Široki Brijeg
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Široki Brijeg () is a city and the regional capital of
West Herzegovina Canton The West Herzegovina Canton () is one of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The West Herzegovina Canton is in the Herzegovina region in the southwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its seat of government is in Široki Brijeg, w ...
of the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: ''Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / ''Федерација Босне и Херцеговине'') is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities composing Bo ...
, an entity of
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
. the town itself had a population of 6,149 and the municipality of 28,929.


Name

Široki Brijeg means 'wide hill' in Croatian. It is sometimes called Široki Brig or Široki ('wide'). From 1952 until October 16, 1992, the town was officially called ''Lištica'' after the river that runs through it.


Geography

The town is from
Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre 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 situated on the Neretva Riv ...
, from Međugorje, and from the
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast ( Ploče). The Široki Brijeg Municipality today numbers around 30,000 people, and the town itself about 13,000. The area of the municipality amounts to . The center of town is at above sea level, while its area is known as "lower Herzegovina". Almost the entire northern part of the municipality itself, however, belongs to "high Herzegovina", the highest point being the ''Bile stine'' ("White Rocks") near Donji Crnač.


Climate

Široki Brijeg has a mild
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
:''Cfa''). Winters are chilly and often cold. Summers are warm to hot.


Terrain

The wider area of the municipality of Široki Brijeg is located on the characteristic, complex structural forms known as the "high
karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
zone" in geological terms. The basic characteristic is the rocky limestone relief in various karst forms (sinks, caves, sinkholes, karst fields, etc.) and deeply cut valleys with occasional torrents flows. The Široki Brijeg area is located on the direction of tectonic units Rakitno-Hrgud and spreads over Rakitno, Vardi mountains, Mostarsko Blato, Rotimlje and Hrgud to
Trebišnjica The Trebišnjica ( sr-cyrl, Требишњица) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the right tributary of the Neretva. Before it was utilized for hydro exploitation via various hydrotechnical interventions and systems with different purp ...
in the southeast. The area is made-up of up late
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
sediments, followed by
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
and
Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...
age layers, then
Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...
and
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
deposits. Highlights are
early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...
dun, well-stratified limestone and dolomites. Late
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
deposits, cenoman-turon, are represented by white and pink, massive limestone with the shoot. In Paleogene layers function Liburnijska and alveolinic- nummulitic limestones, then eocenic flysch, which is represented by marl, sandstone, calcarenite and conglomerates. Neogenic layers are built of marl, sandy clay,
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
and conglomerates, and can be found in the vicinity of Grabovo Drage and Mostarsko Blato.
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
pebbles, sand and water karst banks are found on almost all rocky fields and drift along the river beds. Between the lower mountain Vardi, Gvozd, Rujan and Trtle (altitude 600–900m) is a karstic depression Kočerinsko, Trnsko, Mokarsko and Ruževo field and Mostar Blato (altitude of 220–300m). The Široki Brijeg area belongs to typical
bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...
courts, Lokve Black - Kidačke Njive, Resnica - deposit and Uzarići - Knešpolje. This area was devastated by landfills and tailings, and rehabilitation requirements.


Waters

The water from the municipality of Široki Brijeg belongs to the basin of the Neretva river—the main surface currents towards Mostar, Blato, the ticket with Ugrovača, Mokašnica, Crnašnica and Žvatić. The river belongs to Lištica of surface waters Čabulje, who bujični aquifer Brinje collected from Ladin and Dobrinja. Brinje whose rudiments north of Bogodola, below kote Kulic (1199) runs to the west and on their way to Lištica receives at Prskalo stream Ladin, and 2.5 kilometers below, the stream of water Dobrinski. These streams buy all surface waters during the period of abundant precipitation and dissolution of snow on the south-western parts of the mountain Čabulje. Surface waters come to Rakitno field are being dried by water points, Jelica, Zmijinac and during major precipitation, formed a periodic watercourse Ugrovača that going deeply carved canyon Brin, receiving side stream, and in the village of Trn, Kočerin water fields, and on the road to Blato Mostarskog, in Siroki Brijeg center connects with the river Lištica.


History


Ancient period

The ruins from the Illyrian period confirm that the area of Široki Brijeg had a large population in pre-historic times. The evidence can be seen on the hill Gradina on the frontier of Mokro and Čerigaj. There is also evidence on the walls of the forts where they had been in past. During the ancient period there was plenty of life in that region. From the Roman period there are remains of a fort (''refugium'') in the village of Biograci and a basilica in Mokro; there are remains of the forts and roads there.


Middle ages

Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and ...
mentions that Mokriskik was in that area . The basilica in Mokri was built and destroyed several times in the Middle Ages and it was used for its purpose. In her neighbourhood is nekrepola with stećak,which are present elsewhere. There number and size indicate that this region was (from 12th till 15th century) has been very populated and rich. From that period on Kočerin was kept the longest tablet on stećak written with
Bosnian Cyrillic Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica, is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in medieval Bosnia. The term was coined at the end of the 19th century by Ćiro Truhelka. It was widely used in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovin ...
, known as Kočerinska ploča („ Kočerin tablet"). The residues of middle-age fort can be found in the Bork, close to the source of river Lištica.


Ottoman rule

After the Turkish conquest in the middle of 15th century the population was mainly rural and in the mountains. Until the middle of 19th century, Herzegovina was cut off from social, cultural and political events in other European countries.


