Vrgorac Heritage Tour

Activity info

Activity description

From the centre of Vrgorac we will have short drive to the Gradina Fortress and short walk will lead us to the top of it. Gradina Fortress, formerly called Grad (Town), above Vrgorac, belongs to a chain of fortifications in the inland Dalmatia located along a line of important traffic routes that have connected inland and the coast since prehistoric times. It was built in the late Middle Ages, while it was upgraded during the Ottoman rule. The cylindrical Turkish tower Avala, formerly gunpowder, is located on the eastern entrance to Gradina, and old drawings from the 17th and 18th centuries reveal that it had a conical roof at the time.

From Gradina we will drive to Poljanice, natural plateau in the middle of the Matokit mountain, located on 420 meters above sea level. During picnic enjoy stunning view on Vrgorac and surrounding fields.

After higher elevations, we continue our tour with Paklina. Bunina field is home to the old Paklina mine, from the depths of which tar was extracted. Opened before four centuries, the mine was named after “hell”, the term by which the local population called and still calls black asphalt ore. Although closed in 1986, it has remained almost intact over time and is protected as an immovable cultural asset. Tar extracted from the Paklina mine was used in the paving of Imperial Vienna (Mariahilfestrasse).

Our tour continues in the centre of Vrgorac. First we will visit Park of Vrgorac, a perfect example of the 19th century landscape park idea whose intention was to bring the nature into the city. The Park was built in 1898, when tobacco warehouses and the building for clerks and tobacco repurchase were completed. It was realised owing to the development of the tobacco industry and the tobacco trade station during the Austrian-Hungarian governance, whose tobacco trading centre was specifically in Vrgorac. After over a hundred years, the original space and the concept of pathways, vistas and resting places has been preserved. The Park is riddled with pathways which comply with the configuration of the terrain and intertwine through the natural rocks, whereas their steep parts are complemented by stone stairs. There are three different vistas built by drywall technique and adjoined with the natural high ground whose view extends onto the old Medieval Gradina Fortress.

Our tour will end with visit to Vrgorac towers. Ottoman towers from the 16th and 17th centuries are emphasized in the settlement, which is a special feature of the old town of Vrgorac. They were safe accommodation for friars, travel writers, heads of state, and in one of them the bard of Croatian literature Augustin Tin Ujević was born and lived. One of the most beautiful towers is Avala, located on a hill, on the access road to the Gradina fortress, the most famous is the tower of Dizdarević (Kapetanović) which is known as the birth tower of the poet Tin Ujević, the most mysterious is Cukarinović tower (Fratarska), while the smallest ones are Šabić tower and Mumin-aga Atlagić tower. Vrgorac towers, lighthouses of time, are still the guardians of the past, many secrets and legends.

After stunning photos and amazing memories the tour will end with the lunch/dinner depending on the time of departure