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city in central Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Visoko (pronounced [ʋǐsɔkɔː]) is a city located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 39,938 inhabitants with 11,205 living in Visoko town. Located between Zenica and Sarajevo, Visoko lies where the river Fojnica joins the Bosna.
The Visoko region has evidence of long continuous occupation, with the first traces of life dating back to the 5th millennium BC. Archaeological excavations of Okolište have found one of the biggest Neolithic settlements of the Butmir culture in southeastern Europe.
It was an early political and commercial center of the Bosnian medieval state, and the site where the first Bosnian king Tvrtko I was crowned. The Old town Visoki, located on Visočica hill, was a politically important fortress, and its inner bailey Podvisoki was an early example of a Bosnian medieval urban area. After the fall of the Kingdom of Bosnia, medieval Visoko grew as an Ottoman town. A key role in its development was played by the local Bosnian Ajas-pasha.
Ottoman rule ended in 1878 when the Bosnian Vilayet was occupied by Austria-Hungary. On 11 November 1911, in the last years of Austro-Hungarian rule, it was almost completely burned down by an accidental fire. Before the Bosnian War, Visoko was the largest exporter of textile and leather in socialist Yugoslavia As of 2006, Visoko attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year, mainly because of Semir Osmanagić's claims.
Before the construction and naming of the hilltop fortress Visoki, the region centered on the Visoko valley was commonly referred to simply as Bosna. The name Visoko derives from the Slavic adjective visok, meaning "high" or "elevated", referring to the town’s original medieval fortress location atop Visočica Hill. The fortified town, known as Visoki, is first mentioned in a 14th-century charter issued by Ban Tvrtko I in 1355. The settlement below the hill was later referred to as Podvisoki ("below Visoki"), which gradually developed into the modern town of Visoko. Consequently, the older toponym Bosna fell into disuse in naming the town, remaining mainly as a designation for the broader medieval polity rather than the specific settlement.
The Visoko municipality covers 232 square kilometres with several characteristic, morphologically distinctive valleys formed by the foothills of the Central Bosnian mountains including Ozren, Vranica and Zvijezda. The altitude of the region ranges from 400 to 1,050 metres. Visoko's natural environment is defined by the river-valleys of the Bosna and Fojnica rivers which converge near the town. The Bosna River, one of the country’s main waterways, flows northward through the municipality and historically provided trade and transport links. The Fojnica River, a tributary, further shaped the fertile basin around the settlement. Numerous smaller streams and creeks descend from the hills, contributing to a relatively dense hydrographic network. The municipality borders the towns of Kiseljak, Busovača, Kakanj, Vareš, Breza, Ilijaš and Ilidža. The climate of Visoko is continental, with moderately cold winters and warm summers, influenced by its inland location and surrounding mountains.
Visoko is directly connected to a highway along the main Sarajevo–Zenica corridor part of the European route E73 (A1 motorway) which directly connects it with Zenica and Sarajevo, which then continues to M17 road. It is connected to other places by the regional road R443 (Visoko - Kiseljak - Kreševo - Tarčin). The railway line that runs through Visoko links the municipality not only to Sarajevo and Zenica but also to the Adriatic coast.
The Visoko region shows evidence of long continuous occupation, with the first traces of life dating back to Paleolithic. Because of the two rivers that go through Visoko, the Bosna and Fojnica, the Visoko basin was always fertile land for agriculture. In the Neolithic period, the area of Central Bosnia played an important role as a mediator between the settlements of Adriatic Coast and the central Balkans. These metropolitan areas were connected by Neretva and Bosna rivers. Since Visoko was situated on the Bosna River, it has gained a lot of economic traffic between the two larger cities. Neolithic emplacements were founded on the shores of the rivers in places known today as Arnautovići, Donje Moštre, Okolište, Zbilje, Ginje, and Dvor. Arnautovići and Okolište were identified as part of Kakanj culture.
In September 2007 the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued archaeological excavations of Okolište, where it is estimated that around 3,000 people lived in the fortified settlement during the Neolithic Age making it one of the biggest in Southeastern Europe. This settlement belonged to the Butmir culture. The age of settlement is estimated by Radiocarbon dating to be around 4700 to 4500 years BC. Later on, neolithic cultures came in contact with other cultures like Baden. Around 3000 B.C.E. first signs of Chalcolithic culture appear which can be contributed to Vučedol culture of south Bosnian type, with findings in Donje Moštre and at the location of Old town of Visoki.
The Visoko area was inhabited by the Illyirian tribe of Daesitiates. They descended from Bronze Age and Iron Age culture called Central Bosnian culture group which was closely related to Glasinac culture. Best known archaeological evidence is grave of group of warriors dated to 4 B.C.E. found in Gornji Skladovi, Vratnica. The Roman Empire established its rule in 9 AD and built roads and fortresses in places like Kralupi, Seoča and Mokronozi. Area of Visoko was part of Roman province Illyricum.
Migration period saw introduction of new people to the Balkans - Slavs. Native Illyirian tribes through time became slavicized, but a lot of toponyms remained Illyirian in origin, like in example name of the river Bosna, which is namesake of country itself, but also a term for settlement which was used to reference the place called Bosna that existed in today's area of Visoko. It is considered that this area in Visoko basin was nucleus of new medieval Bosnian state which emerged in around 1000 AD. Only later on with construction of Old town of Visoki the term Bosna for the settlement would be rarely used.
