Corridor: Via Adriatica
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Blagaj
Type: Fortress, Vernacular Architecture
Epoch: Modern Times, Middle Ages, Antiquity
Theme:
World Heritage:

The mediaeval fort of Blagaj, with the town below, which is referred to in documentary sources to this day by the same name, is situated on the edge of Bisce plain, above the source of the river Buna.
Specific natural and geographical features have always affected the development of communication infrastructure. The main Roman roads passed through this region, forming the shortest route from the Adriatic coast to the Sava and Danube valleys. The mediaeval roads followed the old Roman roads, but because of the reduced needs of caravans pulled by horses new roads were also built, particularly in the mountainous regions. In mediaeval times the main trade routes in the country ran through Bisce and Blagaj. A number of market towns developed along these routes.
The development of the present-day Blagaj region and its socio-political transformation can
be traced from the prehistoric era to the present day. Paleolithic cave dwellings, “Pecina Sevrljica”, Neolithic cave dwellings, “Zelena pecina” as well as important archaeological sites from the Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages have been discovered. The main Roman settlements were in Negocine – a major crossroads of four main roads leading to Narona, Stolac, Nevesinje and Konjic – Kosor and the Kosor bridge, over which the road to Blagaj ran. On the south-west summit of Blagaj hill, where the remains of Blagaj's mediaeval fortress now lays, fortifications in Roman times must have existed, at least judging from the archaeological material found on its slopes. The walls of a more solid Roman fortification, Mala gradina, still stand out on the opposite, north-east summit.

Council of Europe, RPSEE