BH cities: CAPLJINA

Wider space of today’s Čapljina, which was called Luka in the middle age, is situated on three rivers – Trebižat, Bregava, Krupa and Neretva. It was named Čapljina after mash bird “čaplja” (heron). From new part of the town to Mogorjelo was mash, which was inhabited with different birds, included herons. Under this name Čapljina was first mentioned in one Turkish document from 1475-1477. 

Also, it is mentioned in 1632 as a village of Mostar′ s district under cadi′ s authority. The most important settlements with traces of Hellenistic culture in the area of Čapljina were Mala and Velika gradina (acropolis) above Čapljina, where traces of fine Greek pots and number of fragments of amphora have been found.

Awaking of Čapljina′ s area from medieval dream begins in 1885 when the village belonged to district of Ljubuški. Ten years later, in 1895 there were 1007 inhabitants here. In that time railway is finished and Čapljina is settled with nearby settlers as with workers from nearby towns.

In 1904 when the railway station was built, the heart of the town is formed, what brings village Ćapljina from brows under Gradina. After the Second World War the town becomes urban. In 1962 Čaplina got its first urban plan. The parts of Čapljina are: Gradina, Vrgorac, Muša, Čapljina city and new part of the town. Nearby settlements are Dretelj, Tasovčići, Grabovine and Struge.

OLD TOWN BLAGAJ Medieval and Ottoman castle

Bosnian Olympic mountain: Jahorina

Jahorina  is a mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located near Pale in the Dinaric Alps. It borders Mount Trebević, another Olympic mountain. Jahorina's highest peak, Ogorjelica, has a summit elevation of 1,916 metres (6,286 ft), making it the second-highest of Sarajevo's mountains, after Bjelašnica at 2,067 m (6,781 ft).

Mount Jahorina hosted the women's alpine skiing events of the 1984 Winter Olympics.[1]

Jahorina is located 15 km (9.3 mi) from Pale and 30 km (19 mi) from Sarajevo. The international airport in Sarajevo is located 33 km (21 mi) from Jahorina, connected with the ski resort by a new motorway.

Ski-resort

Jahorina Olympic Ski Resort is the biggest and most popular ski resort in Bosnia and Herzegovina and offers a variety of outdoor sports and activities. It is primarily a destination for alpine skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and sledding, with over 40 km (25 mi) of ski slopes and modern facilities. The average snow depth on ski runs during February is 106 cm (42 in) (ten-year average).

The Jahorina ski lift system was upgraded in 2012 and 2013 with new Leitner chairlifts. Together with a gondola lift (under construction), Jahorina has one of the most modern lift systems in the region. An 8-passenger gondola will connect the town of Pale and the ski resort, and open up 15 km (9 mi) of new ski runs.

Winter Olympics

Jahorina is well-connected with the main transport routes in Bosnia and the region. Ski resort is 15 km (9 mi) away from the town of Pale and 30 km (19 mi) away from the capital Sarajevo an International airport Sarajevo.

Jahorina is reached by a 4 to 6 hour drive from all major cities in the region: Belgrade, Zagreb, Split, Podgorica, and Ljubljana.

Archaeological field of Badanj

Archaeological field of Badanj is situated in Borojevići, near Stolac. Archeologically this finding is placed in the late period of early Palaeolithic, i.e. 13 000 – 12 000 B.C. It was found in 1976. The engraving was found there, which was the first finding of that kind on the east coast of Adriatic. Badanj is very rich Palaeolithic ′ s and multi-level cave′ s finding. Badanj is a sot of a cave beside shallow recess in a rock, which is sheer descending on the right bank of Bregava, and archaeologically it is very important area, placed under rock,where Palaeolithic Homo Sapiens periodically lived. 

By the amount and nature of found materials we can only talk about accidental and short period of human living from Palaeolithic until Middle Age. Two fazes of Palaeolithic on the area of Badanj can be defined by the presence of many changes:

1. The faze of glacial period
2. The faze of early postglacial period

Fauna shows important changes, i.e. different climate in the first and second faze, but in both fazes deer is dominant (e.g. harpoon made of deer′ s horn). Small groups or communities of hunters lived on Badanj in short time periods.

According to big numbers of founded deer′ s bone and objects made of deer′ s horn, it is assumed that people lived here mostly in periods from March till May. At the bottom of the cave there was a fire-place, as a centre of life. According to the fauna′ s analyses the number of people who could satisfied their needs there was 10-15 persons. Close to the Badanj there are two not enough researched findings: Crvena pećina and Drenovačka pećina (caves). Finding of engraved drawing in Badanj′ s rock is extremely important. It is carved into oblique surface of ironed rock which is broken from cave′ s massif.

The drawing probably represents the figure of a horse watched from the right side and attacked with arrows. The cut is 5 mm deep. Hunting is usual theme, and basic of this art was visual mastering of animals and nature.

Herzegovina garden story

The lake Ramsko jezero

This artificial lake has been created in 1968. The bed of the river Rama has been baffled.in its upper stream near the village Mluša by a dam made of stone fill up with an upstream concrete screen. The dam is about a 100 meters high. Its width in the foundational joint is about 305 meters. 

The lake is a real beauty. It is about 70 to 100 meters deep by the dam. The distance between the dam and Varvara is about 7.5 kilometers. The length of the shore is about 29 kilometers. The island Šćit is made even more beautiful by a dike. Other two little islands, Umac and Škarine, brake the monotony of the surrounding. The lake has a semicircle shape, with many bays. The mild dropping of the bays makes the lake accessible from all sides. The deepest point of the lake is at 95 meters under the water. It is located on the land that was fertile and had a lot of agricultural potential.

There is a lot of loam on the bottom of the water. That is why the shores of the lake are very muddy. This happens because of the constant oscillation of the water. The water is often blurred, especially in the afternoons when the wind inhibits the waves that hit the shores. The lake is normally clear and green colored. The lake fills up after the enormous amount of the snow melt, but the constant emptying of the accumulation in order to produce electricity waste the water.

That is why the lake is almost always half empty in the summer. The regular flow in of the water comes in from Rama, Buka and Krupić, and from other small brooks and springs. The spring of Rama is located underneath the surface of the lake. This river is very cold at its spring (7.5 degrees), but the surface of the lake warms up quickly for the swimmers. There are a lot of them when the lake is full. Sometimes the parts of the lake freeze during the winter. There are many kinds of fish in the lake, like trout carp, pikeperch...there are not many vessels to be seen on this lake, because of the constant oscillation of the water.

The traffic until the lake is available by a road from Prozorand by a newly opened road that leads from Tomislavgrad, Livno and Split. It is possible to come to the Ramsko jezero even from Prozor over Blidinje, Kedžare and Orašac.