What is Central Bosnia for the average tourist from northeastern Croatia who wants to take the shortest route to the sea? Transit point only! I have to say unfortunately... Descending towards the south, they will drive along the Bosna river, look in amazement at the entrance to the discotheque in Travnik in the shape of a lion's head and the Viteza business zone, which even much bigger cities would not be ashamed of, and possibly eat kebabs somewhere along the way. While participating in a four-day press trip around the central Bosnian canton, I personally saw that Central Bosnia is actually a full-blooded tourist destination where you can spend a few days in a meaningful and fulfilling way. In my opinion, what should be normal and self-evident is that every group of tourists traveling through Bosnia to the sea in Bosnia stops for a day, two or more on the way or on the way back from the Adriatic, because Central Bosnia is halfway to the sea.
An equally, if not better, solution is to do it yourself Central Bosnia becomes the ultimate vacation destination. Natural beauty, excellent gastronomy, an interesting cultural and historical heritage imbued with the influence of various civilizational legacies, ancient traditions that are jealously guarded and resist modernizing uniformity in combination with warm hosts... All this is Central Bosnia!
The special charm of staying there lies in the fact that there is no mass tourism. A tourist is not an "enemy" of a local, tourists are not seen as walking ATMs from which they just need to siphon as much money as possible, and when it comes to money, prices in Bosnia and Herzegovina are in many cases at the level of Croatian pre-pandemic/pre-inflation rates. A tourist is a welcome and valued guest there, and in the interaction with the hosts, this distinction between host and guest is slowly being erased because Bosnians are simply like that – direct, cordial, open, uncalculated, good-natured, cheerful... You come as a guest, get to know the local people and very quickly become part of the team.
Central Bosnia (in the specific case Jajce) I "started" in May, during my return from roads around Herzegovina. The organizer of the Herzegovina press trip had an inkling that he was preparing something similar for Central Bosnia, so I had to do one on the way home sneak peek. Jajce delighted me as a real "forge of history", the seat of the Bosnian kings and the place where the architecture of post-war, socialist Yugoslavia was shaped. But Central Bosnia is not only Jajce, it is also Fojnica, Kiseljak, Kreševo, Novi Travnik, Travnik and Vitez. We visited that part of Central Bosnia during our press trip, and Central Bosnia also includes Bugojno, Busovača, Dobretići, Donji Vakuf and Uskoplje, and I will cruise through that part in detail as soon as the opportunity arises.
So, after this exhaustive introduction, let's talk a little about why you should go to Central Bosnia and what you will experience there. After the last time I stayed in Central Bosnia in the royal city of Jajce, this time I started with one royal city, namely Kreševo. Kresevo is a small town located some forty kilometers west of Sarajevo, and was first mentioned in written sources in 1434. In the Middle Ages, it was the center of mining with numerous mines, smelters and forges, one of which has survived to this day. We are talking about the Kraljević forge, where they gave us a live presentation of iron forging and the making of utility items from that metal. The old part of the city is especially beautiful, where there is a group of Bosnian houses that are more than a hundred years old. That part of the city is protected as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. When you pass through that complex, you can see the Franciscan monastery, which was founded in the 15th century and is also a protected cultural monument.
Within the monastery there is also a museum which, in addition to the sacred collection, also has many exhibits dedicated to the mining and metallurgical tradition of this region. It also contains a rare edition of the book "De re metallica" - "On metals" printed in 1657 in Italy. The museum also has an ethnographic, numismatic, and archaeological collection, and it also houses the memorial room of the legendary brother Grga Martić. His monument is located in the center of the city, just like in Posušje, where this Franciscan was born. At the age of 12, he entered the monastery in Kreševo, and at the age of 15 he entered the Franciscan order. He later continued his education in Slavonia in Požega, and today Kreševo and Požega are friend cities. An unusual and unique custom of shoeing chicken eggs was born in Kreševo. An old story says that no blacksmith from Kreš could get married without first mastering the filigree skill of egg shoeing. They are still used today and represent a unique souvenir from Kreš, and we were convinced that this tradition and skill is very much alive and far from dying out just by seeing how skillfully a nineteen-year-old boy does it. If you need accommodation in Kreševo, the hotel is the ideal place for that Adrial. It is located along the Kreševčica river and has all the amenities a modern traveler needs, and the Regius restaurant, which operates within the hotel, offers a handful of great delicacies.
