Ljubuški is a city in the
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 ...
, a federal unit 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
Kravica cascades lie within the city, near the settlement of
Studenci. The city is known for its many dogs.
History
Antiquity
Finds of bones, stone and metal objects prove that the area around Ljubuški was inhabited as early as the Stone Age. These finds are now exhibited in the museum of the Franciscan monastery in Humac, with most of the pieces coming from the
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
and
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, and some also from the
Neolithic age
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...
.
[. Humac parish website. Accessed on October 4, 2014.] It can be assumed that the inhabitants who settled in this period were
Illyrians
The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...
, who lived from the 3rd century BC. They were oppressed by the
Romans and subjugated in the first century BC. The fact that the area remained inhabited during Roman times is demonstrated by the remains of an ancient
Roman camp
''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...
located in Gračine (a district of Humac). Based on the excavations, which revealed numerous valuables such as coins, vases, jewellery, glasses, tools and weapons, it was long suspected that the ruins were the remains of an ancient trading city called Bigeste. It is now assumed that the exposed remains of the wall were a more luxurious
Auxiliary camp in which
veterans
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field.
A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces.
A topic o ...
were also quartered.
Middle Ages
In the course of the land occupation of the Slavs in the Balkans, numerous Slavic dominions were formed along the eastern Adriatic coast from the 7th century onwards. According to the descriptions of the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
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 ...
, the present-day municipality of Ljubuški initially became part of
Pagania. Within this territory, which was ruled by
Narentan pirates, it was located in the southeastern
Rastoka County.

The region probably only became Christianised in the 11th or 12th century, after the pagan state had merged into
Zahumlje. One indication of this is the
Humac Tablet ''(Humačka ploča)'', which dates to the late 12th or early 13th century and records the foundation of a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The oldest written mention of a settlement from the present-day municipality of Ljubuški also dates back to the late 12th century.
In 1326 the entire region was conquered by the Bosnian Banus
Stjepan II Kotromanić and then incorporated into the
Principality of Bosnia. However, as early as 1357, his successor
Tvrtko I
Stephen Tvrtko I ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; 1338 – 10 March 1391) was the king of Bosnia, first king of Kingdom of Bosnia, Bosnia. A member of the House of Kotromanić, h ...
gave the area between the Cetina and Neretva rivers to the Hungarian King
Louis I Louis I may refer to:
Cardinals
* Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578)
Counts
* Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158)
* Louis I of Blois (1172–1205)
* Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346)
* Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...
as a dowry for the marriage between him and Tvrtko's cousin Elisabeth in 1353. After Louis died in 1382, Elizabeth entangled King Tvrtko in conflicts with the Hungarians. After she was assassinated in 1387, Tvrtko forcibly regained control of the territories he had ceded in 1357. However, they were only formally reincorporated into the Bosnian Kingdom under his successor
Stjepan Dabiša after the peace agreement with King Sigismund in 1394. Ljubuški was first mentioned as a town in 1435 under the name Gliubussa. However, the spelling Liubussa has also been handed down from 1438, and the names Lubiusa, especially Lubussa, from 1444. By this time, the Bosnian Kingdom was already under heavy pressure from the Ottomans and was increasingly losing control over the area. Duke
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (1404–1466) was a powerful Bosnian Nobility, nobleman who was politically active from 1435 to 1466; the last three decades of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Middle Ages, Bosnian medieval history. During this period, ...
, who had become powerful in the south of Bosnia, finally took advantage of this circumstance in 1448 to withdraw the areas he ruled from the Bosnian kingdom.
Under Ottoman rule
Ljubuški was probably conquered by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in the early 1470s. It can be assumed that it was only under their rule that Ljubuški attained a prominent status compared to all other villages in today's municipal area (above all the priest's seat of Veljaci). The lively construction activity of the Ottomans on the fortifications of the medieval castle and the completion of the first
mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
built in Ljubuški in 1558 by the master builder Nesuh-aga Vučjaković, who had converted to
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, also seem to support this thesis, The mosque's construction may also indicate an early Muslim community.
It can be assumed that the Ottomans tolerated Catholics until the middle of the 16th century. In 1563, however, numerous Franciscan monasteries were devastated, which is why the majority of the clergy temporarily fled to
Venetian 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 ...
