Neum

Neum ( Serbian Cyrillic Неум, [ nɛum ] ) is a place and the associated community with nearly 5,000 inhabitants in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It provides the only access of the country to the sea.

Geography and climate

Neum is situated on the Adriatic Sea in a small, protected from the Peljesac peninsula bay. The place has the highest average annual temperature throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies in a at its narrowest point five kilometers wide strip of land that ( the Dubrovnik and to the border with Montenegro ) separates the southernmost part of Croatia from the rest of Croatia.

Policy

Politically the town is part of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The vast majority of the population are Croats. According to the 1991 census, lived in the town of Neum 4,325 inhabitants. Of these, 90 % described as Croats, 4.3% Serbs and 3.7 % as as Bosniaks; 2 % of the population were listed under " Other ". At the 2013 census, the population had risen to 4,960.

In addition to the main town of Neum still belong to the community the places Babin Do, Banja, Brestica, Bročanac, Brštanica, Cerovica, Crnoglav, Cerovo, Čukova Greda, Dašanica, Dobri Do, Dobrovo, Dračevica, Donji Drijen, Dubravice, Duzi, Grabovice, Glumina, Gornje Hrasno, Gradac, Hotanj, Hutovo, Ilino Polje, Jazine, Kamenice, Kiševo, Kolojanj, Moševiči, Mramor, Nerađe - Podstjene, OPUCE, Oskorušnica, Prapratnica, Praovice, Previs, Podkula, Rabrani, Radež, Radetići, Vinine, Vranjevo Selo, Zelenikovac and Žukovice.

History

On the territory of the municipality of Neum to find some localities already from prehistoric times, but the archaeological research in this area is still very deficient. From the time of the medieval Bosnian kingdom there is a large number of Stecci (stone tombs ), especially in the hinterland.

In the late Middle Ages, the area around Neum bone of contention between the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa. With the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 it became part of the Ottoman Empire, among others, because the Republic of Ragusa would prevent further strengthening of Venice in the region and offered for this purpose the Ottomans as a buffer to the Venetian Dalmatia a strip of land in the northwest of Ragusa dominions. The Ottomans were thus for the first time an access to the Adriatic Sea.

At the time of Napoleon Neum remained formally in the Ottoman Empire, but the French had built a road through the area. Even in the age of the Austro -Hungarian monarchy Neum remained connected to Bosnia - Herzegovina. In 1947, Bosnia and Herzegovina exchanged a short coastline on the Bay of Kotor Montenegro against an area in the mountains. This Neum was the only Bosnian-Herzegovinian access to the sea. Since 1992, Neum is part of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Economy

Neum has the only place in Bosnia and Herzegovina access to the sea. Therefore, it also has a certain meaning for summer tourism. There are six hotels in Neum, and a large number of private pensions. Besides local guests predominate, as elsewhere in smaller towns on the central Adriatic, tourists from the countries of the former Eastern bloc, especially Poles, Czechs and Slovaks, partly German and Austrian tourists.

Traffic and Safety

The Neum corridor posing after Croatia's EU accession a major traffic bottleneck dar. At this point, is not only a part of the contiguous Croatian territory, but in the future also the common EU external border interrupted in a section of less than 10 km. As part of the EU accession negotiations of Croatia this peculiarity was treated in the politics of cross- terms, which is why the EU Accession Treaty of Croatia exceptions to the Neum corridor were taken approximately in security policy or customs matters ( Schengen Agreement ).

Since the spring of 2012, bilateral agreements between Croatia and Bosnia - Herzegovina on a possible special arrangements in the road sector through the Neum corridor. According to Bosnian herzegowinischem proposal should lead on this part of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian state territory a double motorway connection, a connection route would be designed structurally so that no controls were provided and travelers are likely to run over these few kilometers free, saving travel time, to Dubrovnik through the elimination of would significantly reduce border wait times and better control of transit traffic flows, including would result by avoiding border formalities. In particular, this originally planned and medium- intensive construction of a road bridge to the peninsula of Peljesac ( Peljesac Bridge ) would not be required. Entering Bosnian-Herzegovinian state territory of this section of highway would be stopped according to preliminary plans by high walls. The management of this section is said to be left to the Croatian road authorities.

The second highway connection would include regular Schengen border crossing points and have a transport connection to the Bosnian - Herzegovinian road network. Travelers would thus in Neum Corridor is the choice between the use of two transport connections and thus the choice between a border crossing or a continuous corridor use. This proposed initiative between Croatia and Bosnia - Herzegovina subject but since May 2012 the review of the European Commission. ( A similar scheme without building methods existed for about Austrian rail travelers on the German Corner in Rosenheim, as Austria was not yet members of the EU. ) The construction costs are to be borne, according to plans of the two countries. Bosnia - Herzegovina is to gain special economic rights in the Croatian port of Ploce in return.