The Historical Town Kresevo

Kresevo is a town (with about 1100 inhabitants) located on the banks of the Kresevcica and Dragusnica rivers in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, 55 km from Sarajevo (Geographic coordinates: 43º51'56.27''N, 18º02'27.72''E, elevation: 611). Kresevo was first mentioned in written documents in 1435 as one of the residences of the Bosnian kings. There was a Franciscan monastery here already in the middle of the 14th century. It is known for the metal industry, the production of footwear and leather goods, furniture, carpet weaving, and the exploitation and processing of barite. It is also known for its mineral water springs ('Nevra'). The monastery in Kresevo has an archive, a library, a museum and a memorial room for the Franciscan Grga Martić. In it, among other things, some Ottoman regulations and old chronicles (1765–1817) have been preserved. In the 15th century, Kresevo was one of the capital cities with a royal palace and fortress, under which there was a suburb with a square. It developed as a mining town (iron, copper, silver and mercury), so from the 16th century to the period after 1800 it was, along with Vares, the most important center of Bosnian metallurgy (ore smelters and forges for the manufacture of weapons and jewelry). Kresevo maintained commercial ties, first of all, with Dubrovnik. During the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Kresevo was first mentioned as a nahija in 1469 as part of the Kraljeva Zemlja vilayet ('King's Land vilayet'), and after its abolition at the end of the 15th century as part of the Sarajevo Kadiluk. From the 16th to the 18th century, Kresevo was the seat of the representative of the Sarajevo kadi ('naib'), the commissioner for mining affairs ('emin') and the chief of the local janissaries ('serdar'). Since 1878, Kresevo has been under Austro-Hungarian rule.