World War II and Yugoslavia

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
held the city together with
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
troops. During their presence, the
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
built several
fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
s for observation of the city. A number of prominent Ustaše officials, including
Andrija Artuković Andrija Artuković (19 November 1899 – 16 January 1988) was a Croatian lawyer, politician, and senior member of the fascist Ustaše movement, who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Justice in the Government of the ...
were educated at the Široki Brijeg school and monastery. Following the war, the town was renamed Lištica by the Yugoslav government after the river that runs through it. Investment in the city was also very poor. A number of people emigrated to
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
and
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
, as well as to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
as
gastarbeiter ; ; both singular and plural) are foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (). As a result, guestworkers are generally considered t ...
s. In 1985, the local Communist Party built a monument to the
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
in the centre of the town. On 7 April 1992, during the first stages of the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
, the town was the target of an air raid carried out by the
Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ ...
. Two aircraft that took off from
Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...
fired air-to-air rockets and dropped bombs on the town centre, killing six civilians.


Settlements


Economy


Agriculture

Agricultural production in the municipality of Široki Brijeg is mostly reduced to the production for their own use on yards and a minor part of the arable land. It is the production of agricultural products for the market is very small compared to the alternatives, and refers primarily to the production of wine, a little bit in the production of vegetables and flowers, very little in the livestock and milk production. This resulted in a large percentage of agricultural land is not used- according to latest statistics - even 60% that could be used for agricultural land is not processed. The lack of clear government strategy and orientation towards the launching and development of agricultural production is also very important feature of the present situation in agriculture .


Prior to the war

Unlike twenty years ago, is now in agricultural production there is no fundamental cultural production, production that would be meaningful and possible in a larger area of the municipality. For many years it was tobacco. Together with the war has fallen down and the existing state system and thus the former system of organization of agricultural production. In the entire period since then until today, the new system was established. It is the whole country, especially the area where the municipality brought uncontrolled import all kinds of things. So the majority of agricultural products has become cheaper to import than produce. The result has already been mentioned drastically reducing obrađivanih area, reducing the number of cattle and even up to five times, the entire reduction in volume of agricultural production. Finally it came to life the feeling that it is impossible to engage in agricultural production as the production activity of which can be live or something and make money.


After the war

The municipality's overall economic performance is stronger than that of the surrounding municipalities - primarily in the Entrepreneurial Sector, and the time orientation and working-age population by non-sector higher. Therefore, the percentage of uncultivated land is the largest in the municipality in comparison to the surrounding ones- 60% (Posušje 59%, 49% Ljubuški and Grude 47%). The number of residents who are engaged solely in agriculture is relatively smallest in Siroki Brijeg.


Industry

In the area of industrial production in the municipality are significantly represented
meat industry The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry is ...
and metal industry, and to a smaller production of footwear, manufacture of construction products and stone processing, production of insulation materials, graphic activity, etc. Official statistics, which regularly publishes the Federal Bureau of Statistics tracked the movement of industrial production at the level of the Federation and cantons, so that these (official) data for the municipality does not have. However, the basic features of industrial production in this region in the West would be essentially similar and reflect the movement of industrial production for the municipality of Siroki Brijeg. In the period 2004/2005 the recorded slight growth of the index of industrial production (101.3). When the production of metals and production of metal products recorded a significant growth (index 2005./2004. = 134.3 and 180.4), production of paper products (index = 110.7), while other areas of industrial production recorded a significant decrease ( such as food and beverages: Index = 80.0, mining: index = 71.4). For further growth of industrial production are essential investments in the development of existing industrial capacity in the areas that are currently represented in the municipality and which employ a large number of workers. This primarily refers to the production of metals and metal products. These activities according to official statistics reported a continued growth during 2005 year. The establishment and construction of new or expansion of existing business and industrial zones is prerequisite for the growth of manufacturing sector, attract domestic and foreign capital and create new jobs.


Sport

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club
NK Široki Brijeg Nogometni klub Široki Brijeg () is a professional association football club from the city of Široki Brijeg, that is situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, Široki Brijeg plays in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina and plays ...
is based in Široki Brijeg. Founded in 1948, it plays its home games at the Pecara Stadium, one of only two stadiums in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
with an UEFA category 3 ranking. The stadium can hold 7,000 spectators. The city is home to
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
's biggest and most successful
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
club, HKK Široki, with eleven Bosnia and Herzegovina Championship titles and nine Cups of Bosnia and Herzegovina won. It plays their home games at the Pecara Sports Hall, which has a seating capacity of 4,500.


Demographics


1971

27,285 total * Croats - 26,940 (98.73%) * Others - 345 (1.27%)


1991

In the 1991
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, the municipality of Široki Brijeg had 26,437 inhabitants: * 26,231
Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
(99.2%) * 206 others (0.8%). The town itself had 6,864 inhabitants, 99.37% being Croats.


Twin towns – sister cities

Široki Brijeg is twinned with: *
Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...
, Croatia


Notable people

* Mario Bazina, football player *
Ivan Mikulić Ivica Ante "Ivan" Mikulić (born 8 May 1968) is a Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Herzegovinian Croat singer, best known outside his country for having represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest, Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest ...
, singer (representing Croatia in 2004 Eurovision Song Contest) *
Gojko Šušak Gojko Šušak (; 16 March 1945 – 3 May 1998) was a Croatian politician who held the post of Ministry of Defence (Croatia), Minister of Defence from 1991 to 1998 under President Franjo Tuđman. From 1990 to 1991 he was the Minister of Emigration ...
, former Minister of Defence of Croatia * Goran Bogdan, actor


Notes


References

* * *


External links


Official site

Široki Brijeg Independent daily, Siroki.com

Široki Brig Unofficial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siroki Brijeg Populated places in Široki Brijeg