#15 Bosnia & Herzegovina

Oct 5

Written By Suzy Sevier & Michael Barnhart

In a picturesque valley beside a gently flowing river, we found Trebinje, a peaceful and charming town in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s wine country. Little Trebinje is easily navigable on foot, making it a perfect day trip from nearby Dubrovnik, Croatia. This little but mighty city also includes two mosques and the famous Arslanagica bridge. This old city is always a good idea when it is available. Good wine, beautiful architecture, and history, all these are waiting for your visit.

Our adventure started with walking to the famous Arslanagica bridge. The city has a great relaxing river walk. The city is quiet, and for some spots, it seemed like we were the only 2 there. The bridge is the most famous monument from the Ottoman period in Trebinje and has a very important place in the Balkan architecture of the 16th century. Mehmed-Pasha Sokolović built the bridge in 1574 in honor of his son, who was killed in the battle with Venice.

You can follow the river path straight back to Treninje’s old town. From there, we created our own walking tour. The Old Town owes its look to the Ottomans, including its city walls and several of its mosques. Beyond the old town, you’ll find a number of squares and parks, typically with locals sitting out there watching the world go by. Michael and I joined the locals and had a picnic.

We knew once we arrived that since the mosques were a large part of the community, we had to visit the monasteries and the first one we visited was Monastery Tvrdoš. Originally, the monastery was built in the 4th century and an archeological team found it and it can be seen under the glass on the side Monastery. It is a place of peace and love, great energy, and respect for monks who served there and are rebuilding the Tvrdos complex. There is always someone who will tell you about history, at least for the last five hundred years. Tvrdos Monastery is entirely surrounded by rich vineyards and is widely known for its excellent wines, produced in the modern winery and kept in the wine cellar.

For our final spot, we visited the Hercegovačka Gračanica Monastery, an orthodox church you will find on the hill Crkvina. The hill is only 2.6km away from the old town so you can walk. The idea to build this church came from Jovan Dučić, a famous Serbia poet. He wanted that church looks the same as the one in Kosovo. With its bright and colorful interior, it might become a bit more obvious that it’s not as old as it first appears. The famous poet also wanted to be buried there. So in 2000, his bones and body were moved from the USA to this church. He chose the best view over Trebinje, so the viewpoint is called the Ducics view. The picture of that view is at the bottom of this post.

It was a great day here. We cannot wait to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina to explore more of this beautiful country.