The Old Town of Visoko was a well-known medieval town and fortress that was built during the 14th century on Visocica Hill. At the foot of Visocica Hill is today’s town of Visoko.
According to the archive documents from September 1, 1355, the Old Town of Visoko was mentioned for the very first time in the charter of the young Prince Tvrtko I. Kotromanic under the title “in castro nosto Visoka vocatum”. It also served as the headquarters of a high feudal lord with the title of the great prince of Bosnia.
In the second half of the 11th century is mentioned the Bosnian diocese and its seat civitas Bosna, and the seat of the Bosnian diocese was in the Visoko Valley, and it served as the headquarters of the hierarchy elders, as well as the high dignitaries of the Bosnian church.
These documents, according to historians, are the best testimony on the multi-century continuity of BiH.
Already at the end of the 12th century, Kulin Ban built the church in Biskupici, while a royal court was temporarily placed in Mostre (near Visoko) in the middle of the 14th century and Bosnian church performed all public affairs in Mostre. Also, a Franciscan monastery and the crowning place of the Bosnian kings were placed in Mostre between 1377 and 1461, and therefore, it is not difficult to conclude that Visoko Valley with the Old Town of Visoko, Podvisoko, Mile, and Mostre were the early center of the Bosnian kingdom.
The Old Town of Visoko is located at the top of the 213 meters high Visocica Hill at an altitude of 766.5 m, and about 300 meters above the valley where the town of Visoko was developed. It is located in a location with a great view of the surrounding area.
The primary function of the Old Town Visoko was defense, but it was also a place where the Bosnian rulers wrote many charters and documents, and the last one was the one written in 1436 when the prince Tvrtko Borovinic issued the documents in Visoko. Although it was abandoned a long time ago, evidence and history of the Old Town of Visoko and other places were found through archeological excavations during the 1950’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.
Today, the Old Town of Visoko is a National Monument of BiH. The Academy of Sciences and Arts of BiH in November 2006 issued postal stamps with motifs of 11 fragments of stone doors that were found in 1994 around the Old Town.
(Source: nap.ba)
