Blidinje Nature Park () is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, established on 30 April 1995. It is situated at the Blidinje

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

, in the heart of

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

, between major mountains of the range,

Čvrsnica Čvrsnica ( sr-cyrl, Чврсница, ) is a mountain in the Dinarides of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in northern Herzegovina. Most of the mountain is located in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton municipalities of Mostar and Jablanica, while t ...

, Čabulja and

Vran Vran ( sr-cyrl, Вран) is a mountain in the municipality of Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has an altitude of . See also *List of mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina List of mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina: References * ...

, with characteristic

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

ic features such as

Dugopolje Dugopolje is a municipality in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County. The name ''Dugopolje'' literally translates as 'long field'. The town has a population of over 3469, 99.5% which are Croats. Noted in Dugopolje is Vranjača cave. Dugopolje ...

field,

Blidinje Lake Blidinje Lake ( bs, Blidinje jezero), is alpine lake located in Blidinje Nature Park, on karstic Blidinje plateau, Bosnia and Herzegovina, between Jablanica, Tomislavgrad and Posušje, and is largest of its kind in the country. The lake is most ...

, Grabovica and Drežanka valleys, and others. It represents important natural,

hydrogeological Hydrogeology (''hydro-'' meaning water, and ''-geology'' meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aquif ...

reserves in Dinaric karst of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with significant cultural and historical heritage.

Geography and hydrology

The melting

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s from

during the two past

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

s created this open and barren valley. A spacious

, 3–5 km long, is situated at an elevation of 1.150-1.300 meters a.s.l., between

and

mountains with a total area of 364 km². Although

geomorphologically Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...

one whole, plateau is divided in two geographically and

topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scien ...

distinct features, first in lower southern part, areal around the lake Blidinje, and another in northern higher part of the plateau where a flat plain Dugopolje is situated, as well as administratively between four municipalities:

Posušje Posušje ( cyrl, Посушје, ) is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the West Herzegovina Canton, a federal unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Name The name Posušje is derived from ''suša'' ...

Tomislavgrad Tomislavgrad (), also known by its former name Duvno (), is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It mainly covers an area of the historical and geographica ...

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

and Jablanica. Going from the north and the

Doljanka The Doljanka River is a right tributary of Neretva river in North Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Spahić M. et al. (2000): Bosna i Hercegovina (1:250.000). Izdavačko preduzeće „Sejtarija“, Sarajevo. The length of Doljanka is around 18&n ...

river, plateau opens with a flat plain of

at the higher end and lead toward south longitudinally between

at the north-northwestern side, with its highest peak on 2.074 meters a.s.l., and on the south-southeastern

mountain, with its highest peak Pločno at 2.228 meters a.s.l. On the opposite south-southeastern end of the plateau, beyond Blidinje lake, is Čabulja mountain with its highest peak at 1.786 meters a.s.l. further toward east beyond Čvrsnica is Grabovica valley that stretches all the way to the

Neretva The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...

river and its canyon.

Grabovica valley

Grabovica valley with small

Grabovica creek __NOTOC__ Grabovica may refer to: Places in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Grabovica, Doboj * Grabovica, Kotor Varoš * Grabovica, Nevesinje * Grabovica, Olovo * Grabovica, Tomislavgrad * Grabovica, Vlasenica * Grabovica, Zavidovići * Grabovi ...

is a special reserve within park, squeezed deep into Čvrsnica, and form a deep

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

between steep and rugged cliffs of the mountain. Within the valley are two small villages

Gornja Grabovica (Jablanica) Gornja Grabovica is a village in the municipality of Valjevo, Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads ...

and Donja Grabovica (Jablanica). The legend of Diva Grabovica tells the story about legendary daughter of a local

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

who, as story goes, was killed by local

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

whom she rejected, so that she would not marry another.

Blidinje lake

The most important hydrogeological phenomena in the park is

alpine lake Alpine lakes are classified as lakes at high altitudes in mountainous zones, usually near or above the tree line, with extended periods of ice cover. These lakes are commonly formed from glacial activity (either current or in the past) but can al ...

, largest of its kind in

. Blidinje lake is the direct result of a

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

retreat, but according to the Poklečani Parishes office documents,

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

is, also, a product of

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human im ...

intervention and activities of human inhabitants. According to these documents, the lake is artificial and it was created at the end of the 19th century. In order to keep the water that is lost through the subterranean passage, local residents and cattle breeders sealed sinkholes with branches and clay, so that water could not find its way underground. Therefore, the

was formed. Its surface area varies between 2,5 and 6 km², while its average depth is 1,9 m, with altitude of 1.184 m a.s.l. Pinus heldreichii Orjen

Flora and fauna

Accompanying some of the rocky and seemingly lifeless slopes are thick forests of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, including the endemic white-bark pine at Masna Luka called Pinus leucodermis ''(Bosnian pine)''. Three types of wild

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

and dozens of wild flowers cover the valley and mountain sides in the spring and summer.

History, archaeology and culture

All around the valley is dotted with the

trademark '' stećci'' from

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

ages. It is not clear how long

human settlements In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities ...

have existed here but research began when Blidinje recently received

Nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

status. Traces of

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

n graves and

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

s indicate that Blidinje has been settled for at least 2,500 years. The large

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

at Dugo Polje indicates that the waves of

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

that came in the 7th century also made this area their home.

Traditional life style

There is also a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

that is located within the park and open to visitors. Houses here are traditional shepherd homes with straw roofs that are mainly used during the spring and summer seasons. Winter is harsh and cold in these parts. The park itself is free of mines with well-marked trails.

Trivia

Hajdučka Republika Mijata Tomića Hajdučka Republika Mijata Tomića ( en, The Hajduk Republic of Mijat Tomić, link=yes), is the private property of Mijat Tomić, spreading over seven hectares between the mountains of Vran and Čvrsnica, and a tourist destination as a self-pr ...

, is a self-proclaimed fictional

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified se ...

in the middle of the Nature Park, founded by late Vinko Vukoja-Lastvić, tourism entrepreneur and humorist enthusiast, his wife Albina, and daughter Marija who is current "President of the Republic" as of March 2019.

References

External links