Abstract

Maglaj is a town with about 6,099 inhabitants located on the banks of the Bosna River, in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Traces of the presence of people in this area date back to the Neolithic (localities Kraljevina and Kraljicino guvno near Novi Seher). Remains of ancient Roman fortifications were found in several locations in the municipality of Maglaj, among which is the location of Gradina in the Bakotic village, above the right bank of the Bosna river. Remains of the ancient Roman road were found on the route Osva-Ravna-Kosovo. A large number of preserved stećak necropolises testify to the life of people during the Middle Ages in this area. The Maglaj fortress was built in the 14th century on a magmatic rock that slopes steeply towards the riverbed of Bosnia, from which there is a wide and deep view all around. The power over this fort alternated between the Bosnian and Hungarian kings. The Ottomans first appeared in this area (1415) as allies of the Bosnian rulers in their fight against the Hungarians, and then (1426) as invaders. Maglaj is mentioned for the first time in Ottoman sources ('defters') in 1485. The Ottomans remained in Maglaj until (1878) the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The geographical and political position of Maglaj (on the main Bosnian-Herzegovinian traffic line along the Bosna River) reflects the cultural and historical heritage of Maglaj. Some individual architectural objects as well as construction units were declared national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which made them the 'embodied energy' of current and future generations of the city of Maglaj. Such are the objects of the Bosnian Chardaklia House of, the Dzonlic family and the Uzeirbgovic family.