Park prirode Hutovo blato

·Hutovo Blato History

The surrounding villages situated in the brinks of the Park and their inhabitants have lived next to and off the Blato. They found food and firewood, and used this area for pasture for the most part of the year.
Fishing in the Park was done in the traditional way, by using boats and rowboats, nets and traps built by fishermen themselves. A special allure of this method is harpoon fishing. Only fishermen with a good eye, reflexes, and a trained hand are successful in this.
In addition, this area was well known by game birds hunting, however, since 1999, any hunting is prohibited.

· From a hunting ground to a protected pearl of sub-Mediterranean swamp

As an exceptional habitat for numerous plant and animal species, Hutovo Blato is mentioned since the ancient times. After World War Two, Hutovo Blato was protected only as an elite hunting ground. The history of Hutovo Blato as a protected part of nature begins on June 3, 1954, when the ornithology and fauna reservation Hutovo Blato of 6144 ha. was established.
As a part of this reservation, a strict bird reservation Škrka (350 ha) was isolated in 1959, which was closed for fishing, hunting and other economically feasible activities.
Because of its international importance, in 1971 Hutovo Blato was included in the List of Swaps of International Importance and in 1980 it was included in the “International Project for Protection of Mediterranean Swamps”.
As a special hunting ground, Hutovo Blato continued to operate until March 30, 1995, when it was pronounced the Nature Park because of its natural wealth.
The public enterprise Hutovo Blato Nature Park was established by a decree of HR HB Government in 1995. god. (Official Gazette of HR HB no. 45/95), seated in Karaotok, Čapljina municipality, and is since managing the area covered by the Hutovo Blato Nature Park.
In 1998, the International Council for Bird Protection (ICBP) added Hutovo Blato to the list of internationally important bird habitats.
After that, in 2001, Hutovo Blato Nature Park was added to the list of swamps of international importance, by the methodology of Ramsar Convention, and was registered with the UNESCO Directorate in Paris.

Locations in the vicinity

After the fall of the classical Narona, in the Middle Ages, a strong trade center developed in the Neretva valley – Gabela (known as the slave market). The modern Gabela is entirely situated on the right bank of Neretva, unlike the ancient one, which was on the left bank. Gabela was mentioned for the first time in 1186 under the name Drijeva, ferry, ship (from the wood ship, ferry). Under the name Gabela, it was first mentioned in 1399. This word originates from the Romanized Arabic word ‘kabalah’ – Middle Ages Latin, Italian for ‘gabella’ – customs office, tax. Throughout the history, given its strategic geographic position, it was under the influence of various conquerors and rulers. In 1715 it was destroyed by Venetians and has never been restored.

The Gabela old town is located in the right bank of Neretva, 5 km south of Čapljina. The regional road Čapljina - Metković (Croatia) drives through Gabela.
In the more recent history, this location was part of discussions and claims of existence of Troy in the location of Gabela and the surrounding area.

Ruins of the fortified late classical villa at the Mogorjelo hill in Čapljina are one of the important monuments of the Roman age. They were uncovered between 1899 and 1903 and preserved in the following years. The word Mogorjelo originates from the Slavic name of the famous saint of Pannonian saint Hermagora, who was killed during Diocletian persecution. According to Đuro Basler, Mogorjelo was given a name after a word of Roman origin (‘magura’ in Roman), which means afforested hill. According to the folk etymology, the name Mogorjelo comes from ‘mnogo gorjelo’ – ‘burned a lot’.
Karlo Patsch, the first researches of Mogorjelo, dedicated special attention to the remainders of the fortified villa dating from the early 4^th century. Already in the 1^st century, there was a large agricultural estate here, with housing units, stables, mills, bakery, oil plant and a blacksmith shop. In the 3^rd century, this estate caught fire, which destroyed a large part of the facility. After penetration of the barbarians into the Roman Empire, the villa was surrounded by a big wall, while the corners and entrances were strengthened with lookout towers. The Western Goths invaded Dalmatia between 401 and 403 A.D. and also destroyed the villa in Mogorjelo. The very few survivors never strengthened economically to restore the estate to its previous magnitude.
Mogorjelo is situated on a large hill in the Neretva plain, offering a good view of Neretva and the surrounding plains.
It is located 2 km south of Čapljina, near the Čapljina - Gabela - Metković (Croatia) regional road. It is located on the right side of the Neretva river, in the immediate vicinity of the mouth of Trebižat river into Neretva.
Today, this is a monument of culture and history, as well as a favorable place for local and foreign visitors.

