Catacombs of Jajce
Walled city of Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Jajce Catacombs, also known as the Jajce underground church, or simply Jajce crypt in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the historic burial site of Hrvoje Vukčić, a Bosnian nobleman who founded the city and ordered construction of the underground chapel with the crypt around 1400, which was finished before 1416, in time for his burial. The crypt was also meant to serve as the family's burial site.
The underground complex is located on the south-western part of the Walled city of Jajce, in the town's quarter just below the plateau between the Medvjed-kula and the church Church of Saint Mary and its belltower of Saint Luke. Other important religious buildings and facilities were built on the location throughout the history, such as Franciscan friary, a graveyard, and a separate tower for their defence. At first this zone of the town was outside the town's ramparts, but walls encompassed it after second and third phase in fortification's upgrade during the 15th century. The underground structure, now historic monument, was built around 1400, but earlier then 1416 when Grand Duke of Bosnia, Hrvoje Vukčić, who founded the city of Jajce and ordered its construction, died and was laid in his tomb. It was conceived and built to be a church complete, with a narthex, baptismal fonts, a nave, and a presbytery with an altar space. The structure is south–north oriented with the entrance from the southern end. The underground complex was rock-cut into live rock.
The underground spaces are entered through a small and narrow lobby, whose door are also cut into the live rock. In the late 19th or early 20th century, this entrance into the Catacombs was covered with a vaulted entrance at ground level, which was conceived as a protection from elements. There are unfinished carved figures on the lobby's rockface on the both sides of the door, just in front of the narthex. On the left is a male figure, probably holding a spear in one hand, and a lowered sword in the other. To the left, next to a figure, hardly discernible, there is a depiction of what appears to be a heraldic image, with a large helmet and a mantle descending beh
Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).