Memorial park · Bihac

Djevojka sa Une

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On a green fingertip of land where the Una River forks around the heart of Bihać, a bronze woman stands with her arms lifted and spread wide, facing the water and the old city bridge. This is Djevojka sa Une — "The Girl from the Una" — a stylised sculpture by the academic artist Vladimir Herljević that has become the unofficial emblem of Bosnia's north-western river town. She is at once a piece of public art and a small mystery: the city's beloved mermaid, cast in metal and set above one of Europe's clearest rivers.↗↗↗

For more than three decades the Girl has watched the emerald currents pass beneath the city bridge, greeting travellers, joggers and families strolling the island. Locals treat her the way other cities treat their famous statues — as a meeting point, a photo subject and a point of civic pride — while the crystal-green Una and the park-like paths of Gradska Otoka (the City Island) give her an unusually scenic stage. The appeal here is small-scale and easy to love: a short riverside walk, a striking sculpture, and a legend you can ask your guide about.↗↗

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Memorial park · Bihac

Djevojka sa Une

Bihac, BA 4.8 (6 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On a green fingertip of land where the Una River forks around the heart of Bihać, a bronze woman stands with her arms lifted and spread wide, facing the water and the old city bridge. This is Djevojka sa Une — "The Girl from the Una" — a stylised sculpture by the academic artist Vladimir Herljević that has become the unofficial emblem of Bosnia's north-western river town. She is at once a piece of public art and a small mystery: the city's beloved mermaid, cast in metal and set above one of Europe's clearest rivers.↗↗↗

For more than three decades the Girl has watched the emerald currents pass beneath the city bridge, greeting travellers, joggers and families strolling the island. Locals treat her the way other cities treat their famous statues — as a meeting point, a photo subject and a point of civic pride — while the crystal-green Una and the park-like paths of Gradska Otoka (the City Island) give her an unusually scenic stage. The appeal here is small-scale and easy to love: a short riverside walk, a striking sculpture, and a legend you can ask your guide about.↗↗

A statue born from a stone and a symposium

The Girl's story begins decades before she stood on the river. In 1967 Bihać hosted a sculpture symposium dedicated to showcasing bihacit, a distinctive local stone, and the showpiece was Vladimir Herljević, a sculptor from Zagreb who was among the first to "discover" the material. He later used bihacit in works as far-flung as the decoration of St Mark's Church in Zagreb, and his bond with Bihać deepened — he had already given the town a relief on its ramparts to mark 700 years of the city.↗

About twenty years after that symposium, on the initiative of Boško Marjanović — a passionate defender of the river and founder of the "Unski Smaragdi" (Una Emeralds) society — the idea of a figure on the Una took shape, and Herljević sculpted her in his Zagreb studio. She was installed in 1986 on the riverbank beside the city bridge and quickly took on the role of city brand, chosen to represent the Una and the Una Emeralds society, which counts members in dozens of countries.↗↗

The mermaid legend and the woman behind the statue

Ever since she was raised on the ramparts, Bihać has asked the same question: who is this mermaid? Local lore weaves a legend of a mysterious Una siren, and the sculpture is taken to be her embodiment — a woman "petrified in her own solitude," listening and watching the river. Stylistically she is freed of politics and ideology: a stylised, idealised figure with outstretched arms who seems to both embrace and release the current flowing past.↗↗↗

Some residents swear the face was modelled on a real person. The photographer and long-time Una enthusiast Hasan Arnautović recalled shooting many portraits of girls by the river — on the regatta, at Štrbački Buk, at Martin Brod — and believed one may have inspired the artist. A woman named Halida Pačić has even suggested her own regata photograph, displayed in a shop window at the time, could have been the model. Herljević himself kept the mystery alive, saying no single beauty was the true inspiration; rather, each was "impossible to make ideal," so he refined the figure artistically. The Girl is therefore an ideal rather than a portrait — which is exactly what makes her so Bihać.↗

War damage, restoration and a second life

The Girl did not have an easy passage through the 1990s. After the war she offended new ideological sensibilities, and someone planted explosives beneath her foundations in an attempt to remove her from the river for good. Because the damage was not more severe, Herljević restored her, and she was raised again on the ramparts beside the Venetian-style steps — for locals now standing as a symbol of survival over an act of vandalism.↗

A more recent chapter came in 2019. A licensed restoration atelier in Zagreb repaired the cracks that had opened on the surface and gave her a fresh layer of bronze that returned her original shine, all under the artist's supervision. The City of Bihać's culture council and the author then agreed on a new setting: the pointed "tip" of Gradska Otoka, the spot that faces the city bridge and the river itself, where evening lighting was planned to illuminate the Girl after dark.↗↗↗

The City Island: the setting around the statue

The Girl stands on Gradska Otoka, a small river island in the very centre of Bihać and one of the city's most picturesque and loved spaces. Once the heart of the old bazaar, the island was dotted in the late 19th century with houses, warehouses, shops and mills linked to the banks by wooden bridges. Today it is a park-like place for gathering, culture and play, where fairs, concerts and festivals take place — including the summer Bihać Summer Fest.↗

Being on the island, you are on the Una. The emerald river is Bihać's defining feature, and the surrounding centre packs several landmarks within a short stroll: the Fethija Mosque, a rare European house of prayer built in original Romanesque-Gothic form and later converted under the Ottomans; the Church of St Anthony of Padua, a national monument whose bell tower survived wartime bombing; the mysterious Turbe memorial; and the City Park and the riverside social hub Beton, which in summer becomes a place to swim, relax and gather. The Girl from the Una sits right at the centre of this compact, walkable zone.↗↗

Making the most of a visit

The sculpture and its island are an easy add-on to any day in Bihać, since pedestrian access runs straight off the main square and the city bridge. Stroll the island's paths, photograph the Girl against the river and the bridge, and take the wider circuit of centre sights while you are on foot. In the warm months the river invites a dip nearby and the island hosts events, so it is liveliest in summer; the open park and riverbank can be enjoyed in any season.↗↗

What makes it special

01

A bronze statue by Zagreb sculptor Vladimir Herljević, unveiled in 1986 and taken as the unofficial symbol of Bihać.↗↗↗

02

She embodies the local legend of a mysterious Una mermaid — and the city still debates who her real-life model might have been.↗↗

03

Restored after wartime damage, including a bronze overhaul in 2019, and reinstalled on the tip of Gradska Otoka facing the city bridge, with planned evening lighting.↗↗

04

Set on the emerald Una in the middle of a walkable historic centre, with fairs and concerts on the island and the Fethija Mosque, St Anthony's Church and riverside Beton nearby.↗↗

A little planning goes a long way

The Girl sits on the City Island (Gradska Otoka) just steps from the main square and the city bridge, so she fits easily into a walkable Bihać centre tour.↗↗
For the best light on the bronze and calmer photos, visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon; the riverside setting is at its most atmospheric at golden hour.↗
In summer the island and riverbank come alive with events, swimming and riverside cafés — time your visit to combine the statue with a dip in the Una and a stroll through the nearby Fethija Mosque and St Anthony's Church.↗↗
The spot is free to see at any time of day and suits families; there is paid parking in the surrounding city centre, with the highest rates closest to Marshal Tito Square.↗↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.