White Fortress in Sarajevo | To Bosnia

White Fortress in Sarajevo

You can reach White Fortress (Bijela Tabija) by your own car or by city transport that operates on the Baščaršija-Vratnik route on line 51, every twenty minutes. It is not far away or you decide to take a short walk from Baščaršija, next to the cemetery Kovači, to the old Vratnik, which will be welcomed by this temporary fortress. If you are in good shape, you will not get tired, but because of your gaze on the city, you will be breathless. You can find refreshments in a nearby restaurant where you can enjoy the view of Turkish cuisine and local specialties, which will surely return to this place.

White Fortress dominates the old part of the city, more precisely its eastern entrance to the most distant part of Vratnik. It was built in the area of ​​the medieval fort, which was built around 1550. It has a rectangular shape with four towers located in corners and once at the entrance to the fortress. As the name suggests, the walls are painted white and the legend says that egg whites and cow’s milk are used as binding materials for painting and decorating the walls.

White Fortress served to accommodate an army that built a mosque within its walls that is believed to have been erected in honor of Sultan Mehmed Fatih. Inside the fortress, besides the mosque, there was also a house of imam, muezzin, military musicians, cereal warehouse and several crew members.

The upper part of the White Fortress in large stone blocks was created in the Austro-Hungarian period. The tower was of great importance for the defense of the city during the attack of Austrian Prince Eugen of Savoy in the 17th century and the Austro-Hungarian army in 1878.

Due to its historical role and importance, by the decision of the State Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments, the White Fortress was proclaimed the National Monument of BiH.