Cultural Corridors of South East Europe

Heritage by Theme / Vernacular Architecture

Smailagic (Pirija) Tower

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Smailagic (Pirija) Tower

About the site


Corridor: Via Adriatica
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Livno
Type: Fortress, Vernacular Architecture
Epoch: Middle Ages
Theme: Vernacular Architecture
World Heritage:
Middle AgesVernacular ArchitectureFortressVernacular Architecture

The Smailagic (Pirija) Tower is located in the Balagusa mahala in Livno. With its height and harmony of proportions, the building makes an important visual element of the urban whole of this neighbourhood (mahala).
In the Middle Ages in Bosnia and Herzegovina feudal lords (spahijas) used to build towers, housing and fortification buildings, with an accompanying housing annex – residence (odzak or konak) each. There were three surviving towers in Livno until the beginning of the 20th century: the Altagic Tower, the Firdus Tower and the Smailagic (Pirija) Tower, the only one that has survived to date.
The tower is a three-storey building with a rectangular basis. Through a stone portal, one enters the ground floor of basement character since its northern side is dug into a solid rock. Rooms on the first floor served as living room in wintertime, with a fireplace in the southern wall. Rooms on the second floor served as bedrooms, while the third floor served as summer living room.

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