Visoko is named after the Visoki Castle and the town of Visoki, which occupied Visočica hill. Podvisoki, Mile (today's Arnautovići), Biskupići and Moštre – together known as Visoko valley - were the early center of the medieval Bosnian kingdom. Many historical charters were made and written in Visoko valley, including the charter of first Bosnian king Tvrtko I Kotromanić in 1355, in castro nostro Vizoka vocatum which was also the first direct mention of the town of Visoki. Visoki was also a place where many important documents and legislation of medieval Bosnia were signed and written. The town of Visoki had a defensive role in protecting trade center Podvisoki (Subvisoki) which was located just below the town and was one of earliest examples of the medieval urban environments in Bosnia. Podvisoki was long time main trade center in medieval Bosnia.
The Rusag met at Mile, where Tvrtko I was crowned in 1377 and eventually buried alongside his uncle, Stjepan II Kotromanić, the Ban of Bosnia who preceded him. The Medieval Bosnian State Archive was also located there. Mile is today known for its many ornamented tombs of kings, bans and other former rulers. Ban Kulin's Plate (dating from 1193) was discovered at Biskupići, along with the remains of another medieval church, grave sites and the foundations of several other contemporary structures. Moštre's university was knows for its scholarship in medicine, theology, cosmogeny and ethics, although because of its connection to the Bosnian Church, nothing remains of its archives. Its existence is documented only by a handful of references in the Vatican archives of its enemy, the Catholic Church.
Other notable medieval settlements in the vicinity included Sebinje town, Čajan town in Gračanica – which protected the roads between Visoko and Bobovac – and the town of Bedem i Goduša.
The area of Visoko was conquered by Ottoman Empire around 1463, and it is from this time period that modern Visoko was formed. The founder of the town of Visoko was Ajas-beg (pasha), who was originally from Visoko but converted to Islam from Bogomilism. Visoko was a municipality at that time. From 1483, a voivod served at the head of the Visoko municipality, who together with the serdar (military commander) was the representative of the military and administration. The main imam (reisu-l-eimme), who existed in Visoko, fulfilled religious duties and duties to society. The court (or judicial) administration was carried out by the naib (or judge), who received help for bringing decisions by a jury of respected people from Visoko. The naib effected the law and his court according to sheriat.
During his rule, up to 1477, Ajas-beg built hammam, a religious primary school (mekteb), an aqueduct, bridge on the river Bosna, and a madrassa (Islamic high school), and also founded Dervish tekke (monastery), which is preserved to this day. In a short period, Visoko developed into the administrative center of the municipality and into the heart of trade and crafts, as well as the heart of cultural and spiritual life in the region. Visoko by then had the imbibe look of an Islamic oriental-style town with all the religious and cultural institutions.
The Vilayet of Bosnia was occupied by Austro-Hungary in 1878 (officially annexed in 1908) and only small local militias showed resistance and fought. In the early years of Austro-Hungarian rule, Visoko did not significantly change and kept its oriental-style look. In 1882, Visoko was an organized settlement with developed trade, offices, and other institutions. Increasing contact with western culture directed Visoko's style in a slightly different way such that buildings of that time were built in Pseudo-Moorish style. The Tabhana mosque was founded in Visoko center and the city itself was expanded further to the banks of the Fojnica River. The main street was developed towards the town of Jalija, located at the delta of and a bridge across the Bosna River.
The first buildings of this period included the train station from 1882, the court building from 1895, a church with a Franciscan gymnasium (1899–1900), the municipality office, and a primary school from 1910. All were mainly built in the pseudo-Moorish style. Further development of the city was stalled by jangija, the big fire in 1911. The upper city area was completely burned, as well all the houses down the main street alongside Beledija, Shadrvan mosque and the high school. In all, 450 homes, stores and other small buildings were burned down. In the spring of 1912, the rebuilding of the city started and the government decided that all houses would be built with bricks and a tile roof in a traditional Bosnian style. After the mayor rebuilt Visoko, it had a unique mix of oriental and Western styles. Some houses from this time period still stand in the old district of the town.
After World War I and the defeat of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Visoko was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In the new state, the structure of houses did not change nor did the town develop. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Visoko was included in the newly formed Nazi Germany-sponsored Independent State of Croatia. Allied bombers pursued German and NDH forces and dropped nine bombs in the Visoko area, destroying strategic targets. Throughout the war, the town was not a battlefront and did not suffer much damage from the war itself. However, of the 1205 soldiers from the Visoko area, 142 of them were killed during the war. Visoko was liberated on 7 April 1945 by the 7th, 9th and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of the forces of the Yugoslav Partisans.
After World War II, Visoko, like many other towns in Bosnia, began industrialisation and further urban expansion. From 1950, the town expanded to the extensive lowlands along Bosna and Fojnica shores, which were mostly used as farms. For ages, Visoko was known for its quality leather industry and with new age of industrialisation, the biggest leather company in Yugoslavia, KTK, had its headquarters in Visoko. Besides the leather industry, Visoko was distinctive for its textile, trade, metal and food industries, making the town one of the largest exporters in Socialist Yugoslavia. By 1991, Visoko had 92,5 million dollars of exported good, with 80 million of that from KTK's leather industry. Due to the economic success of Visoko, Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito came to Visoko to visit the factories and the town itself.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Visoko”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.