. Ljubuški does not appear to have been a peaceful area in the Ottoman Empire in the following period either; the traveller
Evliya Çelebi
Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...
writes in his notes that he avoided Ljubuški "because the enemy there was known to be rebellious."
A few passages later, he also reports a battle with the infidels from Ljubuški during his stay in
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 ...
. The 17th century was also the time of the Hajduks, who settled in
Primorje and the Dalmatian hinterland and repeatedly undertook raids against Ottoman trade caravans.
Administratively, Ljubuški only had the status of a fortress town (k'ala) under the Ottomans until the 18th century, probably due to its proximity to the border and the associated insecure location, and was part of the judicial district (kadılık) of Imotski. Only when Imotski had to be ceded to Venice after the
Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718 was Ljubuški itself elevated to ''kadılık'', making the town one of the administrative centres of the region for the first time. In the 19th century, Ljubuški gradually lost its fortress character and instead gained agricultural importance during the time of the vizier
Ali-Paša Rizvanbegović, who had introduced the cultivation of rice and olives.
Under Austro-Hungarian rule
In 1875, an uprising broke out in Gabela near
Čapljina
Čapljina ( cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea.
The rive ...
under the leadership of
Ivan Musić, a native of
Klobuk, in which the Christian population rose up against their Ottoman rulers. Fighting also took place in the municipality of Ljubuški near Klobuk and
Šipovača. The situation only calmed down when the
Berlin Congress Bosnia and Herzegovina were awarded to
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
in the
Congress of Berlin
At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...
and the
Austrian-Hungarian Army led by
Field Marshal Lieutenant Stephan von Jovanović marched into Ljubuški on 2 August 1878.

The image of the lower districts of the city, which are located in the plain, was permanently characterised during the years of the Austro-Hungarian administration. Most of the public buildings still in use today (
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
,
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
etc.) were built around the
turn of the century
The turn of the century is the transition from one century to another, or the time period before or after that change in centuries.
Usage
The phrase "turn of the century" is generally understood to mean the change (whether upcoming or past) clo ...
. Most of today's roads through Ljubuški and numerous bridges over the Trebižat also date back to the Austro-Hungarian period. At the administrative level, regular
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 ...
es and the
cadastre
A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref>
Often it is represented graphically in ...
system were introduced, while agriculture has been sustainably enriched by
viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
right up to the present day. the Austro-Hungarian administration also subsidised
Tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
cultivation by establishing a tobacco mill.
In the years after 1900, however,
urbanisation
Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
and the economic upswing seem to have turned into an
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
. A workers' strike in the tobacco industry on 17 May 1906 is recorded, which the Austro-Hungarian authorities decided was worth the deployment of 180
soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer.
Etymology
The wo ...
s and twelve
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
s to contain. Furthermore, between 1895 and 1910, the population of Ljubuški decreased from 3964 to 3297.
[Ante Markotić (ed.) ''Ljubuški kraj, ljudi i vrijeme he region of Ljubuški, people and times'. Mostar 1996, pp. 366-367.] To promote local economic development, the city council decided in 1912 to build a railway line almost 20 kilometres long from
Čapljina
Čapljina ( cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea.
The rive ...
, located on the
Mostar-Metković railway line opened in 1885, to Ljubuški. Immediately afterwards, the construction of three railway bridges that still exist today began, but the construction could not be completed due to the onset of
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Famine and poverty prevailed during the First World War, which, together with the Spanish flu, led to a further sharp decline in the population.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia and World War 2
The years after the war and the affiliation to the newly founded
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
brought little improvement. In the years that followed, there were almost exclusively small-scale
subsistence farming
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...
s, which had hardly any opportunities for development. At this time, the
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
, which primarily represented Croatian national interests, was the most popular party. In the 1920 elections, it received 3861 votes out of 9600 voters in Ljubuški, followed by the federalist-oriented
Croatian Agricultural Party with 3013 votes. The
Yugoslav Muslim Organisation and the
Communist Party received 566 and 509 votes respectively, while the centrist
Radicals, Democrats and Social Democrats received only 53, 28 and 17 votes.
During
World War II
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 ...
