Visoko

Visoko was the political centre of the medieval Bosnian state, where rulers were crowned and charters issued, with the royal court at Mile and the fortress of Visoki on the hill above the town, whose ruins remain. That history is the substance of the place. Since 2005 the town has been better known internationally for a claim that Visocica hill and its neighbours are artificial pyramids built in antiquity, a proposition rejected by archaeologists and geologists who identify the hills as natural formations, and by the professional bodies that examined it; excavations and tunnel tours run on that basis and draw visitors. The town also has a long leather and tanning tradition.

History

People have lived here since the Palaeolithic, and at Okolište, around 4700 to 4500 BC, some 3,000 people lived in a fortified Neolithic settlement of the Butmir culture, one of the largest in southeastern Europe; the Illyrian Daesitiates followed, and Rome took the area in 9 AD. The Visoko valley, once simply called Bosna, became the nucleus of the medieval Bosnian state, the fortress of Visoki on Visočica hill is first mentioned in a charter of Ban Tvrtko I in 1355, and Podvisoki, Mile, Biskupići and Moštre below it formed the early centre of the kingdom, where Tvrtko I was crowned (Wikipedia, Visoko).

The main sights

• Visoki fortress - the medieval royal fortress ruins on the hill.
• The Mile site - the coronation and burial place of the medieval rulers.
• The pyramid tours - the tunnels and excavations run on the disputed claim.
• Leatherwork - the tanning tradition the town has kept.

When to go

May to October for the hills and the walking; the fortress path is muddy in wet weather. Tours of the tunnels run year round. The town is quiet outside the tour operation.

Things to know

The pyramid claim is not accepted by archaeologists or geologists and the tours present it as fact; visitors should know that before paying. The medieval sites have little interpretation. The fortress ruin is a walk up from town with no facilities.

Nearby

Sarajevo lies southeast; Bobovac is northwest.

Key facts