Culture and Heritage
Welcome to the Herzegovina Wine Route, where stunning landscapes, unique culture, and world-class wines combine to offer a memorable experience for wine and culture enthusiasts alike.
This picturesque region showcases the best of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the breathtaking views in Mostar to the historic charm of Trebinje, Ljubuški with the oldest museum in Bosnia and Herzegovina, religious and pilgrimage sites, and UNESCO sites like the Old Bridge and Radimlja necropolis.
The Herzegovina Wine Route is home to a vibrant wine and religious heritage, with iconic places to explore such as the pilgrimage site in Medjugorje, the Tekke in Blagaj, and the monasteries around Trebinje. Other highlights include the Tvrdos Monastery, the Rabi Moša Danon site in Stolac, and the numerous vineyards that dot the landscape. Whether you’re looking to explore the region’s spiritual side or its winemaking traditions, the Herzegovina Wine Route offers a unique insight into the culture and history of the region.
HWR
Culture and Heritage
Trebinje Old Town
Trebinje was formed because Turks needed organization of their territories in Herzegovina due to great changes in wars with the Holy league (1683-1699) – the fall of Herceg Novi and Risan under the rule of Republic of Venice. It was built on the right bank of Trebišnjica, above the deepest part of the river – so called Ban-vir (vortex), named after a legend in which a ban (ruler) drowned in the vortex. The most important person for the development of the Old town as a fort is Osman Pasha, founder of the Resulbegović family. He started the construction in 1714 but it was interrupted for a short time by the war with Venice. Builders were brought from Dubrovnik, and work force was from local area – Ljubinje, Cernica and Nikšić. During the next year a hendek (canal) was dug around it, which was connected to Trebišnjica.
Tvrdoš Monastery
The Tvrdoš Monastery is located on the right bank of the Trebišnjica River, 5 km west of Trebinje. It was built on the foundations of a church from the 4th century and is one of the oldest cultural and historical monuments in the Republic of Srpska. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Tvrdoš was the seat of the Humsko-Herzegovina, that is, Trebinje Metropolitanate. During the Turkish-Venetian war, the monastery was destroyed, and part of the relics were transferred to the Savina monastery (Herceg Novi) and the Duži monastery , from where the hand of Saint Queen Jelena of Anjou , mother of kings Milutin and Dragutin, was transferred to Tvrdoš in 1992. The monastery is also known for the fact that Saint Vasilije Ostroški received monastic tonsure and priestly rank in it, after which he served for a certain period as parish priest of Popovopolje. This is the reason why Saint Vasilije is also called “Ostroški and Tvrdoški”. The revival of the monastery began in 1955, when the entire monastery complex was renovated. The special feature of the interior of today’s church is the glass floor, which represents a kind of “window into the past” through which the foundations of the church from the 4th century can be seen. The long tradition of wine production, whose beginnings date back to the 15th century, is successfully maintained by the monastery even today thanks to restored vineyards, a wine cellar and a modern winery.
Zavala Monastery
Zavala Monastery is located on the edge of Popovo polje, at the foot of the Ostrog mountain. There is currently no reliable data on the time of its creation. According to tradition, the creation of the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is linked to the first Christian emperor, Constantine, who arrived in Zavala after building a large church in Slano and, seeing that the population was pious, decided to build a temple there. The oldest written document from 1514 is a confirmation of the sale of the vineyard to Serafion, the Abbot of the monastery. The specificity of the architectural design of the church is determined by its location, which gives the impression of a hermitage monastic residence. On its northern side, the church is tucked under the rock that makes up a large part of its northern wall. The interior of the church was decorated with frescoes in 1619 by the great Serbian painter of the 17th century, the Hilandar monk Georgije Mitrofanović. A special place is occupied by the icon of Emmanuel (Jesus boy) painted on the church vault. In the Zavala monastery, the novice was Saint Vasilije Ostroški, who was born in the nearby village of Mrkonjići, where a church was built in his honor.
Antique Villa Mogorjelo
Mogorjelo is one of the most important monuments of the Roman era in Bosnia and Herzegovina and belongs to the most beautiful buildings of late antique architecture. Mogorjelo supplied the Roman city of Narona and probably served in the defense of the city and its surrounding, a dense grove of coastal trees (cypress) gives this monument a particularly beautiful frame. The building was excavated between 1889 and 1903, and in the following years it was conserved, being declared as a national monument in 2002.
Apparition Hill and the Blue Cross
Apparition Hill and the Blue Cross in Medjugorje hold profound spiritual significance for millions of pilgrims worldwide. Medjugorje is a renowned pilgrimage site where, since June 1981, six young visionaries have reported regular apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Apparition Hill, or Podbrdo, is the site where the first apparition allegedly occurred, drawing countless devotees seeking solace, healing, and spiritual renewal. On the other hand, the Blue Cross, situated at the base of Apparition Hill, has become a place of intense prayer and reflection, where visitors meditate on the sufferings of Christ and present their intentions to the Virgin Mary. Both sites have become symbols of hope and faith, attracting people from various backgrounds to seek divine encounters and experience the transformative power of Medjugorje’s spiritual atmosphere.
Antique Villa Mogorjelo
Mogorjelo is one of the most important monuments of the Roman era in Bosnia and Herzegovina and belongs to the most beautiful buildings of late antique architecture. Mogorjelo supplied the Roman city of Narona and probably served in the defense of the city and its surrounding, a dense grove of coastal trees (cypress) gives this monument a particularly beautiful frame. The building was excavated between 1889 and 1903, and in the following years it was conserved, being declared as a national monument in 2002.
Apparition Hill and the Blue Cross
Apparition Hill and the Blue Cross in Medjugorje hold profound spiritual significance for millions of pilgrims worldwide. Medjugorje is a renowned pilgrimage site where, since June 1981, six young visionaries have reported regular apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Apparition Hill, or Podbrdo, is the site where the first apparition allegedly occurred, drawing countless devotees seeking solace, healing, and spiritual renewal. On the other hand, the Blue Cross, situated at the base of Apparition Hill, has become a place of intense prayer and reflection, where visitors meditate on the sufferings of Christ and present their intentions to the Virgin Mary. Both sites have become symbols of hope and faith, attracting people from various backgrounds to seek divine encounters and experience the transformative power of Medjugorje’s spiritual atmosphere.
Archaeological site Gabela
Gabela is a national cultural monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to its strategic location, Gabela was also inhabited in Roman times, from which we have the remains of a brick factory and farm buildings on the outskirts of the town. Of the large number of medieval buildings, the remains of the old fort and a stone plaque with a large winged lion, the symbol of the Republic of Venice, are the most impressive to this day. Gabela was from the 15th to the 18th century a large trading center, but also an important strategic fortress on the Venetian-Turkish border. At one time it was known as the slave square. Various political and economic interests were competing for supremacy over Gabel. The Turks occupied it in 1477, and after several failed attempts in 1694, the Venetians occupied Gabela, then with the Peace of Požarevac in 1718, Gabela belonged to the Turks, and the Venetians demolished all the important buildings. Gabela is again under Turkish administration, but without its former power. During the Austro-Hungarian rule and the construction of the narrow-gauge railway, Gabela was a junction from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik and Metković. The Mexican scientist Roberto Salinas Price developed a hypothesis based on geographical information in the Iliad that the Trojan War was in the valley of the Neretva River, that is, that Gabela was Ilios, the capital of the state of Troy.