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

With its 8,500 inhabitants, St. Johann in Tirol is situated in the heart of the Kitzbühel Alps at 670 metres above sea level.

When you go skiing in St Moritz glamour and luxury are not the only things to discover.

From Fatschel, above from St. Peter, leads a chair lift to the skiing area St.Peter-Pagig. There is a lift for children, mountain restaurants and a skilift located. The skilift goes up to 2284 metres high.

The ski resort Starý smokovec offers more than just skiing. There are easy and moderate slopes , so it is suitable for beginners and also more advanced skiers. You can get to Hrebienok by a ground cable car.

Thanks to the high snow-safety, the slopes of the ski resort Bergeralm are for use from the end of November to the beginning of April.

The Steinberg area offers numerous activities in a unique winter area in a wide, fluffy high-plateau surrounded from amazing mountains.