Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Visoki Castle
The Old Town of Visoki was a medieval royal castle town built during the 14th century on the top of the hill overlooking town of Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first mention of the town was on 1 September 1355, in the charter 'in castro nosto Visoka vocatum' written by Tvrtko I of Bosnia while he was a young ban. The town was abandoned before 1503, because it is not mentioned in the Turkish-Hungarian t ...Hodidjed
Hodidjed is a ruined medieval fort near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hodidjed was the only known fortification in the area of Vrhbosna župa in the High Middle Ages. The fort, located at Han Bulog east of Sarajevo, was first taken by the Ottoman Empire between 1428 and 1430, then retaken by Matko Talovac in 1434, and then taken again by Barak Isaković in 1435.Ključ Castle
Kljuc Castle was built in the 13th century to the site of ancient Roman fort. The last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević was captured by Ottomans from Kljuc where he was hiding in 1463. There castle contains of tower and some walls.Bjelaj Castle
Bjelaj castle, locally known as Stari Grad Bjelaj (Bjelaj old town), is a medieval town-fortress complex near the village of Bjelaj, Bosanski Petrovac. Located on the edge of the Petrovac plain (or part thereof Bjelajsko fields), on the northern slope of the Osječenica mountain. The area around the city is uninhabited and lean. The whole complex is situated on a plateau about 850 metres long. On the south end of the no ...Dubrovnik Castle
Medieval Town of Dubrovnik is medieval fortress in the area of Višnjica, Ilijaš municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although there are no precise data on the origin of the city, it is assumed that it was built in the 13th century because it was first mentioned in the Dubrovnik archives, on July 11, 1404. It is believed that the town was named after the medieval merchants from Dubrovnik who came in that period with th ...Glamoč Castle
Glamoč is a medieval fortress located on the north slopes of Staretina mountain just above town of Glamoč. The construction of the fortress started in the 14th century.Komotin Castle
Komotin Castle is a ruined castle in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Jajce Municipality. Komotin is believed to have been built in the early 14th century. The last Bosnian King Stephen Tomašević issued a charter which gave Komotin to his uncle Radivoj Kotromanić. The architecture shows that komotin was a manorial court, but its positioning high on a hill that was difficult to access other than by narrow winding paths m ...Bobovac
Bobovac is a fortified city of medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located near today"s Vareš and the village of Borovica. The city was built during the reign of Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia, and was first mentioned in a document dating from 1349. It shared the role of seat of the rulers of Bosnia with Kraljeva Sutjeska, however Bobovac was much better fortified than the other. Bosnian King Stephen Tomaševi ...Maglaj Castle
Maglaj Fortress is a large castle mentioned for the first time on in 1408 in the charter of the Hungarian king Sigismund. Although it was made in 14th century to serve in the defence of the Bosnian kingdom, not until the time of the Ottoman rule did the Fortress get its final shape. Fortress Gradina was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005. The Fortress Gradina consists of 5 towers: Širbegova o ...Bočac Fortress
Bočac Fortress is located on the left bank of the Vrbas River, on the half of motorway E661, between Banja Luka and Jajce. It was built in the early 15th century on a rock, in order to defend the crossing over the Vrbas River. The Fortress was mentioned for the first time in a charter from 1448. From 1463 to 1527, when it fell under the Ottoman rule, the city used to be the fortification of the Banovina of Jajce. In th ...Klobuk Fortress
Klobuk is a medieval fortress in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the karst plateau of Mirotinske grede, near the village of Klobuk, Trebinje, in the Republic of Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is believed to have been built in the 9th century. In the work of Constantine Porphyrogenitus De Administrando Imperio in the middle of the 10th century, he mentions a town in the parish of Vrm in the ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
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Château de Foix
The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.
The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.
From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.
As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).
Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.
Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.