Mramor in Musići and Bečani

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Mramor in Musići

   In a meadow near the village of Musići, in the hills around Olovo in central Bosnia, stands a group of stećci, the great carved medieval tombstones that are unique to this part of the Balkans. They date roughly from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries, and the people who raised them were Bosnian Christians, Catholics and Orthodox alike. The Musići necropolis is part of the group of stećci cemeteries inscribed by UNESCO in 2016, and its stones are among the finest: big slabs and house-shaped blocks decorated with spirals, crosses, vines, hunting scenes and strange, almost abstract human figures.

   Read the complete Mramor in Musići write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Mramor in Musići is where the day begins. Next is Olovci.

2. 2. Olovci

   In a meadow above the Drinjača valley, a short way from the small town of Kladanj, a group of carved limestone blocks lies scattered among the grass and young trees. These are stećci, the medieval tombstones of Bosnia and the surrounding lands, and Olovci is one of the necropolises listed together by UNESCO as a single heritage site spread across four countries. The stones date roughly from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Some are plain slabs or chests, others shaped like little houses with pitched roofs, and the best of them carry reliefs: spirals, crescent moons, vines, hunting scenes, a figure with a raised hand. Nobody is entirely sure who was buried under them, and the arguments about whether they belonged to Catholics, Orthodox or the Bosnian church have run for a century.

   Read the complete Olovci write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Olovci comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bečani.

3. 3. Bečani

   The hills above the Drinjača river in north-eastern Bosnia are covered with beech and oak, and in clearings on the slopes stand the stećci, large limestone tombstones, some shaped like chests and some like gabled roofs, carved with crescent moons, spirals, hands, swords and hunting scenes. Bečani is one of the places where they are found, on the outskirts of the little town of Šekovići, three kilometres away, in the eastern part of the country that is now Republika Srpska.

   Read the complete Bečani write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 92 km into the recorded legs you reach Bečani. Next is back through Olovci.

4. 4. back through Olovci

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Olovci write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Olovci, late in the day. Next is Mramor in Musići.

5. 5. Mramor in Musići

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mramor in Musići write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Mramor in Musići. That is the ride.