The old town of Tešanj is a significant monument of the medieval and Ottoman history of Bosnia and Tešanj.

Tešanj Fortress, after the one in Jajce, is considered one of the largest fortresses in BiH.
There are various legends about Tešanj getting its name. One legend claims that a woman named Teša was
bricked inside the walls of the fortress, so Tešanj got its name after that woman. The city probably got its
name from the Celtic noun tessen, which means small palace.
The architectural ensemble of the old town (fortress) consists of the upper and lower parts that were
gradually built. Illyrian were the first to build a fortress, which the Romans destroyed by conquering these
parts during theBattle of Baton from the 6 Y to the 9 Y AC. The Romans built their fortress on the location of
former Illyrian forts, which was devastated by the arrival of Slavs to the Balkans, at the end of the 6th and
early 7th centuries. In the late Middle Ages, the old town was originally a palace that would later grow into
fortress.
The upper part of the fortification is called the Captain's Tower and there is written evidence from 1461 in
which the last king of the medieval Bosnian kingdom Stjepan Tomašević donated the town, as crown lands to
his uncle Radivoj, and that is a first written mention of Old Town Tešanj.
1521 was the year when Ottomans conquer Tešanj
The second tower is called Dizdar's Tower and was built in 1747. The lower part, below the tower, also was
built in the Ottoman period. The name Dizdar's Tower was named after Dizdar, the guardian of the fortress.In
summertime, weddings of our fellow citizens are often held in the tower.
Ottomans built a few bunkers, a prison, several tabija (a protruding stone fort from which cannons fire, a
bastion.) etc.This gave fortress its final appearance, making it one of the strongest in the Bosnian eyalet.
After the great incursions of Eugene of Savoy in 1697, which completely set Sarajevo on fire, in November
1697, the Austrian army, led by Savoy, laid siege to the fortress in Tešanj.This heavy siege of the Tešanj
fortress and the city ended after three days of unsuccessful attacks. The fortress in the classical military sense
has never been conquered throughout history. The geostrategic position dictated that all those who tried to
occupy it, gave up.
The Varoš (suburb) under the old town, which was built in the MiddleAges, grew into a Kasaba (an urban
settlement) during the Ottoman Empire.The kasaba consisted of 2 separate zones: the business area (čaršija)
and theresidential area (mahala).
The Tešanj Fortress is a protected national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina since July 2003.Today, the
fortress defies with its strength and conquers its beauty by welcoming every visitor with a sincere welcome
and content.
Therefore, if you are in the vicinity of this Bosnia and Herzegovina beauty, do not miss the opportunity to visit
and enjoy its rich history.If you come to the fortress of Tešanj you can visit the archeological and historical
setting in the Dizdar's tower, the occasional exhibition in the Captain's tower, spend a pleasant time watching
the panorama of Tešanj. Also the upper part of the fortress contains a playground for children and place to sit
and enjoy the historical sorounding and remarkable view.
EMINAGIĆA House
The Eminagić house is traditional bosnian house in Tešanj, built in 19th century. The house was built by a rich
family of landed gentleman and traders with the surname Eminagić, and according to that, the house was
named after them. It was built with the traditional system of construction called ćerpić (a combination of
ground-clay-wooden construction) which was a traditional way of construction houses in Bosnia in past. The
family was always numerous, and they lived in the house until the 1970`s. After they left the house, it
progressively became friable and unsuitable for living. By the end of the 20th century, the house was bought
and restorerd by the Municipality of Tešanj, and today house is a museum.
The house consists of a storeroom, ground floor and first floor.
The basement in Eminagić house is made of stone, and in the past family kept food there in potery. In the
ground floor there are seven rooms in which the Museum Tešanj organizes various cultural events. On the first
floor of the house there are also a divanhana, five rooms, a small dimaluk (fireplace), two corridors and an
abdesthana (bathrom).
Eminagić house is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2005., and today it is a place that
brings us back to a long time ago where visitors can feel how to live in a man-made house. It is a place where a
harmony between man and home, and home and nature has been achieved.
The house takes with its beauty and spirit, welcoming each guest with sincere welcome in its ambience. If you
find yourself near to this Tešanj and bosnian breathtaking beauty, don't miss the opportunity to visit it. If you
visit the house, it will return you to the past, you can feel the living culture from the 19th century, and see the
most important objects of ethnological collection of the Museum of Tešanj.

SAHAT TOWER in Tešanj

Clock tower was built in the 17th century during the intensive development of the bazaar under the old
town.It is 18.5 meters high and is one of about twenty clock towers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.It used to show
"a la turca" time, and today's clock shows European time andit was brought from Vienna in 1890 as a gift from
Fehim-beg Smailbegovic. It is one of a few clock towers that still operate today.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a multicultural and multi-religious society since the earliest times of its
existence. The centuries-old multi-religiousness of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also evidenced by its places of
worship, which are often almost next to each other. There is nothing different in Tešanj either.
IN 2016, the CATHOLIC CHURCH OF SAINT PETER AND PAUL was declared a national monument of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The church was designed in 1910 by Josip Vancaš, who also designed the Sarajevo Cathedral. It is
located at a spring called Zvečaj in the canyon of the river Tešanjka below the fortress.The traces of prehistoric
people were found at that site. The charter of Pope Pius II from 1461, which is also the oldest document in
which Tešanj is mentioned, also mentions the church of St. George, but there is still no material evidence of
where that church was located.
THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE PROTECTION OF THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN IN TESANJ was built
between 1934 and 1971. The church housed a valuable collection of a hundred icons, mostly made using the
tempera technique on wood, including four from the 16th century and ten from the 17th century. During
World War II, the collection of icons was hidden in the house of Mirko Blatančić, a Catholic from Tesanj, and
after the war it was returned to the Orthodox Church in Tesanj. The icons were taken to Bijeljina for
restoration in 2001 and have not been returned to this day.
Gazi Ferhad-beg Mosque, or Čaršija Mosque (Ferhadija), is located in the center of Tešanj. The Gazi Ferhad-
beg mosque is proclaimed a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007.After the Battle of Mohács
in 1526, Ferhad-beg was the čifluk-sahib of the town of Tešanj. On that occasion, he founded his own
endowment located on the right bank of the river Usora, in which he endowed: a mosque, a school- medresa,
a caravanserai and 32 shops, two gardens and a house. This is evidenced by a transcript of his vakufname. For
Tešanj, Ferhad-beg represented his first vakif and the real founder of a Muslim town in the suburbs of the
Tešanj fortress. Around 1559, Ferhad-bey built the second oldest mosque in the city, which was also named
Ferhadija. Ferhadija will become the main mosque in Tešanj. It is interesting that Ferhad-beg, during the
endowment of the mosque, states that he leaves it for God's slaves who perform prayers after idolatry. In its
long history, the mosque was destroyed several times, and it is known that it was set on fire during the
campaign of Eugene of Savoy in 1697.Ferhad Bey died in 1568. Ferhad's turbe is located in the harem of the
mosque.