Stolac Municipality

Stolac
Столац

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Location of Stolac Municipality within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Country

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Entity

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Government

• Municipality president

Stjepan Bošković (HDZ BiH)

Area

• Total

331 km² (128 sq mi)

Population (2013 census)

• Total

14,889

• Density

45/km² (120/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Area code(s)

+387 36

Website

http://www.stolac.gov.ba

Stolac is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in Herzegovina. Administratively, it is part of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Stolac is situated in the area known as Herzegovina Humina, on the tourist route crossing Herzegovina and linking the Bosnian mountainous hinterland with the coastal regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubrovnik and Montenegro. The road, running from Sarajevo via Mostar, Stolac, Ljubinje and Trebinje, enables one to reach Dubrovnik in less than 4 hours.

Thanks to the town's favourable natural environment - geological composition, contours, climate, hydrographic and vegetation - Stolac and its area have been settled since ancient times. Its rich hunting-grounds along with other natural benefits attracted prehistoric man, and later the Illyrians, Romans and Slavs, all of whom left a wealth of anthropological evidence.

The area has been settled for at least 15,000 years, as evidenced by the markings in Badanj Cave, which experts have dated 12,000 - 16,000 BCE. Three kilometers west of Stolac is an impressive stećak necropolis dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries: Radimlja. These stećak tombstones are carved with epitaphs, detailed portraits of the deceased, and motifs such as grape vines, hunting scenes, and wild animals. Five of the Radimlja tombstones are thought to mark the graves of members of the Hrabren Miloradović family.

Ali-paša Rizvanbegović (1783-1851), the semi-independent ruler (vizier) of Ottoman Herzegovina from 1833 to 1851, was born in the Begovina neighbourhood of Stolac.

Containing, in one small area, unique cultural and aesthetic values, Stolac's historic core is an example of a complex cultural-historical and natural environmental ensemble. It is an example of the organic connection between human and natural architectures, which also testifies to the fact that the beauty of the location was crucial in its building and planning - the guiding principle often present in the development of mediaeval towns. Nine historical layers compose Stolac's architectural ensemble: pre-history, Illyrian-Roman period, the early Middle Ages, advanced and late Middle Ages, Ottoman period, Austro-Hungarian period, and the time of the first and second Yugoslavia. A multitude of various influences on the architecture of town, in which contrasts and similarities are frequently evident as well as planning and full spontaneity, lend this town a complex image.

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Wikipedia