Topography
The Castle is characterized
by three dominant features of the terrain:
- the hill of Vis to the north, with a relative height of 30 m;
- the edge of Crkvice terrace in the centre, and
- the oldest nucleus of the Castle fortifications with the Royal Court to the south.
The lowest point of Bobovac mountainside is between
Crkvica and the Royal Court; it is known as Glavna
kapija (Main Gate), and is where the main entrance gates to the Castle and
the entrance tower formerly stood.
Zoning features of the site
The basic components of Bobovac as an urban settlement are as follows: town
walls; the Royal Court complex, which also served as an acropolis or citadel,
the main street, the complex of sacral and ancillary buildings on Crkvica, a
small square in front of the church with a font in its center – on Crkvica, a
residential settlement inside the walls – around the Main Gate and on the
slopes of Vis; a smaller settlement (a suburb) on the southwest slopes of
Bobovac mountain – outside the town walls; a specific settlement (below the
acropolis) outside the north gate of Bobovac, so-called Grad (Town), which was basically
of trading and artisanal character. In terms of its components, Bobovac is an
outstanding example of the specifically mediaeval urban agglomeration
characteristic of the whole of continental Europe at that time. The entry to
the town was probably through the drawbridge below Vis, leading up to the
levelled area of Crkvice, and further along the main route to the main tower
and the gate onto the ridge, which lost its purpose with the erection of
buildings on Crkvica and Vis. From the ridge the road continued on towards the
Upper Town and Lower Town.
Architecture of the Fortification of Bobovac
The walls of Bobovac enclose in an irregular line the end of the rocky karst
slope of Bobovac Mountain to the south. The east
wall runs uphill to the terrace on Crkvica, where it turns to the east slope,
to the ridge of Crvena stijena (Red Rock). The west wall skirts the foot of Vis, runs around the plateau
of Crkvica and reaches the main tower of the Castle. The ramparts are in a poor
state of preservation: only here and there to they exceed 1 m. in height.
The walls are from 100 to 110 cm thick, with a total length of some 1100
m. They are reinforced here and there by buttresses.
Every type of tower typical of medieval Bosnia is to be found in the
fortifications of Bobovac: the square main tower (donjon or keep), with
dimensions of 8 x 8m, abutting in part on a wall dating from antiquity, is the
oldest object in Bobovac. An oval-based cistern was constructed in the interior
of the keep. Next to it is another tower of quadrilateral ground plan, which
probably served as accommodation. The Branič tower (defense tower) on Vis in the northern part of the fort is of irregular hexagonal ground plan,
with walls 3 to 4 m. thick at their foundations. As the main and strategically
most important tower, it was destroyed deliberately and systematically. A
large quantity of pottery and animal bones was found in the ruins,
archaeological material typical of all sites of this kind in BiH. The round
tower on Crkvica abuts against the burial chapel, forming an apparent single
unit when seen from outside. Two towers of various construction standing next
to the entrance gate, on the so-called Bobovačko sedlo (Bobovac saddle or ridge)
served as entrance towers. On the east slope of Vis, 15 m. outside the Fort,
there was a free-standing tower. This type of tower is typical of the
architectural style of western European fortifications. In addition to
the towers with specific functions, there were a further five towers forming
part of the ramparts of the Fort.
Royal Court
The Royal Court complex is situated on the
part of Bobovac that enjoys the best natural defenses, fitted into five karst
ridges, on three basic levels sloping gently from north to south. The road to
the Court leads to the first court gate, leading into the forecourt of the
Court. The area around the entrance, built of limestone with the form of
arch in the upper part, served as a barbican. The look-out tower (keep) was
situated to the south. Other lesser buildings in the forecourt
include a smithy. A separate stairway, apparently roofed over, led to the
second Court gate and the forecourt of the Lower Palace. Here, in fact, was
the representative entrance to the Court, through a gate decorated with a
gothic portal bearing the coat of arms of King Tvrtko II and
lanterns. In this forecourt there were several buildings located on
three terraces: a granary, battlements, a large cistern, a smithy, a limepit
and a small residential building.
