Church of St. Mary

Church of St. Mary (Tower of St. Luke) in Jajce is one of the most layered historical monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where eras, faiths, and the destinies of royal families literally meet. Located at the foot of the fortress, this building was the site of a key event in Bosnian history - the coronation of the last Bosnian king, Stjepan Tomašević. It gained special significance in 1459, when Jelena Branković (later Queen Mara) brought the relics of Saint Luke as part of her dowry, after whom the bell tower still bears its name today. From a Romanesque basilica, through a Gothic adaptation, to its conversion into the Suleiman II Mosque after the Ottoman conquests, this building is a silent witness to all the rises and falls of the royal city.

Although the interior of the church was destroyed in the great fire of 1832, the Tower of St. Luke still stands proudly as the only preserved medieval bell tower in the continental part of the Balkans. Its architecture, combining strict Romanesque and elegant Gothic styles, makes it a visual symbol of Jajce visible from almost every part of the city. As a cultural monument since 1892, it attracts not only historians but also all those who want to feel the spirit of the time when Jajce was the diplomatic and spiritual center of the region.