Vladimir Mažuranić (Contributions to the Croatian legal and historic dictionary JAZU, Zagreb, 1908 - 1922, 957) attributes the etymology of the toponym Počitelj from the verb "počiti" – počinuti (to rest).
The beginnings of Počitelj are attributed to the King Tvrtko I, however, the source of data is not mentioned anywhere. It belonged to the Dubrava parish. With a continuous expansion of the Otoman Empire towards the west and southeast, Počitelj too got in the way, which only a few years before that had been fortified by the Croatian – Hungarian king Matijaš. Hamza-bey conquered Počitelj on September 20, 1471, which was followed by an exodus, Islamization, tax imposition and other consequences deriving from the Turkish rule. This is how Počitelj found itself in the hands of the Turks and remained so for more than 400 years.
The Počitelj old town is located on a steep cliff on the left side of river Neretva, 4 kilometers north of Čapljina, in the direction of Mostar. Beneath the old ramparts and settlements built in a more recent history drives the main road M17, connecting Mostar - Čapljina - Metković (Croatia). It was this good position that enabled Počitelj to control the trade along Neretva and the road along Neretva from the sea to inland and vice versa.
Počitelj represents a cultural, historic and an urban whole with valuable monuments, and as such is a recognizable tourist destination.

The Radimlja tombstone necropolis is located in Vidovo polje, 3 km west from Stolac, on the road between Čapljina and Stolac.
In terms of number of specimens (133 tombstones, of which as many as 63 are decorated with various motifs, most often stylized crosses), diversity and presence of all basic forms, relatively high artistic quality of artwork, richness of vivid decoration, relief shows and inscriptions referring to well known historical persons, as well as its unusual location and availability, Radimlja necropolis is one of the most valuable monuments of the medieval period in BiH. Radimlja necropolis is among the most decorated necropolises in BiH. In terms of fine arts elements, Radimlja necropolis is among the few of the most valuable and most significant tombstone necropolises overall. The majority of tombstones originate from 15^th and 16^th century. Among the motifs, probably the most distinctive one is the contour of a male figure with a raised hand, as if it is telling the traveler that in this hard and karst Herzegovinian area he will find hospitable and friendly people.

The modern city of Stolac is situated on the left bank of Bregava and has a tumultuous history and rich cultural and historical heritage. The city represents a late classical fort, medieval and modern fort, and an Austro-Hungarian army base. The fort above the modern city consists of a system of walls and towers built in several phases through the history, starting from the 4^th century until the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian reign in this region. In the Middle Ages, Stolac is mentioned under the name Vidoški Grad. The name was given after a river Vidoštica, today called Bregava. In historical records, the city is mentioned 1444. It was located on important merchants roads leading to inland used by merchants from Dubrovnik.
The city and the surroundings are rich in natural, historical and Roman remainders that represent a considerable potential for development of tourism and other complementary industries.

The site Badanj near Borojevići, not far from Stolac, is one of the most important cultural-historical sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a unique location in the whole Adriatic climate region. This location originates from the Paleolithic and is a rich archeological site, with the oldest stone inscriptions in BiH. Discovered artifacts clearly speak of the life approximately ten thousand years B.C. Badanj and the surrounding cultural-historical monuments represent an important potential of this region, which need to be preserved and appreciated adequately.

The Hutovo Old Town is located on strategically the most important gorge in south Herzegovina, at the crossing of roads leading from the sea to the inland. It is located on the road between Čapljina and Neum, above the city Hutovo, from which is got the name. The roots of Hutovo City go back to the classical period, which was first reported by K. Herman. The city surroundings are rich in cultural-historical monuments and sites from the Middle Ages. Tradition written over several decades says that the city was built by Venetians during the War of the Holy League, in order to connect properties in Neretva and Boka in the back of the Dubrovačka Republic. They ruled this area several times until the Požarevac Peace in 1718. Later, the city was ruled by Mehmed-bey Rizvanbegović, known among the people as the Hadži-bey. He enlarged the city and built the central tower. City walls were preserved until today and together with other monuments typical for this region represent an important potential of this region.