The Lower or Grand Palace has a ground plan of an
irregular quadrilateral with dimensions of 25 x 10 m, the south wall of
which was built on a limestone ridge and the north entirely formed by a stone
cliff. From the appearance of the partly preserved walls, it may be assumed
that the building had at least four storeys. The main entrance to the
Palace was built of precisely cut blocks of muljika (a kind of siltstone
used in construction) with gothic moulding, and the capitals of the door-posts
were decorated with a motif of rows of fleur de lis. A moulded window frame of
the Romano-Gothic distyle, with motifs of wide vine leaves executed in a
shallow relief, was discovered by the south wing facade. There is little
information on the interior of the Palace. All that has been discovered is some
remains of ceramic stoves stamped with the coat of arms and title of King Tvrtko II Tvrtković,
in the north wing. In the oldest stratum of the ruins, a large stone block was
found with the image of an eagle. The features of the archaeological strata in
the Palace are similar to that of the forecourt: soot forming the oldest layer,
a central mediaeval stratum of rubble, and an upper stratum dating from 1463 –
1626.
The Upper Palace and forecourt are situated
on the uppermost level, next to the keep and the cistern. To the east
another Palace, known as the annex, was added on. From the forecourt, which
connected with the keep, one entered an elongated area of the Upper Palace, with interior dimensions
of 18-19 x 5-5.6 m. The thickness of the perimeter walls is 140 to 150 cm.
There were wooden stairs and a gallery to the upper storey. In the northern
room a facing of cut limestone blocks was found, which suggests the existence
of an interior vault. The room was probably used as a Court chapel furnished
for Dorotea Gorjanska, King Tvrtko II’s spouse. Further confirmation of this
was the discovery of a fragment of a fluted column with traces of gilding. The
Palace windows of the Palace were richly ornamented distyles and tristyles.
The Annex of the Upper Palace is a two-storey building,
with dimensions of 18 x 6 m., which abutted against the Upper Palace on one side, and onto the Lower Palace on the other. In
this building the workshops of master craftsmen engaged on precision crafts
were located.
Residential architecture
Besides the three palaces within the Royal Court omplex, there was another,
with dimensions of 11 x 6 m., on the Crkvica terrace. This was a two-storey
building occupied by Franciscans (the Franciscans’ Palace).
The residential buildings of the Bobovac settlement form a number of dispersed
groups within the town ramparts, in the small downtown to the south and the
suburb to the north, outside the walls. The stony terrain was mainly used
at the time of building, with wood the only building material used. Most
of the buildings had a square ground plan of 4 x 4 m. with no partition
walls. An exception is a house differing from the others in its more
complex construction and interior decoration, which probably belonged to the
Court Chaplain.
Complex of places of worship at Crkvica: Burial
Chapel of Bosnian Kings and the Grand Church
The assumption is that King Ostoja had the old Bobovac Church turned into the royal
burial chapel. The chapel is oriented east-west, and consists basically of two
areas: the nave, with interior dimensions of 7.70 x 6.45 m, and the apse,
measuring 4.48 x 3.30 m. A wooden partition divided the nave into two, with the
section nearest the apse reserved for the burial of members of the royal
family, and the remainder open to visitors. The floor of the church was
on two levels, with that of the apse some 10 cm higher than the nave
floor. The floor of the apse and eastern end of the nave is of estrih
(a kind of cement glazing) and the remainder is paved. The walls, 140-150
cm thick, supported a gothic vault of cut limestone blocks. The architectural
ornamentation was rich and very diverse in motifs, and the quality of execution
was immaculate. Some fresco fragments with fleur de lis motifs, fragments of a
portal with a pattern of chequerboard stripes, a fragment of a pinnacle with a
round medallion bearing an image of a crown with the initials ST (Stjepan Tomaš),
fragments of half-pillars, part of the figure of a lion, consoles in the form
of a human head, part of the sculpture of a saint, and fragments bearing parts
of an inscription, as well as a fragment of a keystone from the apse vault,
have been found there. The whole interior of the Chapel was painted. On some of
the fragments of mortar two layers of mortar base can be distinguished: the
lower with strokes of red paint, used both for drapery as well as for the
visual composition to the right of the entrance to the Church. The drapery was
decorated with two lines of rosettes in dark-brown paint. The upper regions of
the Church were opulently painted, in various tones and nuances of red, gold,
dark gray and dark brown. Among iconographical motifs, human figures, vegetable
and geometrical motifs may be noted. Architectural motifs mainly take the form
of graphic architectural forms used to divide up the larger wall surfaces.
