Vilina Vlas

Vilina Vlas is a thermal spa and hotel complex located approximately five kilometres from Višegrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its name refers to a plant associated with the area and is commonly understood in the context of the site's traditional spa setting. The location combines natural hot springs, historic Turkish baths, forest surroundings and a modern hotel facility. It is therefore both a tourism and rehabilitation venue and a highly contested memorial landscape because of crimes committed there during the Bosnian War. The site's thermal waters were known before the construction of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge at Višegrad. Ottoman workers extracting stone for the bridge encountered the spring, and in 1575 Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ordered the construction of two baths, commonly identified as Kadino Kupatilo and Mehmed-Pasha's Kupatilo. The latter survives in substantially similar form to its original construction. These baths made the site an early destination for people seeking the reputed healing properties of the water. After the Second World War, Višegrad's Vistad weapons factory established a recreation centre for its employees. A new hotel was begun in 1979 and completed in 1982. The resulting complex has been described as having about 70 rooms, including single and double rooms and apartments, with capacity for roughly 160 guests. Facilities historically listed for the property include restaurants, seminar and meeting spaces, an aperitif bar, shop, hair salon and separate bungalows. Its commercial identity has consequently been associated with spa treatment, accommodation, rehabilitation and leisure tourism. During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, Vilina Vlas became one of the principal detention sites in the Višegrad area. The camp was established in 1992 and was connected with the Uzice Corps, local police structures and Serb paramilitary formations. Bosniak and other non-Serb civilians were detained there, and reports submitted to United Nations investigators described a systematic pattern of rape, torture and other abuse. The hotel was reportedly used as a site where women and girls were held and sexually assaulted. A United Nations Commission of Experts report estimated that approximately 200 women, predominantly Bosniak, were detained and abused at the site, although the precise number of victims remains uncertain. Survivor testimony and human-rights documentation have described repeated sexual violence, beatings and forced detention. Many detainees were killed, disappeared, expelled or died by suicide, while only a small number are reported to have survived. The alleged concealment and relocation of victims' remains has contributed to the continuing significance of the site for survivors and families. The hotel was also connected to the Sjeverin massacre, in which 16 Bosniaks travelling by bus were abducted, taken to Vilina Vlas and later murdered. The camp was eventually closed after information about its existence became known outside the immediate area. In later war-crimes proceedings, Milan Lukić was convicted for murders involving detainees connected with the Višegrad crimes, although he was not prosecuted for the extensive allegations of rape at Vilina Vlas. Oliver Krsmanović was charged in connection with rape and serious sexual abuse of female detainees at the site. Allegations were also made against police official Risto Perišić and hotel director Duško Andrić; the available reference material does not establish convictions for those allegations. The continued operation and promotion of Vilina Vlas as a spa has generated ethical and political controversy. Survivors' organisations and civic groups have criticised the absence of a sufficient memorial framework and objected to the use of the former camp as an ordinary rehabilitation destination. In March 2026, organisations in Montenegro sought the cancellation of an arrangement that allowed Montenegrin pensioners to receive rehabilitation services at the centre. The Montenegrin Ministry of Social Protection, Family Care and Demography subsequently announced that the relevant pension-fund cooperation agreement had been terminated. The episode illustrates the unresolved tension between tourism, institutional responsibility, historical memory and accountability for wartime crimes. Vilina Vlas has also influenced artistic and documentary work. Australian performance artist Kym Vercoe's visit to the site inspired the performance work "seven kilometres north-east: A performance about geography, tourism and atrocity." Vercoe's experience also informed the 2013 film "For Those Who Can Tell No Tales," directed by Jasmila Žbanić. The property thus functions simultaneously as a spa brand, a historic site and a symbol of the failure to fully integrate atrocity remembrance into post-war tourism and public history.

