Postcard from Bosnia: Pocitelj
Museum-Town
One of the most beautiful place in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Pocitelj,
a little town which people call "museum-town". There is
a mixture of architectural styles and visitors can see a lot of monuments.
Recently, Bosnia and Hercegovina received a proposal from UNESCO to
pass Pocitelj under the "UNESCO monuments of culture" heritage
By BELMA BULJUBAŠIĆ
from Sarajevo, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
The
museum-town Pocitelj is one of the most beautiful places in Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Pocitelj is a medieval place, built in a mediterranean
and oriental style during the first half of the sixteen century. This
town is unique and all foreign tourists are impressed with its beauty
and with the hospitality of the people who live there. It is a very
atractive town with a mixture of previous historical styles. Pocitelj
or the so-called museum town is situated in the river valley of Neretva.
Facts about Pocitelj's initial set-up were not found, but there is
evidence that it was built in the twelfth century. But, it is not
completely sure. In 1444th in this place there was a castle which
was occupied by the Hungarians and it is the first real testimony
of the town history.
In 1471 Pocitelj became a part of Otoman Empire and it was occupied
in 1878, when the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire came into
the town. The first mosque in Pocitelj was built in 1563. Monuments
from the seventeenth century show that Pocitelj was a very well-developed
place. There was a primary school, a secondary religious school (of
Turkish language- medresa), a public bathroom (Turkish- hamam).
There
are also several very famous mouments: Ibrahim pasa`s mosque, Hajji
Alija`s mosque, Pocitelj`s clock tower (Pociteljska sahat kula), medresa,
and the house of Gavrankapetanovic family. The legend says that the
Gavrankapetanovic family was the most popular family in Pocitelj.
The surname Gavrankapetanovic has an interesting history. One captain
had black hair and raven-like moustache (in Bosnian, raven is gavran,
and captain is kapetan). Tourists who visit Pocitelj can see the so
called Tower of Gavrankapetanovic.
In the seventeenth century a very famous Turkish writer Evlija Celebi
wrote: "Bell of Pocitelj`s clock tower rings more clearly than
all other bells in Bosnia and Herzegovina". During the Austro-Hungarian
occupation in 1917, the bell was destroyed. The Austrian soldiers
melted it down for ammunition.
Famous
Art Colony
During the '1960s, Pocitelj was a very attractive location for the
world's tourists. In 1964, Pocitelj hosted an art colony. More than
2.000 artists (including painters, writers, poets) from countries
of former Yugoslavia and from all over the world visited the colony.
The artists always love Pocitelj because it is a spiritual and historical
place. The best Bosnian artist, especially painters own summer houses
and they enjoy spending time here.
During the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) the town
was destroyed and the art colony ceased all activities. Many works
of art and unique pictures, sculptures, and artworks were destroyed
forever. Monuments were burnt and a lot people were killed.
The day-to-day situation of Pocitelj is very complicated. People who
live here don't a job, their houses are destroyed. Pocitelj is very
attractive, every day many tourists from Bulgaria, Poland, England
visit it, but all the factories were destroyed and burnt and people
have a very hard life. Political parties' don't do anything to promote
this beautiful place. The best of example of its beauty is the proposal
from UNESCO: the beautiful town Pocitelj must be protected under UNESCO
heritage as a cultural monumnet. All the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina
believe in the realization of this project.
