Holiday apartment in Jajce – Waterfall, Fortress and Pliva Lakes

Jajce brings together a watery landscape and a stone-built urban history within a compact area. The Pliva Waterfall is located in the centre of Jajce, and the final cascade of the Pliva forms a waterfall around 20 metres high. The Jajce complex lies on the southern slope of a large rock pyramid between the Pliva and Vrbas rivers. The historic complex includes a fortress, city walls and towers.

Landscape and Water

The connection between nature and history is also evident along the Pliva itself. Twenty medieval watermills stand on a travertine barrier between the Great and Small Pliva Lakes. In the vicinity of Jajce, the Great and Small Pliva Lakes offer opportunities for fishing, kayaking and canoeing, pedal boating, swimming, cycling and walking. The water therefore shapes not only the course of the landscape but also appears in various historical and sporting contexts.

History

The historic centre of Jajce is a complex cultural, historical and natural ensemble comprising 17 individual cultural properties dating from Late Antiquity to the beginning of the 20th century. The historic urban area of Jajce has been on the UNESCO Tentative List since 2006. The Jajce Fortress is part of the medieval past: it was the fortification of the city of Jajce, once the royal capital and the last territorial possession of the Kingdom of Bosnia.

Within the city walls, near the Medvjed Tower, lie the Catacombs of Jajce. They are an underground church carved into the rock. Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić had the catacombs carved out of the rock in the late 14th or early 15th century as the final resting place of the ducal Hrvatinić family. Another early trace is the Mithraeum of Jajce, which dates from the 3rd or 4th century AD and is considered the oldest national monument in Jajce.

Culture

Several museums and collections provide an insight into different eras and areas of life. The Franciscan Museum in Jajce displays the remains of the last Bosnian king, Stjepan Tomašević. The Museum of the Second AVNOJ Session was founded in 1953 as the central Yugoslav memorial museum institution. It is located near the bus station and the waterfall in Jajce.

On the way to the fortress, the Jajce City Gallery is located in the old Kršlak House next to the city wall. The Local Heritage Ethnographic Collection of Jajce is intended to present the customs and traditions of life in the Jajce area. Thus, buildings, political remembrance, royal history, religious testimonies and regional everyday culture stand side by side in the same cityscape of Jajce.

Activities on the River

The Vrbas also forms the route of a traditional sporting event. Since 2007, the Jajce Rafting Club has organised a rafting regatta on the Vrbas. The rafting regatta starts in Torlakovac and ends at the Jajce Waterfall. The documented water world thus extends from the lakes, with their opportunities for fishing, paddling, swimming, cycling and walking, to the regatta on the river.

Further local pages: Kreševo, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, Nova Bila, Vitez, Busovača, Bugojno, Fojnica, Milanovići

For the overarching travel overview: Central Bosnia Canton/Middle Bosnia.