The Vilina Vlas site is a thermal spring complex near Višegrad whose history predates the modern hotel. Ottoman workers quarrying stone during the construction of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge encountered the spring. In 1575, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha commissioned two baths, Kadino Kupatilo and Mehmed-Pasha's Kupatilo. The surviving Mehmed-Pasha's Bath remains an important physical link to the site's Ottoman spa history and reflects the longstanding use of the waters for bathing and healing. Following the Second World War, the Vistad weapons factory in Višegrad developed a recreation centre at the location for its workforce. Construction of a modern hotel began in 1979, and the building was completed in 1982. The hotel was designed as a conventional hospitality and spa facility, with rooms, apartments, restaurants, meeting and seminar areas, a bar, shop, hair salon and additional bungalow accommodation. The property is set among coniferous woodland and has historically been promoted as a rehabilitation and leisure destination. The meaning of the site changed radically in 1992 during the Bosnian War. Vilina Vlas became one of the principal detention facilities used in the Višegrad area after its establishment by forces associated with the Uzice Corps. Local police and paramilitary groups, including forces linked to Milan Lukić, were involved in the detention of Bosniak and other non-Serb civilians. The hotel was used as a place of confinement and as a site of systematic sexual violence against women and girls. United Nations investigators and later human-rights reporting treated the consistency of survivor accounts as evidence of a substantial organised pattern rather than isolated abuse. A report to the United Nations Commission of Experts estimated that around 200 women, primarily Bosniak, were detained and sexually assaulted at Vilina Vlas. Accounts described the repeated rape and beating of prisoners, the selection of younger women and girls, and the killing, disappearance, expulsion or psychological destruction of many detainees. The precise victim count remains unresolved, and the whereabouts of many bodies have not been established. Vilina Vlas was also one of the locations associated with the abduction of 16 Bosniaks from a bus during the Sjeverin massacre; those abductees were taken to the hotel and murdered. The camp was closed after knowledge of its existence spread beyond the local area, but the site's post-war identity remained unresolved. Criminal proceedings addressed some of the Višegrad crimes. Milan Lukić was convicted for murders connected with detainees held at sites including Vilina Vlas, while Oliver Krsmanović was charged with rape and serious sexual abuse of female Bosniak detainees as well as other crimes. Survivors and advocacy organisations have repeatedly criticised the limited treatment of sexual violence in the prosecution of Lukić. Allegations were also reported against Risto Perišić and former hotel director Duško Andrić; the supplied material does not document convictions for those allegations. In the post-war period, the property continued to operate as a hotel, spa and rehabilitation centre. This continuity has been controversial because the site has not simply been a neutral tourist facility: it is also a place where survivors were detained and abused. The dispute became visible again in 2026 when Montenegrin civic organisations challenged arrangements under which pensioners used the centre for rehabilitation. Montenegro's ministry responsible for social protection announced termination of the relevant cooperation agreement. The controversy reflects wider debates over memorialisation, public acknowledgement, survivor dignity and the ethics of tourism at former atrocity sites. The location has entered cultural memory through performance, film and documentary work. Kym Vercoe's performance "seven kilometres north-east: A performance about geography, tourism and atrocity" was inspired by her visit to Višegrad and the difficulty of reconciling the site's tourist presentation with its wartime history. Her experience also contributed to Jasmila Žbanić's 2013 film "For Those Who Can Tell No Tales." Vilina Vlas is therefore best understood not only as a spa or hospitality brand, but as a layered historical site whose commercial, architectural and commemorative identities remain in tension.

• 2026

  Montenegro ends rehabilitation cooperation

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  After civic groups challenged the use of Vilina Vlas by Montenegrin pensioners, Montenegro announced termination of its cooperation agreement with the rehabilitation centre.

• 2013

  Site enters international film culture

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  The film For Those Who Can Tell No Tales, directed by Jasmila Žbanić and connected to Kym Vercoe's experience, brought the site's unresolved wartime history to a wider audience.

• 1994

  United Nations documentation

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  The United Nations Commission of Experts' reporting on detention camps and crimes in Višegrad included Vilina Vlas and accounts of sexual violence there.

• 1992

  Hotel used as a wartime detention camp

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  During the Bosnian War, Vilina Vlas became a major detention site in the Višegrad area and was associated with systematic rape and other crimes against Bosniak and non-Serb civilians.

• 1982

  Hotel completed

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  The modern Vilina Vlas hotel was completed and entered operation as a hospitality and rehabilitation destination.

• 1979

  Modern hotel construction begins

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on a modern hotel and recreation facility at the spa site.

• 1575

  Ottoman baths commissioned

  [1]Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org

  Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ordered the construction of two baths at the thermal spring, establishing the site's documented Ottoman spa heritage.

