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

The ski resort Zochova Chata – Piesok is located in the touristic location Zochova chata. 15 km from the town of Modra in the Small Carpathians mountains. The resort is suitable for beginners and families with children.

The ski area Zillertal Arena is the largest skiing and winter sports area in the Zillertal.

Zermatt is a car-free ski resort at the foot of Switzerland's most famous mountain, the Matterhorn.

The ski area Zell am See – Schmittenhöhe is well-known for it’s snow reliability and valley runs that span an altitude of 1000 m. The pistes range from easy to difficult and can be prepared with artificial snow.

BASE: 3166ft
SUMMIT: 3661ft
VERTICAL DROP: 495ft

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

BASE: 2132ft
SUMMIT: 3264ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1131ft

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