List of World Heritage Sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Stećaks and their necropolis's are one of the mysteries of the bosnian history. The biggest question historians ask themselves is the origin of the stecaks, what families the dead buried under them belonged too, and some of the symbolism of the messages inscribed onto them. The inscriptions on the stecaks talk about people from different social structures and from different religions, being buried under them. They started to appear in the mid 12th century. The majority were built between the 14th and 15th century, before stopping during the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 16th century. The stecaks were nearly forgotten during the Ottoman period. The Ottoman 'nišan' managed to take their place. Although the fame of them spread even before, the systematic study of the tombstones started during the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most famous stecak on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the 'Zgošćanski stećak' located near Kakanj. It doesn't have inscriptions on it, but because on the exceptional decorations on it some researchers, like Đorđe Stratimirović, theorize that it is the grave of Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia. The 'Zgošćanski stećak' is currently located in the garden of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. The Most famous necropolis in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the Radimlja near Stolac