Stari Grad Ljubuški

This fortress (Stari Grad Ljubuški) stands atop the rocky Buturovica hill, 343 m above sea level, 5 km northeast of Ljubuški town center. Undergoing renovation since 2019 thanks to EU funding, it is also known as the "Herzeg Stefan fortress" (Tvrđava Hercega Stjepana). Indeed, it was first erected for Grand Duke Stefan Vukčić Kosača (c. 1404-1466), then at war with his sons allied to the city of Ragusa (Dubrovnik). It was this Bosnian nobleman who took the title of herzeg (derived from the German Herzog, "duke"), a term that gave Herzegovina its name. Under his reign, the fortress initially consisted solely of a fortified barn and a massive tower. This tower, known as Herceguša, has now been renovated. Rectangular (9.7 × 5 m), it dominates the entire hillside, with walls 12 m high and 4.5 m thick on the north side. After the Ottoman conquest, long defensive walls, watchtowers, bastions, gates, granaries, a bakery, an inner courtyard, living quarters, powder magazines and four water cisterns were added, three of which are still visible. The whole complex follows the shape of an irregular polygon, measuring around 93 m on the north-south axis and 50 m from east to west. From the ramparts, there are fine views south to Ljubuški and, in Croatia, to Mount Rilić (1,160 m) and the Pelješac peninsula; north to the Neretva valley and its vineyards, Mostar and the Velež, Prenj and Čvrsnica mountains.