Three bronze bells also belonged to the Chapel: one was of Romanesque form, and
was made around the middle of the 14th C, another bore an
inscription in gothic uncials: “Made by master craftsman Marko Pribislav in AD
1410” (during the reign of king Ostoja), and the third bore an image of St.
Michael, an inscription referring to master craftsman Marko Vendramus, and the
date 1396. Three royal tombstones and two sepulchres belonging to the Royal
Burial Chapel were discovered in the Chapel. The sepulchres were composed of
composite sarcophagi with gravestone plaques laid on top, made of red marble
from Pannonia (Šikloš,
Ostrogon or Erdelj),
with relief images of the deceased and inscriptions around the edges. The
plaques belonged to Kings Ostoja, Tvrtko II and Tomaš. The inscriptions on the
plaques were executed in calligraphic Gothic Fraktur; all three were
presumably executed in the same workshop in Buda (Hungary), but Tomaš’s plaque
was probably made by a different craftsman. In aesthetic value these plaques
surpass the European average of their kind of that date, and as regards the
region of the Hungaro-Croatian state of that time, they are outstanding (P. Anđelić, 1973, p. 94).
The Grand Church lies parallel
to and some 12 m. from the Chapel. Its construction began in the reign of
King Tomaš and his spouse Katarina, but did not go beyond laying the
foundations. The total length of the church was 23.10 m, and the interior was
composed of a nave, choir, and presbytery in the shape of three apses.
Archaeological Findings
The majority of the pottery is of from domestic,
“Slavic” manufacture. In the Royal Court complex, mediaeval pottery
mingles with that of the Ottoman period, whilst in the buildings at Crkvica and
the ruins of some of the towers there are strata with intact mediaeval
material. The most common form is the old Slavic pot, with dishes and bowls
less common. Ornamentation is reduced to horizontal and wavy lines and on
some artifacts attempts to coat the rough domestic pottery with green glazing
are apparent. Green-glazed pottery was, however, produced by craftsmen in other
lands. Stove tiles appear in two forms: one square backed by an irregular
pyramid, the other in the shape of a glass. The square tiles belonged to stoves
from the royal rooms, as is apparent from the inscriptions and coats of arms on
them (Tvrtko II), and the latter to various stoves in the palaces and the
Franciscans’ Palace. The ceramic lamps, unique in manufacture and form, which
lit the second representative entrance to the Royal Court, were probably imported
from Hungary. In the Royal Court complex, around 30
fragments made in maiolica techique, strata (archaic maiolica) dating
from the mid 14th to the late 15th c. (a Florence workshop, period of the gothic-floral
style) were found. In the Annex of the Upper Palace a negative (mould) for
heraldic ornaments, as well as moulds to produce stove tiles with the image of
the royal coat of arms, were discovered.
Fragments belonging to various kinds and forms of glass objects (glasses,
phials, bottles, stained glass) were mainly discovered in the ruins of the Royal Court. Such items were imported
from German and Italian workshops.
There are numerous objects made of iron. Among
these, craftsman’s and agricultural tools, various clamps, spikes and keys
predominate, whilst armour and harness are less common (arrows, spurs, gilded
iron sword scabbards, horseshoes, a stone mould for making rifle bullets).
Examples of jewelry are also few. Among the finds of carved ivory, the most
valuable is a specimen with the image of a woman on a gilded base.
As for food products, remains of wheat, barley and millet were found (in
separate containers), as well as piles of animal bones, in particular where the
Castle’s military forces were housed.
