Vranduk

Vranduk occupies a rock in a hairpin bend of the Bosna where the river cuts through a gorge, a position that controlled the valley route and made it one of the strongest points in medieval Bosnia; the fortress is recorded from the fourteenth century and was held through the Ottoman period. The village below the walls is small, a cluster of houses on the slope with a wooden mosque built in the fifteenth century, one of the oldest of its type in the country. The fortress has been restored and holds a small museum with a tower to climb and a view along the gorge. The railway and the road run through the valley below.

What you actually see

• The fortress - the restored walls and tower on the rock.
• The wooden mosque - the fifteenth-century village mosque.
• The river bend - the Bosna looping around the rock below.
• The village - the small settlement on the slope.

When to go

May to October for the walking and the views; the fortress keeps daytime hours with reduced winter opening. Weekdays are quiet. The village is small and takes an hour or two.

Honest expectations

The fortress is small and largely restoration. The museum is modest. The village has one or two places to eat. The main road and railway run close and carry noise.

Nearby

Zenica lies south; Maglaj is north down the valley.