Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup and Grebnice
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
389 km
Riding-time estimate
8 h 12
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 389 km round trip from Bijela - roughly 8 h 12 in the saddle. On the way it passes Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards, Grebnice and back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Bosnia & Herzegovina into Montenegro - carry ID and check the toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup
The Greek hillock, Grčka glavica, is a misleading name: the medieval tombstones that crown it have nothing to do with Greece. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, folk tradition often credited the stećci, the great carved medieval tombstones of the region, to Greeks, giants or other mysterious ancestors, and the names have stuck. The necropolis near the village of Biskup, in the hills south of Konjic, is a group of these stones, some decorated with reliefs of crosses, rosettes, hunting scenes or figures, and it is one of the sites in the UNESCO listing of stećci medieval tombstone graveyards, listed in 2016.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup is where the day begins. Next is Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.
2. Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Radimlja, just outside Stolac in Herzegovina, is the finest of the stećak graveyards, and it lies right beside the main road, which makes it one of the easiest pieces of medieval Europe to stop for. Stećci are massive limestone tombstones, shaped like chests, slabs or little gabled houses, carved between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries across the medieval kingdom of Bosnia and neighbouring lands. Many are decorated with reliefs: spirals, vines, crescents, stars, hunting scenes, dancers holding hands, and knights with swords and shields, and one figure at Radimlja raises an oversized right hand in what may be a greeting or a blessing. In 2016 UNESCO listed a group of these graveyards across four countries together.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards comes up about 133 km into the recorded legs. Next is Grebnice.
3. Grebnice
Grebnice, a name that simply means something like grave-stones, is a field of stećci near Bileća in eastern Herzegovina. These are the massive carved tombstones of medieval Bosnia and its neighbours, cut from local limestone between roughly the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, shaped like chests, slabs or little houses with gabled roofs, and sometimes covered with spirals, rosettes, swords, shields and dancing figures. UNESCO listed a selection of the most important sites together in 2016, and the necropolis here is one of the eastern Herzegovinian groups. Standing among them on a still afternoon, with the grass grown up around the stones, is a strangely moving experience.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup to Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup → Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards is 133 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards to Grebnice
Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards → Grebnice is 61 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Grebnice to back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Grebnice → back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards is 62 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards to Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup
back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards → Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup is 133 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.