Stecci Medieval Tombstones

ZelenkaBlazek's picture

Location

Dalmatia, Dubrovnik
Croatia
43° 29' 4.9272" N, 17° 12' 15.318" E
HR
General info: 

Some real oddities that are present in Croatia, (and also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia) are the Stecci. These medieval tombstones are unique in the world and are closely following the borders of the medieval Bosnian Kingdom. There are a total of 70,000 Stecci spread in the area between the above mentioned countries and several thousand of them are in Croatia. The decorative motifs featured on the tombstones are enigmatic, spirals, rosettes and crescent moons being part of the recurrent motifs on the monuments.

Stecci contain epitaphs written in Cyrillic Bosnian and the oldest one dates back from the 12th century. Larger numbers of Stecci can be seen in both Imotski and Dugopolije, border areas of Croatia. Stećci have been nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List as Joint Cultural Heritage by the four countries in 2009.

Getting there: 

Most of them are located in the areas of Dalmatia and Dubrovnik. An easily accessible location is Cista Provo, only half an hour away from Split.

Costs: 

Free for all

Interesting places nearby

Missen-Wilhams are a well-known climatic health resort, can offer you 13 drag lifts, ski school (downhill, cross country). 20 km cross country ski tracks in the resort, 50 km in the region, winter walking paths 20 km. Toboggan-runs.

BASE: 3280ft
SUMMIT: 9717ft
VERTICAL DROP: 6437ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 48
Gondolas: 6
Chairs: 16
Surface: 26

BASE: 1968ft
SUMMIT: 2591ft
VERTICAL DROP: 623ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 1
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 1

BASE: 4708ft
SUMMIT: 6069ft
VERTICAL DROP: 0ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 5
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 3
Surface: 2

Situated in the best sun position of all the Matterhorn Valley, Torgnon has the chance to be in such a place where the sun is quite common for many hours a day during the winter season.

The skiing area Tschiertschen is located on a highness of 1400-2440 metres. Whoever is on skiing vacation in Tschiertschen, will find versatile tracks and slopes in all difficulties.