Corridor: Diagonal Road
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kresevo
Type: Vernacular Architecture
Epoch: Middle Ages
Theme:
World Heritage:

The earliest reference to the Kresevo mine dates from 1381, to the fort of Kresevo from 1430 and Kresevo town from 1434.
Some scholars maintain that Kresevo, Fojnica and Vares were the most famous iron-producing areas of the region in pre-Roman times.
The royal town of Kresevo stood on the summit of a hill above the river Kresevcica. The ruins of the old fort where the kings of Bosnia occasionally held court can still be seen. Podkresevo (the town below the fort) developed at the site of the present-day town. In the early 15th century, it became a major trading centre. At that time a Franciscan monastery was built there. in the Middle Ages Kresevo became a nahiye (administrative district). The Kresevo mine remained an imperial holding or has until the end of the period. It was famous for its production of iron ore and iron smelting.
The basic feature of Kresevo distinguishing it from other Bosnian towns is that the mediaeval layout has survived, with manufacturing, trade and living quarters, with characteristic residential architecture, all in the same place. The extreme western end of Kresevo is the area where the largest number of buildings has survived in their original form. To the west of the town centre are two hills forming the vertical accents of the entire area, the summit with the fort, and the Franciscan monastery with its church.

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