Stećak

Stećak (Стећак, [stetɕak]; plural: Stećci, Стећци, [stetɕtsi]) are monumental tombstones made in medieval Bosnia.

Stećak
Stećak in Radimlja necropolis
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name: Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, vi
Designated	2016 (40th session)
Reference No.	1504
State Party	Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Serbia
Region	Europe and North America

History

The Stecci are relared to the Vlachs who lived in the Dinaric Alps of Herzegovina since the Middle Ages. Most of the Stecci were created after the X century and until the Turk invasion of the Balkans. According to the scholar Wenzel the Stecci are the clear evidence of the existence of a romance territory in the area between Italy and Romania, that now has disappeared.

Data

The tombstones are mostly in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a smaller amount in the border area of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. About 60,000 are found within the territory of the modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The rest of 10,000 are found in what are today Croatia (4,400), Montenegro (3,500), and Serbia (4,100). The stećak are at more than 3,300 odd sites with over 90% in poor condition.

Stećak Media

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  Stećci at Radimlja necropolis

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  The sacral motif of deer is considered to be of Paleo-Balkan and pre-Christian origin.

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  Two stećci with motifs of kolo

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  A slab stećak at Cista Velika

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  Broken stećak depicted by Hugo Charlemont, 1901. This appears to the same stećak which is now exhibited at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see image below)

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  Stećak in front of the Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade

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  The inscription on stećak of Grdeša from the 12th century, considered the oldest one found

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  Radimlja necropolis, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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  Radimlja, Bosnia and Herzegovina