Captain's Tower Museum
Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
About
Although it is one of the oldest historical landmarks of Bihac, its date of birth still hasn't been determined. Since its constructors hadn't left any information about this building for future generations, historians were able to determine approximate time period it comes from: late Croatian and early Ottoman. As many buildings in Bihac, Captain's Tower has its own little history. According to the theory by H. Strauss in his book "Towers of Bihać", Captain's tower was built in 1205. and it was one of the four towers, three of which were destroyed in 1201 - 1202. According to the legend that contains bits of historical foundation, Captain's Tower and fortified Bihac saved Hungarian King Bella the Fourth from Tartar cavalrymen, who had chased him to the walls of Bihac fortress. As a token of his Royal appreciation, King Bella the Fourth proclaimed Bihac a free town. When Austro - Hungarians came here they turned the Captain's Tower into a county prison. For long period of time, ever after Bihac grew out of its walls and became an urban center, Captain's Tower was used only as prison until it was given to the Regional Museum in 1959. Building was completely adopted and turned into Museum, where you can see many artifacts from Illyrian and Roman period.