After a pleasant night spent in the Adriale Hotel in Kreševo, it was time to get to know other hidden corners of Central Bosnia. Rakova Noga is a suburb of Kreševa, about fifteen minutes' drive from the city center. There is a "hobbit settlement" in it Underground village. It is owned by the Miličević family, which has four daughters - Marija, Milijana, Valentina and Vedran. The idea dawned on Christmas 2021, and very quickly it was realized on their ancestral land, on the Golišan hill, which is located just above their family home. They built six houses, one for each family member, and each family member independently decided how the house should be decorated. Mama Jozefina's house is called "Kreševka" and it is a kind of homage to the traditional lifestyle of this region. Zdravka's dad's house is called Citrin, after the yellow ore characteristic of that region. Marija's house is called "Ober", Milijana's "Lipa", Vedrana's "Bedem" and Valentina's "Čador". In addition to offering accommodation services, they also make excellent fruit distillates; we equally enjoyed their plum brandy, as well as their cherry liqueur.
About ten kilometers north of Rakovo Noga is the small town of Kiseljak, known primarily for its mineral water "Sarajevo sorrel". The first question was why the name Sarajevski kiseljak if Kiseljak is a city in itself, and not a city municipality or a suburb of Sarajevo? The answer lies in the fact that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, kiseljak is a general name for mineral water, so among other things there is, for example, Tešanjski kiseljak. Due to the proximity of Sarajevo (it is located about thirty kilometers to the west), they took the name Sarajevski kiseljak, because it would be a bit funny if they called their water Kiseljački kiseljak, and since their source is the closest to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo is also their largest single urban market. they called him from Sarajevo. In one of the sorrel parks, there is a fountain from which you can freely drink sorrel, and people who come to the spring with canisters and take sorrel "to go" are a common sight. There is also a bust of academician Josip Bać, a hydrogeological engineer by profession, who spent a large part of his working life in Kiseljak.
Fojnica is located some twenty kilometers west of Kiseljak and there are two imposing sacred buildings - the Atik or Maiden's Mosque, and the Franciscan Monastery. Atik Mosque it is almost half a millennium old and is located at the foot of Prangija hill. A friendly and communicative hodja revealed a handful of interesting things to us in the mosque itself, including why women pray higher and men lower, he drew parallels between Christianity and Islam, stressing that at first the prophet Muhammad was not understood, just like Jesus, and was expelled by the Arabs of that time, who at that time considered the birth of a girl a misfortune for the family, and could bury them alive in the desert sand without sanctions. Prophet Muhammad came out strongly against this practice. The first word of the Qur'anic revelation is "Ikre!" - "Read/Learn!" "I am no stranger to criticizing members of my religion, because if Muslims read more, Islam would be better understood. For example, the Koran strictly forbids alcohol," emphasized Hodja, and I would say that the same analogy can be drawn with any established religion in the world.
After the mosque, we go to the Franciscan monastery of the Holy Spirit. A true Bosnian multicultural contrast. Just as the mosque is located under the Prangija hill, this monastery is also located under the Križa hill. The original monastery was demolished half a millennium ago, in 1524, and construction began in 1502. It was later renovated several times. This monastery also has a rich museum where, among other things, the famous Fojnička is preserved Ahdnama – imperial decree from 1463 issued by Sultan Mehmed II el Fatih. Previously, the sultan executed the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević, and the Franciscan Anđeo Zvizdović met the sultan on Milodražev polje near Fojnica, recognized him as the new sovereign of Bosnia and requested freedom of action for the Franciscans in Bosnia. The sultan answered these requests in the affirmative, and until the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, the Franciscans were the only Catholic priests there. The museum also has a rich numismatic collection, and the largest banknote in its possession is the one of 5 (five billion) issued by the central bank of the FRY in 000 - a time when everyone in the former Yugoslavia was a billionaire... In the museum of the Fojnica monastery there is also the oldest dated painting in BiH, from 000.
There is a place about twenty kilometers south of Fojnica Dezevice. There is a shrine of St. Jakov of Mark and the cave where he stayed. The people call this shrine the water or spring of St. Jakov, and the interesting thing is that the water is in the cave, but it does not spring from it. In the immediate vicinity, there is also a great restaurant/motel Luka, where we enjoyed fogs and other local delicacies. Fojnik mists are made from flour, salt, water and oil. From these ingredients, the dough is kneaded as for a pie. After it has stood, it is rolled out on the table with a rolling pin and sprinkled with flour so that it does not stick. Then it is poured with oil and rolled on a rolling pin. It is then cut into pieces about two centimeters long and then baked at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. They are served with yogurt, garlic and a little salt.
After Deževica, here we are again in Fojnica. At the Reumal Hotel, the first marathon carriage in BiH with harnessed Bosnian mountain horses is waiting for us Lamija Džigal – Bektešević, the owner of a stud farm located in the immediate vicinity. After thirty years spent in the Netherlands, she returned to her native land and dedicated herself to horse breeding.
