Necropolis of stecci at Radimlja, the historic site

Interesting facts

The epitaphs name three stonemasons, Miogost, Bolašin Bogačić and Ratko Brativonić, and Miogost described himself simply as a smith.

One epitaph says that good Radoje, son of voivode Stipan, lies on his own patrimony at Batnoge, the medieval name of the settlement.

Of the 133 stones, 36 are plain slabs and 31 are gable-roofed sarcophagi raised on pedestals, with only three in a cross shape.

The core of the cemetery is three large chests made at the end of the 14th century, two of them richly carved in low relief.

The burial of voivode Radosav Hrabren in 1505 came as the necropolis stopped growing, as the family moved towards Islam and the clan structure broke up.

Excavations in the 1960s, digging down to about 1.3 metres, uncovered nine graves whose occupants were tall people with strongly built chests.

Several Illyrian burial mounds nearby suggest the spot was used for burying the dead long before the medieval family chose it.

The stones were rough-cut on the hill of Ošanjići, then carried down to the cemetery to be finished and decorated on site.

Some scholars read the figures with a raised right hand not as portraits of voivodes but as symbols of Saint Vitus.

Branches of the Miloradović family later reached Russia, where the name appears among the imperial nobility, including General Mikhail Miloradovich of the Napoleonic Wars.

Why it is worth it

Stećci — massive carved medieval tombstones — are found only in the western Balkans, and Radimlja, in the Vidovo field just outside Stolac in Herzegovina, is the most celebrated site where they can be seen. In 2016 it was included in the World Heritage listing of stećci cemeteries shared by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.

The necropolis holds 133 stones, set in rows beside the road. They take almost every form the type is known for: flat slabs, chests, tall chests on plinths, and gabled "sarcophagi" that look like little stone houses. Nearly half are decorated, in relief or by engraving, and the finest are the tall chests reserved for the local elite. The oldest pieces go back to the late fourteenth century, but most were carved between the late fifteenth and the early sixteenth century, and the limestone came from the hill of Ošanjići above the site.

The cemetery belonged to the Miloradović-Stjepanović family of the Hrabren clan, Vlach military leaders who held land between Stolac and Mostar and carried the titles of voivode and knez; epitaphs on five stones name members of the family, and three more name the stonemasons who cut them. The carvings mix Christian and older motifs: rosettes, spirals, zigzags, trefoils, hunting scenes, round dances of the dead and tournaments. The best known show a standing man with his right hand raised — the so-called voivode stones — and bows and arrows long linked to the family's military role. As the clan converted to Islam in the early Ottoman period, burials here stopped.

The site is not untouched: when the Austro-Hungarian authorities built the Čapljina–Stolac road through it in 1882, at least 15 to 20 stones were destroyed. What remains is still the most varied and richly decorated group of stećci in the country, and it takes about 30–45 minutes to walk around.

Getting there

Radimlja is about 3 km west of Stolac on the road to Čapljina, with parking along the road; the site is open-air and free to enter. Mostar is about 30 km away, and Mostar International Airport (OMO) about 22 km. There are few facilities beyond information panels, so bring water in summer.

From the encyclopaedia

Radimlja is a stećak necropolis located near Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Vidovo polje, 3 km west of Stolac, on the Čapljina–Stolac road. The Radimlja necropolis is one of the most valuable monuments of the medieval period in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is protected by UNESCO and designated as a part of the World Heritage List.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Necropolis of stecci at Radimlja, the historic site

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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From the encyclopaedia