Trip to Merdžan glava!

When I visited Fortica above Mostar, I announced that the continuation of that story would be a visit to the fortress on Merdžan Glava (802 n/m). Well, it’s time for that trip.

If the most beautiful view of Mostar is from Fortica, then the most beautiful view of Mount Velež, that mighty rock whose peaks reach 1900 meters above sea level, is definitely from Merdžan Glava. The highest peak is Botin at 1,969 meters.

View of Velež, Photo: Adria fun

From Fortica to Merdžan glava you have to drive on an asphalted road for about twenty minutes through the endless pastures of Podveležje plateau, where I did not meet any cattle. That karst area is not arable and is almost completely deserted. I meet only a few adventurers like me who wander through vast wastelands in the shadow of a large wind farm, which slightly spoils the idyll of beautiful but harsh nature.

Merdžan Glava is a hill on this plateau and is visible from afar, but I did not reach it by car because the last few hundred meters of macadam were too demanding for my limousine.

Fortress on Merdžan glava, Photo: Adria fun

By building belt fortifications on the territory of Herzegovina, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy established a defensive line that was the guarantor of the defense of the eastern borders.

Mostar, on the other hand, was a rear stronghold and had 19 fortified buildings, the most in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Merdžan Glava is one of the four built by Austria-Hungary, but not much is known about it.

Fortress on Merdžan glava, Photo: Adria fun

The fortress is not in good condition and it is obvious that no one takes care of it, and a base station for mobile phones has been built next to it, which further disfigures its appearance.

I visited it twice, peeked under its walls, and tried to imagine what military life was like in this place. Historical sources say that the Austro-Hungarian military engineering, in order to test the quality of its construction, after building the Merdžan fortress, fired at the head with its artillery.

Fortress on Merdžan glava, Photo: Adria fun

They also say that you can see how large stone blocks were subsequently placed in the damaged wall.

Although I looked closely, I did not notice such a thing, but I am sure that it is the right thing if you also visit it and see for yourself!