Every day we witness the deterioration, carelessness, but also the conscious destruction of our cultural and historical heritage. National monuments such as the Dobor Tower on the border between the municipalities of Modriča, Odžak and Vukosavlje were not spared either.
The non-governmental sector initiated a meeting with the aim of doing something to protect this national monument of BiH. It is encouraging that, to begin with, all three local communities wholeheartedly decided to work together and seek support so that the Dobor Tower would be protected and preserved for new generations.
The last time experts were at the Dobor tower was in the seventies of the last century. Since then, it has been left to neglect, destruction and decay.
“We often used to bring school children up there and tell them about our past, but it’s not an environment in which that can be done. And then we wanted to start an initiative to get it out of the doldrums,” explains Ivo Lubina, president of the Society of Friends of Nature “Lipa” from Odžak.
“To create an environment, to talk in general about a national monument, about an important medieval fortification in order to obtain certain conditions for the start of conservation and restoration works. Dobor is one of the most important medieval cities in Bosnia”, argues Aleksandar Jašarević, archaeologist.
A fortress of great historical importance
Trade and military caravans passed through here. Located on a gorge that leads inland from the Posavina plain through the Bosna valley, Dobor tower was extremely important for centuries.
It was built in 1387 by Croatian ban Ivaniš Horvat, on the foundations of an even older fortress from the 13th century. The Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg captured and burned Dobor in 1394, and 14 years later he defeated the Bosnian king Tvrtko II under its walls. The Ottomans occupied it in 1536.
In Modriča, they often tried to do something to protect the Dobor Tower.
“I have to say that in recent years we have been trying to find a solution with the higher institutions of the RS government and with the line ministries to start at least some works. However, we did not come across a positive response”, says Jovica Radulović, mayor of Modriča municipality.
It is almost impossible to get to the fort
Today it is almost impossible to reach the fort.
“It’s terribly difficult to even get up there. There are a lot of dumps. It should be arranged, put under a level of protection, some kind of informational ramp where people will be made aware that this space has some significance,” adds Lubina.
“For it to be a historical and touristic story that should benefit the citizens of this area because it is the oldest building in this region,” says Anes Osmanović, the mayor of the Odžak municipality.
In Modriča, Odžak and Vukosavlje, they believe that they will succeed in this important work.
“To find funds, as far as our own funds are concerned, as well as to jointly seek additional funds from higher levels of government and other donors”, concludes Zekerijah Bahić, mayor of Vukosavlje municipality.
The responsibility of the entities and the state is unquestionable, and even foreign donors should not refuse support, because Hungarians, Austrians, Ottomans and other conquerors, traders, diplomats and travel writers passed through here.
