Vranduk is an historic

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of Zenica,

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

Geography

It is situated on the

Bosna River The Bosna () is the third longest river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is considered one of the country's three major internal rivers, along with the Neretva and the Vrbas. The other three major rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Una, t ...

canyon, just downstream from city of Zenica, at the site called the ''Vranduk Pass''. The main road Sarajevo-Zenica-Doboj ( M17) passes through the canyon and the village. On 14 February 1971 a rail crash in the tunnel near Vranduk occurred, 34 people were killed and 113 (60 serious) injured.

History

Archaeological excavations to date on the site of the fort showed no signs of fortifications dating from the prehistoric period or antiquity, or prior to the medieval times. The village itself is one of the oldest and well preserved settlements of Bosnia and Herzegovina, dating back to the 14th century and times of medieval bans and later kings of Bosnia. Vranduk village was established around a medieval

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

of the same name, and together constitute a protected architectural assembly, and as such it is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, well preserved and maintained in good condition by local and state commissions for national monuments, and managed by a local tourist organization. A small mosque was erected below the citadel after the Ottoman conquest of the Bosnian Kingdom which still is standing today in good condition. The mosque was dedicated to and named after Sultan Mehmed II, conqueror of Bosnia, and is also referred to as the ''Imperial Mosque'' or ''Emperor's Mosque''. In 1963, excavations were undertaken by

Branka Raunig Branka Raunig (1 January 1935 - 13 June 2008) was a Bosnian archaeologist, prehistorian and museum curator. Early life Raunig was born in Sarajevo on 1 January 1935. Her early life was spent in Kraljevo. From 1954 to 1958 she studied archaeolog ...

to explore the impact of the Roman empire on the village.

Demographics

According to the 2013 census, its population was 447.

Gallery

Die Festung Vranduk in Bosnien by Carl Ebert.jpg, Vranduk, oil painting Vranduk 1.jpg, Vranduk, map and info table Vranduk 2.jpg, Vranduk, water-fountain Vranduk,hrad (13. stol.) a mestecko v podhradi shora.jpg, Vranduk, birdsview on the ''Vranduk Pass'' Vranduk, nadvori hradu.jpg, Vranduk, citadel Vranduk, pristup ke hradu.jpg, Vranduk, approach to citadel Vranduk 4.jpg, Vranduk, small mosque below citadel, dedicated to Sultan Mehmed II El Fatih also referred to as the Imperial or Emperor's mosque Vranduk 3.jpg, Vranduk, village center below citadel

References

External links

Historvius - Vranduk, Bosnia and Herzegovina
˙(History and Visitor Information)
Ecoplan , Management Plan
for conservation of the national monument Stari grad Vranduk
Vranduk from air
(Video 3 min. 21 sec. long) Populated places in Zenica National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Protected areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina Villages in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina Medieval architecture Ottoman architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina Islamic architecture Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina architecture {{ZenicaDobojCanton-geo-stub