Cultural and Historical Monuments

nacionalni park sutjeska - tjentiste spomenik

Cultural and Historical Monuments

From Roman Tentorium to the Valley of Heroes

Creative human activities in the area have produced a large number of material traces of the past: Neolithic communities with tumuli – burial mounds, nomadic culture, ancient times – segments of the route of the Roman roads, medieval fortified towns of the Kosača family (the territorial borders for the formation of the first Serb state in the Middle Ages), necropolises with specific tombstones called stećci as UNESCO Heritage sites, architecture from the Ottoman period, Austro-Hungarian regime – a period of exploitation, construction of forest roads, tunnels, police stations, and land surveying. The period of Nazi occupation from 1943 left a deep trace in the cultural memory of all the nations in the area. The battle in the wide area of Sutjeska called The Fifth Offensive or Operation Schwarz lasted from 15 May to 15 June and represented a turning point. In memory of this event, a remarkable memorial to the Battle of Sutjeska was erected in 1971 as a testimony to modern architecture, sculpture, and aesthetics, fitting perfectly into the ambiance of the valley. The amazing work of the sculptor Miodrag Živković, a professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, was an exceptional tribute to the battle. He created over 30 monumental works in the country and the world. Apart from the main monument of the memorial ‘Živkovićev proboj,’ there are others: Dragoš SedloDonje bareKrekovi, Borovno brdo, and Ljubin grob which were finished in 1987.

The Valley of Heroes

The area of the Sutjeska valley represents The Battle of Sutjeska Memorial Complex. The first modest memorials date back to 1958 and signify the nucleus of the future cultural assets which will get institutional protection. Later, the complex was expanded with more memorials: Monument to the Battle of Sutjeska, the ossuary, the small amphitheater, Sutjeska Battle Museum, Sutjeska Battle Memorial House, and a series of monumental structures around Tjentište. The National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska passed a decree defining the Memorial Complex in Tjentište on 23 September 2009 for the area of ​​the Valley of Heroes to receive adequate legal protection, which will be implemented by the manager of the protected area. The decree refers to the area as a cultural asset of exceptional importance for the Republic, determines the borders and size, and provides protection measures and its maintenance and usage. The protected area of the complex extends over ​​70.5 ha. Presentation of the complex to the public is carried out following new methods and techniques while respecting the identity of the place, function, and purpose of the monuments.