VISOČICA HILL

From the top of this hill (Brdo Visočica), 14,000 years of history are looking down on you. This, in a nutshell, is what Semir Osmanagić claims. Since 2005, this Bosnian-American entrepreneur, born in Zenica in 1960, has been arguing that this hill (213 m above sea level) with a strangely pyramidal shape on the side of its northern face, would have been shaped by a very ancient unknown human civilization with the help of aliens. This completely crazy theory of the "pyramid of the sun" (Piramida Sunca) drains since thousands of curious, conspiracy theorists and pseudo-scientists of all countries. Before wasting your time and money here, check out the website of the French-Bosnian researcher Irna (irna.fr), which since 2006 has been compiling all the affabulations of Osmanagić and his little sect. The hilltop is home to the ruins of the medieval town of Visoki (Stari Grad Visoki), which was the capital of Stefan Tvrtko I, king of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia in the 14th century. The remains were unearthed in 2007-2008 by a team of archaeologists from the National Museum in Sarajevo. This discovery came to contradict Semir Osmanagić, who claimed until then that everything had been destroyed by the Ottomans and that he could therefore conduct his own "excavations" there in order to prove his far-fetched theories. Alas, some of the finds have since been damaged with explosives by supporters of Osmanagić's theories. Due to lack of money, the site is no longer protected. But one can still see some remains and enjoy a magnificent panorama.