Travnik Old Town Fortress

The fortress of the Old Town of Travnik, also known as the Travnik fortress, is considered one of the most beautiful and best-preserved fortified buildings in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This fortress, which dates back to the era before the Ottoman Empire, when the former Christian Kingdom ruled this area, is a real historical gem.

The Old Town of Travnik, Photo: Petar Ubiparip, Pixabay

The old town is located at the eastern end of today’s town of Travnik, on the cut-off and partly rocky slope of Vlašić. On the eastern side of the fort is the source of the Šumeće stream, and on its western side flows the Hendek stream.

The Old Town of Travnik, Photo: Julian Nyča, CC BY-SA 3.0

Although there are no historical documents that mention the medieval town of Travnik, the construction method and other characteristics indicate that it was built sometime in the second half of the 14th century or the first half of the 15th century. It was probably built by the Bosnian kings Tvrtko II or Ostoja, and then it was renovated and expanded during the reign of Stjepan Tomaš.

Conquering the territory, the Ottomans later recognized the strategic importance of this location for the army, and developed and expanded the castle, turning it into a fortress with observation posts.

The fortress of the Old Town of Travnik was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Old Town of Travnik, Photo: Petar Ubiparip, Pixabay

During its history, the Travnik fortress changed its name several times.

• Garbun, is a forgotten medieval name whose meaning is not reliable because it may come from the extinct language of the Illyrians, or it is a word of Turkish origin meaning a fortress on a hill;
• Travnik (Trawinc, Travnich, Travnic), after the Bosnian royal tax collector on the herbarium (cattle grazing tax), just as the city of Mostar got its name from the Mostars, the tax collectors of the Mostarin;
• The Austro-Hungarian monarchy names the fortress as Kastel or Kaštel, and it is also marked as such on their military maps;
• Within the people, it was simply called Grad, but after 1953, at the instigation of the director of the Travnik Local Museum, and for the purpose of putting the fortress into a tourist function, it was called Old Town (bos. Stari Grad).

This fortress, which is a witness to the turbulent history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is today a popular tourist attraction that attracts visitors from all over the world with its unique beauty and historical importance.