
historic and artistic value. The monastery keeps 31 inkunabula (books printed
until 1500), numerous archive documents and a valuable collection of pictures,
textile and metal products. The monastery also has an active artistic gallery
which is the host to various cultural programs such as painting exhibitions,
book promotions, concerts and traditional handicrafts exhibitions.
The Tourist Info Office has been functional in Kraljeva Sutjeska since June
2005. Curia Bani foundation and NGO Forum of Women “Alternaive” Kakanj conduct
their activity from this office. They all work together on sustaining and
further strengthening of the Tourist Info Office. Members of the Curia Bani
foundation also edit “Sutjeski Vjesnik”, a newspaper formed several years ago.
As part of the manifestation “Days of queen Katarina”, which took place on
October 20th 2005, the queen’s statue was installed in front of the monastery.
In such a way queen Katarina has symbolically come back to Kraljeva Sutjeska.
Its geographic location, optimal climate, preserved natural scenery, clean air,
historic-cultural monuments and natural attractions make Kraljeva Sutjeska a
perfect holiday destination, ideal for the development of tourism in this part
of the Central BiH region.
Nearby Bukovica, located by Bukovica river which is rich in fish, is ideal for
recreational holiday. Its proximity to the royal town of Bobovac makes it even
more attractive, as it provides an opportunity to walk over the ground the
medieval kings walked over themselves. Intact nature with specific plant species
is an invitation to the people with increased ecological awareness who are
getting more numerous every day.
Sight in Kraljeva Sutjeska that are worth to be visited:
· Bobovac – the capital of the medieval Bosnian kingdom; there is the
Royal mausoleum and the remains of the Kotromanic dynasty’s castle;
read more...
· The Mosque – dates back to 15th century and is thought to be one of the
oldest mosques in BiH; it was built by sultan Mehmed El Fatih;
read more...
· The Franciscan monastery – national cultural monument dating back to
the year 1340;
read more...
· Within the monastery there is a library, one of the most interesting
and most valuable libraries in BiH regarding its collection of old books,
especially 31 inkunabula; total number of books goes over 11000;
read more...
· The Monastery’s archive – annual records of the born since 1641,
numerous scripts, chronicles, written documents from 15th to 19th century –
about 3500 documents; read more...
· Remains of the Royal Castle – it is believed the castle was initially
built by Stjepan II Kotromanic in the first half of the 14th century; read more...
Old Bosnian house – cultural monument in Kraljeva Sutjeska with the
original architecture dating back to the 18th century;
read more... ZGOŠĆANSKI STEĆAK
(ZGOSCA'S TOMBSTONE)
A special place in the
cultural history of BiH is held by stećci, tombstones decorated with writings in
Bosnian alphabet (bosančica) and numerous sculptures which together represent a
part of life and history of BiH. One of the most beautiful, if not the most
beautiful, is stećak from Zgošća found in Kakanj municipality, in the locality
of Crkvine near the present day mine Zgošća. Archaeologist and ethnographer Ćiro
Truhelka moved it to the botanical garden of the State museum in Sarajevo in
1914 where it remains today.
Stećak, almost 14 tones in weight, was carved by an artist from Dalmatia in
Romanic style using brown limestone found in the locality of stećak (locality
Ispod kamena on the western side of Cross hill left of Bijela voda stream).
Ornamentation of stećak has always attracted attention of numerous
historians, archaeologists and art historians but it is still unclear as to whom
it was erected for. Some experts connect it with ban Stjepan II Kotromanić,
others with Kulin Ban while some say it belonged to a branch of the Kotromanić
dynasty.
Stećak from Zgošća is rich in ornaments and sculptures. The front side of the
sarcophagus-shaped monument shows a town with gate, two large towers next to it
and two smaller towers in the corners. In front of the town sits ban on the
throne with two aids on each side. On one tower there is a lady sitting on the
balcony and looking around. Beneath this composition there are two servants
holding two saddled horses prepared for nobles to mount them. On the right side
there are two rows showing two scenes: the upper row shows four armoured knights
ridding horses from right to left surrounded by swords and spears; the lower one
is an account of hunting in the forest. The bottom of stećak is decorated with
six fields holding stars carved out of circles.
Vejsil Ćurčić, who studied ancient weapons in BiH, thinks that part of stećak
from Zgošća shows a knight tournament.
Let us also say that a cast replica of stećak is located in the crypt of the
Franciscan monastery's church in Kraljeva Sutjeska.
Text prepared by: prof. dr. Fra Stjepan Duvnjak |
