A team from the Foundation “Heritage Watchdogs – Bassania”, consisting of Emir, Mirza, Samer, and Feđa, has discovered a forgotten and previously undocumented medieval fortress known as Barakov Grad, located in the municipality of Višegrad.
This remarkable site, hidden deep within dense forest high above the Drina River, offers breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and valleys. Almost no experts had previously reached this location. The fortress is not mentioned in the works of Mulabegović or Redžić, nor is it documented in the Archaeological Lexicon of Bosnia and Herzegovina or in more recent publications. The only reference appears in the writings of Đoko Mazalić, who mentioned it under the name Rakov Grad, though he himself never visited the site.
The fortress is impressively well-preserved, surrounded by high stone walls up to 6 meters tall and about 1 meter thick. It measures approximately 250 meters in length and 50 meters in width. Two towers are visible, positioned diagonally from one another, along with a large excavated trench separating the outer walls from the central plateau where wooden structures once stood. The site lies at an altitude of 940 meters, oriented northwest–southeast. It is presumed that an Illyrian hillfort once existed here before the medieval construction.
The Barakovac area was historically known as a hunting ground – frequented even by Džemal Bijedić – and remains home to bears, wolves, wild boars, and jackals today, which may explain why few have dared to explore the fortress.
For context, Barak Ishaković was the elder brother of Isa-Beg Ishaković and the son of Ishak-Beg Hranić Kosača. He is first mentioned in 1428 when he retook the captured fortress of Hodidjed near Sarajevo, and again in a 1436 charter preserved in Dubrovnik, referred to as “Vojvoda Barack”, when he fought—at the invitation of Hranić Kosača—against the Pavlović and Kotromanić families.
