- Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
Herzegovina-Neretva is one of the 10 cantons of
Bosnia and Herzegovina . The canton mainly comprises theNeretva rivervalley area and parts ofHerzegovina west ofMostar , its administrative center.Municipalities
The canton is split into the municipalities of
Čapljina ,Čitluk , Jablanica,Konjic ,Mostar ,Neum , Rama,Ravno andStolac .Geography and features
The canton is one of two cantons in Bosnia and Herzegovina with access to the sea via the municipality of Neum. Neum is a town of 2,000 citizens (1991 census) and the area around the city is rich with historical and archeological remains after the
Illyrians . The Illyrians were a people who lived in the Balkans for many thousands of years.The largest city in the canton and the fifth largest city in the country is Mostar. Mostar is located on the banks of the Neretva river and is divided between Croats and Bosniaks. Mostar is known for its old bridge and the old city near the bridge. It is alleged that during the Bosnian War Croat forces bombed and destroyed the bridge. The bridge was recently reconstructed in the summer of 2004. The opening ceremony was attended by several foreign delegates including
Stjepan Mesić , the President ofCroatia .Other notable cities in this canton are Čapljina, Konjic, Jablanica and the world famous Marian Shrine of
Međugorje . Jablanica and Konjic are notable for battles which took place there duringWorld War II and there is a large museum in Jablanica dedicated to these battles.The
Neretva river runs through the cities of Konjic, Jablanica, Mostar and Čapljina before it flows through Croatia and into the Adriatic Sea. There are large lakes in the canton such as the Jablanica lake located around the city Jablanica. The southern most municipality in the canton is the Neum municipality which borders the Adriatic sea and the eastern most munucipality is the Ravno municipality along the border with Croatia.Ethnic groups
Of the ten cantons comprising the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is one of two cantons the other being the
Central Bosnia Canton which have an ethnically mixed population of Bosniak and Croat peoples. In ethnically mixed Cantons there are special legislative procedures for the protection of the constituent ethnic groups.Croats form a majority in the municipalities of Čapljina, Čitluk, Neum, Prozor-Rama, Ravno and Stolac. Bosniaks form a majority in the municipalities of Jablanica and Konjic. The municipality of Mostar in the central part of the canton is largely a mixture of Bosniaks and Croats.
In 2003, the population of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton was believed to number 219,223 people, of which:
*Croats: 110,714 (50.5%)
*Bosniaks: 102,019 (46.5%)
*Serbs: 5,486 (2.5%)
*others: 1,004 (0.5%)ee also
*
Herzegovina
*Capljina
*prebilovci
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