Municipality of Maglaj reconstructed the summer stage at the Stara gradina fortress

One project, several phases

The renovation of Stara gradina in Maglaj was not a one-time investment. It was a continuous work carried out in phases, each with its concrete element of the whole. Such an approach was necessary because it concerned a national monument requiring careful, prudent, and expertly supervised renovation, not aggressive intervention.

The current phase was the reconstruction of the summer stage within the fortress complex. That stage was conceived as the active core of the whole site, a place where film screenings, concerts, literary evenings, plays, and other cultural events take place.

Why Stara gradina - a national monument above the city

The "Gradina" fortress in Maglaj is not an ordinary tourist destination. The value of this architectural complex was officially established by the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments of BiH; the building was proclaimed a national monument of the city of Maglaj at its session.

That status is not just a title, it brings the obligation of protection, maintenance, and return of authenticity, as well as active use for tourism and culture. It was precisely from that obligation that the multi-phased approach of the Municipality of Maglaj at this site derived.

What was specifically done in the current phase

The current phase of the project restored and made usable the summer stage within the complex. The following were installed and built:

• 35 benches for visitors - basic audience capacity, seats in the shade of the walls
• A platform for film screenings and cultural events - the central element around which the whole concept of the stage was built
• Handrails on steps - a safety element, as this is terrain with elevation differences and historic stone
• 10 wrought-iron waste bins - a functional element integrated into the ambient of the monument, without disturbing its visual identity

It is important to emphasise what the project did not do: it did not engage in aggressive interventions on the fortress itself. It was additional tourist infrastructure and reconstruction of existing content, fully adapted to the character of the national monument.

How many people this reached

After the realisation, the following annual benefits were estimated:

• At least 8,000 Maglaj citizens use some of the content of the old "Gradina" fortress
• At least 1,000 tourists visiting Maglaj get an additional reason for a longer stay
• At least 250 Maglaj citizens directly involved in tourism activities in the municipality
• At least two non-governmental organisations received upgraded capacities through work at the site

The total population of the Municipality of Maglaj is about 23,000 citizens, which means the newly arranged stage has the potential to activate more than a third of the local population, either as content users or as visitors.

Strategic framework - this was not an isolated move

The project did not happen in a vacuum. The Municipality of Maglaj has two umbrella documents directly pointing to tourism development at this site:

• The Development Strategy of the Municipality of Maglaj - with a series of tourism development projects, including expanding content around the Oševe mountain lodge, building a tourist trail to the Megara cave and other sport-tourism trails, and developing a regional tourism product through cross-border cooperation
• The Tourism Development Strategy in the Municipality of Maglaj - explicitly pointing to measures for improvement and development of picnic sites to which Stara gradina belongs

The renovation of Stara gradina was one of the key steps in the strategic plan of tourism development in Maglaj, not an isolated decision.

Sustainability and management

After the completion of each phase, three levels care for the site:

• The Municipality of Maglaj - through regular annual maintenance activities
• The Maglaj Public Utility Company - operational maintenance, cleaning, minor interventions
• Partner associations and active NGOs - through their programme activities at the site (events, cleaning actions, cultural programmes)

This three-way arrangement ensures that the restored facilities do not become yet another "arranged then forgotten" site but remain in function in the long term.

Why it was the right move for Maglaj

The youth of Maglaj has for years actively promoted the city and its fortress through literary works, presentations, and content that crosses the borders of BiH. What they lacked was a space where that energy could also be physically manifested: a stage, plateau, a scene open towards the walls.

When that space became ready, the fortress stopped being just "that old thing up above the city" and became a living cultural epicentre of Maglaj, a place of summer film screenings, concerts, literary evenings, plays, school events. For a city consciously tying its development to tourism and cultural heritage, this was precisely the kind of project that does not consume resources but multiplies them.

The message of the project

The Municipality of Maglaj recognised that no efficiently organised and arranged tourist destinations of this kind existed in the municipality. That is precisely why Stara gradina represents a real novelty and a template for future projects at similar sites.

The combination of a national monument and contemporary cultural use, with a three-tier maintenance system guaranteeing continuity, shows that cultural heritage can be simultaneously preserved and actively used.