Bosnia and Hercegovina
Po
itelj occupies a natural
amphitheatre on a bend in the strategically critical Neretva river a little
way west of Mostar. The first fortress was built here by the Hungarians in
1444 but was soon taken by the Ottoman Empire in 1471. They set about
re-fortifying the Castle and built a standard Ottoman town in the valley
below, with a mosque, medresa, hamam and clock tower - all required by Ottoman
law.
The strategic importance of
Poitelj began to grow
as the Neretva river became one of the few easy routes through the mountains
and the Ottoman Turks began to extract tolls from any vessels passing. This
they continued to do for around 400 years until the Austro-Hungarian Empire
swallowed up Bosnia and Hercegovina in the 18th Century (an event which would
lead indirectly to World War I when the Serb Activist Gavrilo Princip
assassinated Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, thereby finishing the Hapsburg
succession and tipping Europe into conflict).
Back in the 18th Century it merely meant that
Poitelj ceased to be
strategically important for the first time in centuries and slowly fell into
decline whilst nearby Mostar grew in power. After World War I the region
became part of Tito's Yugoslavia which it remained until the bloody breakup
of the country in the early 1990s.
In 1993 the Croatian HVO, retreating from Mostar, arrived at
Poitelj and destroyed
many of the ancient monuments of the village, including the mosque and medresa.
The Castle, up on it's hill, escaped most of the destruction but the HVO
erected a massive wooden cross on it's rampart to signify their victory.
This was torn down at the first opportunity but
Poitelj was scarred forever.
The coach tours are starting to return and it can only be a matter of time before the Castle is opened to the public officially and life will return to this corner of a shattered country.
Back to Castles of Bosnia and Hercegovina
© Text copyright - Raving Loony Productions and Andrew J. Müller
© Photos and Artwork - Andrew J. Müller
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2001
