![]() |
Romanesque impulses arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Adriatic Coast and from the territory of Hungarian-Croatian state. Having in mind that these provinces alone represented outskirts of the West, they acted as a filter when it comes to style, taste and ideas. Bosnia on the other hand tended to isolate itself politically from the territories ruled by Hungarian Arpadovic dynasty, and this political orientation is reflected in lower level of cultural and artistic osmosis. Fund of Romanesque monuments in these parts, similar to the rest of Europe, is curtailed by great losses. |
Once a Dominican church of St.Anthony's, and nowadays mosque Fethija in Bihac, is the oldest edifice of Gothic style on the territory that Bosnia and Herzegovina covers today. The church was built around 1266 as the village gained rank of the free royal city (1262). The church of St. Nicholas in Mile near Visoko was in the forties of the 14th century constructed upon the ruins of the above mentioned Romanesque edifice. The building contained a wide square space intended for worshippers and an elongated choir stalls with trilateral end pointing towards East.The corners were reinforced with counterphore and windows with pointed apses were perforated with stone lace. Great deal of churches had a rectangular choir-stalls: the church of St. Mary in Srebrenica, Zvornik, Olovo,Jajce,the church of St. Catherine in Kresevo and the church of St. Gregory in Kraljeva Sutjeska. They all belonged to the same type called preaching churches and according to regulations of the order they were all modestly equipped. Close connections with Dalmatia are visible on the monuments in Jajce; the parts of richly sculptured Phial from the church of St. Mary can be ascribed to the Bonino Circle from Milan (1429), and an unknown edifice on the fortress was adorned in a manner resembling to the work of Andrija Alesi (1430 - 1504).
![]() |
On their arrival on today's territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croats search their first shelters in the ruins of Roman buildings; late classical refuges serve as their strongholds for the most necessary defense. Their early traces are found not far from Bijeljina, in Vrbljani near Kljuc and on Gradina around great fields of Western Bosnia. Some time after, the Croats begin to construct their primitive redoubts in plains, called today "gradiste". One of these, protected with dike and paling is found in Ukrina valley near the town of Derventa, and another one in Mahovljani near Banja Luka. |
Very important cultural society of Croats in BiH is Napredak (meaning "progress"; not to be confused with Progress, which is the name of the cultural society of Serbs in BiH).
Napredak was founded in 1902 and existed continuously until 1949, when the communist Yugoslav rule dissolved the society and its numerous offices and branches, and confiscated the entire movable and immovable property (buildings, libraries, books, cars, schools, bookshops, stationer's, bookbinderies, etc). The official 1949 document mentions even confiscation of "eventual organizations of Napredak not mentioned in the document". And Napredak was also the proprietor of cultural and historical collections, choirs, brass orchestras, student dormitories, etc.
Donate to Medjugorje I would like to thank you sincerely for your trust and support on the past of 2015. I wish you and your family and friends a God bless You and a prosperous ,peaceful and most of all healthy all years . Please consider supporting our efforts in Medjugorje. Make your donation to Our Lady’s work. Thank You.
The_Medjugorje.pro and webMedjugorje.com with 2Checkout.com, Inc. is an authorized retailer of goods and services provided by Medjugorje.pro and webMedjugorje.com & Studio Leonardo . ) accept Visa, MasterCard, JCB, Diners, American express, Discovery and PayPal. All information you submit is secure (https: protocol) .