Herceg Stjepan Fortress

Herceg Stjepan Fortress is the most monumental archaeological site in the municipality of Ljubuški and a true symbol of this town and all of Herzegovina. Located on top of the karst hill Buturovica at 396 metres above sea level, it dominates the town and offers a stunning view of the Trebižat Valley and the surrounding area. The 3,350 m² complex was built in several phases — the central rectangular tower, "Herceguša," dates from the late 14th or early 15th century, while the massive outer walls with towers were erected in the Ottoman period after 1472.

Within the fortress there once stood a guardhouse, granary, bakery, armory, gunpowder magazine and four water cisterns, and not far from the entrance the remains of a 16th-century mosque have been preserved — witnesses to centuries of Ottoman presence. Ljubuški is first mentioned in written sources in 1435 precisely in the context of this fortress, and in 2003 it was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A visit to the fortress is a journey through layers of history — from Herceg Kosača and Ottoman military garrisons to Dubrovnik builders who restored the walls in the 17th century.