We continue on, until Kozica waterfalls. It is a place that cannot be described in words. It is a complex of waterfalls that descend vertically down the rock cliffs, and the largest ones are about twenty meters high. On the way back, we are greeted by hardworking members of the "Fojnička žena" association with their interesting handicrafts.
Pejčinović Winery it is located in Mrakovi, which is located some eight kilometers northwest of Kiseljak. We tasted their sauvignon blanc, a white coupage, and a red coupage of merlot and cabernet sauvignon called Red darkness. When asked where the winery in this area comes from (the only winery in Central Bosnia whose wines I have tasted so far is "Povratak" from Žepče), the owner Goran Pejčinović reveals that he got the inspiration for winemaking during his stay in Baranja, the Mother of Wine. He was fascinated by the passion and dedication of the Baranja winemakers, and that was the incentive for him to enter the world of winemaking. Along with their wines, the food they served us on the terrace of their winery, starting with trout and continuing, was also very pleasing.
After the winery, we return to Knight, to the ethnic village of Čardaci, which will be our temporary home for the next two days. The square of amazed views is one of the locations in that complex. From there you can go to apartments in the form of retro houses, to a pub that is the center of knightly night life on weekends, or further to a complex of swimming pools and restaurants located right on the water. They also have an indoor spa area with indoor pools and a sauna complex. A holiday resort where everyone can find facilities for themselves.
Place Guča Gora it is located on the slopes of the Vlašić mountain, nine kilometers northeast of Travnik, and there is another fascinating Franciscan monastery. In the immediate vicinity, there is also a shop selling local products of local OPG residents, and among other things, you can also find Gučkogorsk jeger there.
On the third day of our journey through Central Bosnia, we found ourselves in the county center of Travnik. Walking through the streets of the city, the Vizier's shop catches the eye in the abyss of the Colorful Mosque. Let's go on to birthplace and museum of Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić, and in front of it there is a huge statue of an elephant, hommage Andrić's novel "The Story of the Vizier's Elephant". The house in which the museum is located was once owned by the Antunović family, and Tadija Antunović was listed as Andrić's godfather. Namely, the Andrić family did not live in that house, so it can be said that Ivo was "born away".
Andrić came to Travnik for the first time only during World War I, under strange circumstances and against his will. After the Sarajevo assassination, he was arrested by the Austro-Hungarian police in Split in 1914 as a sympathizer of the "Young Bosnia" movement and an alleged friend of Gavrilo Princip. He spends eight months in the Maribor penitentiary, and after they could not accuse him of involvement in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, they still consider him an ideological enemy of the regime and impose a measure of confinement on him, in his native Travnik. He then lives with the friars in Ovčarev, near Travnik, because one of them was his uncle, his mother's brother. Andrić spends his time in confinement studying the library and archives of the Guča Gora monastery. From "uncle" - the popular name for the Franciscans in Bosnia, he heard a lot of old stories and legends from the history of Bosnia, which inspired him to write a whole series of stories in which the Bosnian Franciscans have a special place. After World War I, he stayed in Travnik several times, collecting data for his novel "Travnica Chronicle", and was also an elected representative who represented the Travnica district in the National Assembly.
After culture, it's time for gastronomy, and what better place to eat in Travnik than the famous Travnik kebabs, and our destination was kebab shop Hari. Tasty, juicy and supple. I ate a double portion without a problem, and that says enough. When you are in Travnik, you must visit his The fortress. The hosts proudly point out that it is one of the "most beautiful and best-preserved fortification buildings in medieval Bosnia". At the end of the 17th century, Travnik became the seat of the vizier and remained so for the next 150 years, the de facto capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Novi Travnik is also close to Travnik, and it is located some four kilometers from the city center Smrika necropolis which was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2012. It is a work by the famous author of memorial architecture, Bogdan Bogdanović, made in 1975 in memory of the victims of the fascist terror of 1941. It consists of 12 stone cenotaphs.
After an afternoon rest in the ethnic village "Čardaci", the road took us to the tavern in the evening Settlements. With the delicacies under the baking, the mayor of Novi Travnik, Stjepan Dujo, announces the imminent opening of the tourist board in that central Bosnian town. Everything served there (except for žilavka and blatina from Herzegovina) was homemade... and superb.
Sunday started with a visit The fairy pit which is located in Šebešić, which was a real adventure considering its narrow passages and bats flying overhead. Then we went to the necropolis of the stećak Maculje, where we enjoyed lunch outdoors at 1000 meters above sea level.
Everything I saw during the four-day press trip in Central Bosnia convinced me that it is a full-blooded destination that lacks nothing... Visit Central Bosnia and see for yourself.
Photo source: Mario Jukić
