Stolac

Stolac ( Serbian Cyrillic Столац ) is a small town near Mostar in Herzegovina, the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Stolac is located in the fertile valley of the Bregava in the otherwise barren karstic and Herzegovina. The municipality of Stolac has almost 15,000 inhabitants.

History

Stolac has existed since the Middle Ages and was always a lively commercial center. The city belonged to Austria-Hungary until 1918 and was the garrison of the Fourth Battalion of the Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment " Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden " # 50

Until the Bosnian War, the population was ever assembled about half of Bosniaks and Croats. During the Bosnian War, it was especially in 1993 heavy fighting between Bosniaks and Croats after the latter their internationally recognized Republic of Herceg- Bosna never had proclaimed. After the conquest of the city by the Croatian Vijece obrane ( HVO), there was looting by the soldiers. During the looting of the city center was devastated and destroyed all mosques, including the so-called imperial mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The commander detained male Bosniaks in prison camps, including the camp Dretelj, while women and children were reported. The Orthodox Church was destroyed.

One of these camps of Bosnian Croat war party was located near Stolac in a former prison.

On 26 February 2004, the Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski was about ten kilometers north of Stolac in a plane crash.

Famous people

• Mak Dizdar ( * 1917 in Stolac, † 1971), Yugoslav Poet