A regional thermal-spa and hotel destination built around mineral springs, historic Ottoman baths, forest surroundings and rehabilitation services, but also a contested former wartime detention site whose commercial use remains the subject of survivor and human-rights criticism.

• Wellness and rehabilitation

  Thermal spa and rehabilitation services

  The core commercial offering is based on the site's thermal spring and its historical reputation for healing and rehabilitation. Services have been presented as suitable for visitors seeking spa treatment, recuperation and related wellness uses. The supplied material does not specify current treatment programmes, medical accreditation or pricing.

• Hospitality · 1982

  Hotel accommodation

  The hotel historically comprises approximately 70 rooms, including single and double rooms and apartments, with a stated capacity of about 160 beds. Additional accommodation has included bungalows behind the main building. The property is situated near Višegrad in a forested setting.

• Hospitality and events

  Food, beverage and events

  Facilities historically associated with Vilina Vlas include two restaurants with a combined capacity of about 370 seats, an aperitif bar and halls for seminars or meetings. The reference material also describes an open and closed hall and additional meeting space, indicating a role beyond accommodation and spa use.

• Historic bath · 1575

  Mehmed-Pasha's Bath

  Mehmed-Pasha's Bath is the surviving Ottoman bath associated with the 1575 development of the spring. It remains largely intact and represents the oldest documented architectural element of the Vilina Vlas spa landscape.

• 1992

  Vilina Vlas used as a detention and rape camp

  During the Bosnian War, the hotel was used to detain Bosniak and other non-Serb civilians. United Nations and survivor accounts described systematic rape, torture, beatings, killings and disappearances, particularly involving women and girls.

  Source

• 1992

  Connection to the Sjeverin massacre

  Sixteen Bosniaks abducted from a bus during the Sjeverin massacre were reportedly taken to Vilina Vlas, tortured and murdered.

  Source

• Criticism of post-war tourism at a former atrocity site

  Survivors and civic organisations have criticised the continued operation of Vilina Vlas as an ordinary spa and rehabilitation destination without what they regard as adequate acknowledgement or memorialisation of the crimes committed there.

  Source

Read more

• 2026Campaign to end Montenegro-linked rehabilitation use

  Montenegro · Bosnia and Herzegovina

  UDIK and the Center for Civic Education urged Montenegro's pension authorities to cancel cooperation with Vilina Vlas after reports that pensioners were visiting the former camp for rehabilitation.

  Outcome. Montenegro announced that the pension fund had unilaterally terminated the cooperation agreement.

  Source
• 2013For Those Who Can Tell No Tales

  International film audiences

  Jasmila Žbanić's film drew on Kym Vercoe's encounter with Višegrad and examined the conflict between the area's tourist presentation and its history of wartime atrocity, including Vilina Vlas.

  Outcome. The film helped communicate the site's history through international art-house cinema and contributed to public discussion of memory and accountability.

  Source
• seven kilometres north-east: A performance about geography, tourism and atrocity

  Australia · Europe · International performance-art audiences

  Kym Vercoe developed a performance work after visiting Vilina Vlas and confronting the gap between its role as a tourist spa and its history as a wartime detention and rape site.

  Outcome. The work became an important cultural treatment of the site's contested tourism identity and influenced the later film adaptation.

  Source

• 2026

  Termination of Montenegro rehabilitation agreementStrategy

  Background

  Civic groups challenged the use of the former detention site by Montenegrin pensioners for rehabilitation and called for the relevant institutional arrangement to end.

  Action taken

  The Montenegrin Ministry of Social Protection, Family Care and Demography announced that the pension fund had unilaterally terminated its cooperation agreement with Vilina Vlas.

  Aftermath

  The decision was welcomed by the organisations that had campaigned against the arrangement and renewed debate about the site's post-war commercial use.

  Source

• 1979

  Development of a modern hotel complexStrategy

  Background

  The post-war recreation centre associated with Vistad was replaced or expanded through the construction of a modern hotel intended for accommodation, spa use, recreation and events.

  Action taken

  Construction of the hotel began in 1979 and was completed in 1982.

  Aftermath

  The complex became a regional hospitality and rehabilitation facility before its wartime use transformed the site's historical meaning.

  Source

1. 1Vilina Vlasen.wikipedia.org