, Ljubuški was part of the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
and the ''Great County of Hum'' from 1941 to 1945. During the war, the municipality of Ljubuški - compared to other municipalities in the Croatian state at the time - had few fatalities because there were no Jews in Ljubuški and only a few Serbs lived there. On a list of names of 646,177 war victims from all over Yugoslavia, Ljubuški was given as the place of birth for 162 people. There is also written evidence that the Croatian liaison officer Laxa reported in a
report
A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...
on several murders in Ljubuški that were committed in the night from 30 June to 1 July 1941.
Croatian sources, on the other hand, emphasise that towards the end of the war, an estimated 1,800 people fell victim to acts of revenge by the
Tito partisans.
Among the partisan victims were also five Catholic clergymen of the
Franciscan Order
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
, who are revered today as
martyrs
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
:
* 1. fra Julijan Kožul (* 1906), pastor in Veljaci, murdered on 10 February 1945,
* 2. fra Paško Martinac (* 1882), retired priest, murdered on 10 February 1945,
* 3. fra Martin Sopta (*1891 in
Dužice), professor of philosophy, murdered on 11 or 12 February 1945,
* 4. fra Zdenko Zubac (*1911), pastor in Ružići, murdered on 13 February 1945,
* 5. fra Slobodan Lončar (* 1915), chaplain in Drinovci, murdered on 13 February 1945.
One explanation for these partisan murders is the fact that some
Ustasha functionaries, such as Interior Minister
Andrija Artuković and concentration camp commander
Vjekoslav Luburić
Vjekoslav Luburić (6 March 1914 – 20 April 1969) was a Independent State of Croatia, Croatian Ustaše official who headed the system of concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during much of World War II. Luburić al ...
, came from Ljubuški. Thus, even decades after the war, Ljubuški was still considered a ''nest of the Ustasha''.
Socialist Yugoslavia
In socialist Yugoslavia, the municipality was slow to recover. In the 1950s, a functioning electricity supply was installed in almost all villages; soon afterwards, the first telephone lines were laid. The areas of education and industrialisation, which had been neglected in the Yugoslav kingdom, were also promoted by the
Tito state through the construction of new village schools and a textile factory. Nevertheless, Ljubuški, like almost the whole of
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...
, lagged considerably behind the rest of the state in its development, which led to migration to the large urban centres, above all
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 ...
, until the 1960s. When it became possible to emigrate to Western European countries, Ljubuški also experienced significant guest worker migration to
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. While the 1970s were characterised by a brief boom, the following decade saw a renewed economic decline, similar to the rest of Yugoslavia. With the collapse of the
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
one-party system, free local council elections were held again in November 1990 after more than half a century, with most votes going to the Croatian-nationally orientated parties.
Bosnian War and recent history
During 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 ...
, Ljubuški was bombed a total of three times by
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...
aircraft in the spring of 1992, but was largely spared from the further course of the war. After the
Croatian Defence Council (HVO) had consolidated its territories in the late summer of 1992, Ljubuški also became part of the newly proclaimed
Republic of Herceg-Bosna. When the
Bosniak-Croat conflict escalated in 1993, a large proportion of the
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
from Ljubuški were also expelled by the HVO. According to the testimony of an expelled Bosniak, however, Croatian residents resisted this expulsion of their Bosniak neighbours.
Testimony of Behdžet Mesihović (translated into Italian)
'. On: ''gfbv.it''. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Later, other refugees, mostly Croats from central Bosnia, were often accommodated in the houses and flats of the displaced persons.
By the end of the war, the municipality of Ljubuški had suffered around 50 casualties, most of whom were probably fallen soldiers in the service of the
HVO. With the
Peace Agreement of Dayton in 1995, Ljubuški was awarded to 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 ...
and has been part of the canton of
West Herzegovina ever since.
Today, around 700
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
live permanently in Ljubuški again, whereby the well-functioning coexistence with the
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 ...
is considered exemplary for the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main reason cited for the rather slow return of refugees is a weak labour market.
Settlements
Demographics
Population
Ethnic composition
Sports
The city is home to Bosnia and Herzegovina's most successful
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
club,
HRK Izviđač, with eight
Bosnia and Herzegovina Championship titles won, two
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 ...
clubs, NK Sloga Ljubuški and
NK Ljubuški, and HKK Ljubuški
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.
References
External links
Ljubuški official webpage
www.ljubuski.info
www.ljubusaci.com
www.ljubuski.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljubuski
Populated places in Ljubuški