NDC Sarajevo organized from 8th to 10th September 2023 a study visit to Mrkonjić Grad for a group of twenty students coming from four secondary schools in Jajce, Mrkonjić Grad, and Vareš.
The students were accommodated in the Visitor Center Pecka which is located near Mrkonjić Grad. During this visit, our hosts from Mrkonjić Grad (teacher Ivana Berić, accompanied by her students and the school team) organized a visit to and a presentation of cultural and historic landmarks and institutions in and around Mrkonjić Grad.
During their three-day stay, our participants paid a visit to the host school, the public institution of the High School Center Mrkonjić Grad, learned about their way of work, saw their favorite science classrooms and interesting workshops, and compared them with science classrooms in their schools. Continuing the tour of Mrkonjić Grad, they took an opportunity to visit Kizlar-aga Mosque, Temple of Saint Sava (Orthodox Church), and Parish Catholic Church, thereby learning the history of these places of worship, their construction methods, and their spiritual significance. They could spot similarities and differences in the design, compare them with similar places in other municipalities they had visited, and hear many anecdotes and interesting stories from Mrkonjić Grad.
While touring, it was a must to see craft blacksmith workshops, after which this region is well-known, particularly for the scythe forging. Thus, they paid a visit to the blacksmith workshops (such as “Đuro”) where they could learn how to forge scythes of the brand “Varcarke”, what materials are thereby used, at which temperatures, and about the generations of blacksmiths who used to work there.
The study visit ended with a tour of the beautiful lake Balkana, and the source of river Sana.
This activity was implemented within the project “Reconciliation Through Dialogue and Joint Activities in the Local Communities in BiH” which is financially supported by the German Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.