Tešanj Castle: One of Oldest and Biggest in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The old city of Tešanj, where the castle is located, was built on a hill in the valley, along the river Tešanj, on a steep and partly isolated cliff of a hill, hardly accessible from the three sides of the town of Tešanj in the north of B&H. This beauty on the hill of Tešanj has existed for already three thousand years.

This fortified settlement from the Medieval period belongs to a group of larger, fortified towns on the plateau, specifically built on the top of a rocky hill from which you can see the whole city of Tešanj in a valley.

The castle is considered to have been built during the Bronze Age, and until today, has fallen into a kind of oblivion and there was no special interest in one of the oldest fortresses in B&H today.

The Tešanj castle, after the one in Jajce, is considered to be one of the biggest fortresses in B&H.

However, it is important to note that in the 1970’s its multiple protection that lasts until today began.

The fortress certainly provokes the interest of passers by, tourists, and a team from Anadolija decided to visit this somehow forgotten fortress, which is considered to be one of the oldest buildings in B&H.

”Tešanj, with its fortress, developed into a ravine on the slopes of the hills, and in the middle a very interesting defensive point has been raised, a hill, from which it is obvious that it is from the Bronze Age and to the present day developed into a fortified object or fortress”, said professor Mirza Hasan Ćeman.

He said that evidence from the period of the Bronze Age shows that there were settlements of this narrow territory from the second millennium BC until today.

Speaking about the history of Tešanj and its fortress, Ćeman explains that the castle developed into a feudal fortified building during the Middle Ages that later grew into a residential building of the feudal nobility.

”It never developed into a significant administrative center. However, in the 15th century it came under the role of the brother of the Bosnian King Stjepan Tomaš Radivoje Krstić”, he explained.

The castle was under Ottoman rule since 1463, but it is not known whether it was under an Ottoman military garrison.

”It is not clear whether in the 15th century there was a settlement at the foot of the fortress, but it can be assumed, because the Franciscans were obviously there for a population”, said Ćeman.

He thinks that the castle came under permanent Ottoman rule in 1520 and a permanent military garrison was set up.

Over the next century the castle was repaired, restored and enlarged in accordance with the political and military developments and economic opportunities of the Bosnian Pashaluk.

”The Tešanj castle existed in the Middle Ages as well, and it was taken over by the Turks. I think, based on personal research from the field, that during the time of Sultan Sulejman the Magnificent an entrance was erected, which ensured entrance into the castle”, explained Ćeman.

The Professor explained that the Austrian Army led by Prince Eugene of Savoy attacked and took the castle in 1697.

”This heavy siege of the Tešanj castle and the city ended after three days of unsuccessful attacks. The Autrian Army retreated in the direction of Slavonia”, said Ćeman.

Speaking about its importance today, the Professor explained that at the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th century, its significance weakened.

”With the arrival of Austria it has been sinking into oblivion. New techniques of warfare and new funds minimized the importance of the castle, although during WWII, the same object was taken by the Independent Croatian State and on 9 September, in a very specific way, it was taken over by the unit of the People’s Liberation Army”, explained Ćeman.

Since then the castle has again fell into oblivion, and only in the 1970’s did its multiple protection begin and lasts until today.

The castle has been preserved to this day thanks to the interventions during the 1960’s, when one tower was protected from decomposition as a result of lightning.

It has survived many wars, conquerors, and is still standing proud on a hill in Tešanj and defies time and its enemies.