Stolac

Walls of ancient Daorson, located at Ošanjići near Stolac.

The area has been settled for at least 15,000 years, as evidenced by the markings in Badanj Cave, which experts have dated 12,000–16,000 BCE. Three kilometers west of Stolac is an impressive stećak necropolis dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries: Radimlja.

These stećak tombstones are carved with epitaphs, detailed portraits of the deceased, and motifs such as grape vines, hunting scenes, and wild animals. Five of the Radimlja tombstones are thought to mark the graves of members of the Hrabren Miloradović Valachian family.

Ali-paša Rizvanbegović (1783–1851), the semi-independent ruler (vizier) of Ottoman Herzegovina from 1833 to 1851, was born in the Begovina neighbourhood of Stolac.

Old city architecture

Containing, in one small area, unique cultural and aesthetic values, Stolac's historic core is an example of a complex cultural-historical and natural environmental ensemble. It is an example of the organic connection between human and natural architectures, which also testifies to the fact that the beauty of the location was crucial in its building and planning - the guiding principle often present in the development of medieval towns.

Nine historical layers compose Stolac's architectural ensemble: pre-history, Illyrian-Roman period, the early Middle Ages, advanced and late Middle Ages, Ottoman period, Austro-Hungarian period, and the time of the first and second Yugoslavia. A multitude of various influences on the architecture of town, in which contrasts and similarities are frequently evident as well as planning and full spontaneity, lend this town a complex image. Despite its unusual history and inclusion into four empires (Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian), three kingdoms (Bosnian, Hungarian and Yugoslav), three world's monotheistic religions - Christianity (Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism), Islam, and Judaism, the historical core of Stolac is still a coherent and harmonious cultural-historical monument with individual properties grown together into one ensemble.[2]

During the Yugoslav Wars, a number of monuments were demolished by Croat extremists as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing, including town's four mosques, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries, and the Orthodox Church of the Holy Assumption of Christ. [3]

• Badanj Cave
• Bregava
• Ošanići
• Radimlja

• Jezzar Pasha, Ottoman governor
• Nijaz Duraković, university professor, founder of Social-Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, war-time Bosniak member of rotating presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Mak Dizdar, poet
• Ali-paša Rizvanbegović, administrator of Stolac from 1813-33
• Asaf Duraković, physician and poet
• Zdravko Šotra, film director
• Alija Isaković, writer, publicist and playwright
• Muhamed Mehmedbašić, member of Young Bosnia
• Salmir Kaplan, Minister of Culture and Sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Mustafa Golubić, member of Young Bosnia

Aladinići, Barane, Berkovići, Bitunja, Bjelojevići, Borojevići, Brštanik, Burmazi, Crnići-Greda, Crnići-Kula, Dabrica, Do, Hatelji, Hodovo, Hrgud, Komanje Brdo, Kozice, Kruševo, Ljubljenica, Ljuti Do, Meča, Orahovica, Ošanići, Pješivac-Greda, Pješivac-Kula, Poplat, Poprati, Predolje, Prenj, Rotimlja, Stolac, Strupići, Suzina, Šćepan Krst, Trijebanj, Trusina and Žegulja.

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[4]

• Daorson