Gnojnice | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 43°17′46″N17°49′53″E / 43.296045°N 17.8314327°E | |
Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Entity | Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Canton | Herzegovina-Neretva |
Municipality | City of Mostar |
Area | |
• Total | 5.00 sq mi (12.94 km2) |
Population (2013) | |
• Total | 1−2 |
• Density | 2.4/sq mi (0.85/km2) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 88000 (Same as Mostar) |
Area code | (+387) 36 345 |
Gnojnice is a suburb in the City of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. [1] According to the 2013 census, the population was 3,637.
The M-17 road goes right through Gnojnice and connects it with other southern suburbs as well as the city neighborhood of Opine. The river Neretva forms the border to Rodoč, Jasenica and Bačevići in the west, whereas in the east the suburb borders to Gornje Gnojnice and Podveležje.
This part of the city is known for its famous vineyards, the Carski vinogradi (engl. "The Emperor's vineyards). The Mostar International airport is located in this part of the greater city area.
Most of Gnojnice is part of the Southeastern metropolitan area, only its southwestern outskirts are part of the Southwestern area.
Gnojnice is located in the Bišće polje, just as most of the other southern Mostar suburbs. The Bišće polje is one of the three valleys (the Bijelo polje in the north, the Mostar valley and the Bišće polje in the south) forming the territory of Mostar and its surroundings. Flat and fertile land dominated in Gnojnice, due to its proximity to the Neretva river. [2]
The Neretva is the western natural border of Gnojnice. On the other bank of the river, from north to south, Rodoč, Jasenica and Bačevići are located. To the south, the suburb borders to Dračevice and Ortiješ, and in the east to Gornje Gnojnice and the Podveležje region. The city neighborhoods of Luka and Opine are in the north.
Gnojnice itself consists of the following parts: Gnojnice, Kadijevići, Kočine, Gorica and Masline.
In Gnojnice, there are still traces from the ancient Roman periods, most importantly an old system for water redistribution.
In modern times, the Austro-Hungarian reign over Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878-1918) brought great improvements regarding the development of Gnojnice. It was in this very part of the Herzegovina, in 1886, that the first buying station for wine was opened. The investments in the infrastructure for winegrowing were followed by better education, as many winegrowers would send their children to educate themselves about viniculture in Vienna. The products from the Gnojnice vineyards, as well as the products of winegrowers from Lastva near Trebinje, would soon even become consumed among the European nobility. This made the local population starting to refer to these two locations as "the Emperor's vineyards". [3]
During the Yugoslovian era, Gnojnice became important for another development: aviation. In 1935, The Yugoslovian army built an airfield in this part of the Greter Mostar area for the needs of its Royal Air Force. Later, in the period of the socialist Yugoslavia (1945-1992), it was mainly used by the military aircraft producer Soko (located in nearby Rodoc) to test its airplanes. In 1971, the Yugoslav People's Army enhanced its site by building an underground air base (called "Buna") under the airfield. Later, the airport was opened to civil aviation. First only available for domestic flights, the Gnojnice airfield finally developed to an international airport thanks to the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984. Hosting this important sports event led to an increased number of flights to Yugoslavia and subsequently for a greater need for civil aviation infrastructure. Due to the relative proximity to the Bosnian capital, the location in Mostar was seen as an alternative for the very busy Sarajevo airport. During the Bosnian war (1992-1995), the Mostar airport was used by peacekeeping forces. It was handed back to Bosnian government authorities in 1998.
The development of this part of the Herzegovina region was tightly connected to the company Hepok (abbreviation for "Hercegovački poljoprivredni kombinat" or "Herzegovinian agricultural combinate" in English). Founded in 1956, it was decided to built its headquarters and production facilities there. It was especially the winegrowing that experienced a great expansion, the landscape south of Mostar is dominated by vineyards to this day. Hepok is among the few big Yugoslav companies from Mostar to have survived the transition towards a free-market economy, being a private-owned company today.
Gnojnice was also very affected by the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995. In April 1992, the Yugoslav people's army (JNA) succeeded in occupying the southern Mostar suburbs, gaining control over the Mostar airport and the roads towards the southern Herzegovina and Croatia. Later, the JNA handed its positions over to the armed forces of the separatist Bosnian serbs, the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS), including territories in the northern and eastern city area. As a result, their leadership had the means to block communication towards the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Eastern Herzegovina and Čapljina, and was in control over Mostar's airport and rail network, putting the state-held part of the city under a partial blockade.
The Serbs lost Gnojnice in June 1992, when joined Bosnian-Croat forces managed to retain control over Mostar and most of its surroundings in the Operation June Dawns. [4]
After its liberation, it was under control of the 7. battalion of the Croatian defence council (HVO), the armed forces of the Bosnian Croats. Although the commanding structures were mostly Croat, a great amount of soldiers were Bosniaks - a characteristics for this part of the Herzegovinian battlefield. [5] On the 9th May 1993, after the HVO attacked the Bosnian state Army (ARBiH), the Croat-bosniak war in Mostar began. Bosniaks who were in the Croat forces left them, considering them now as hostile, and joined the state army. Most of the soldiers in this part of the Mostar area became part of the 48. brigade of the 4 corps of the Bosnian army, fighting against the second HVO battalion. During the battles, the main front line went through Gnojnice.
As a result of the war, a lot of Bosniak war refugees - from Eastern Herzegovina and the Podveležje region - find refuge in this suburb, which changed the demographic make-up of Gnojnice.
According to the 2013 census, its population was 3,637. [6]
Ethnicity | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Bosniaks | 3,276 | 90.1% |
Croats | 205 | 5.6% |
Serbs | 93 | 2.6% |
other/undeclared | 63 | 1.7% |
Total | 3,637 | 100% |
years | 1991 | 1981 | 1971 |
---|---|---|---|
Bosniaks | 1.028 (46,49%) | 794 (43,79%) | 413 (31,33%) |
Croats | 670 (30,30%) | 651 (35,90%) | 646 (49,01%) |
Serbs | 386 (17,45%) | 284 (15,66%) | 247 (18,74%) |
Yugoslavs | 52 (2,35%) | 77 (4,24%) | 1 (0,07%) |
others | 75 (3,39%) | 7 (0,38%) | 11 (0,83%) |
total | 2.211 | 1.813 | 1.318 |
Agriculture is a very important sector for the economy of Gnojnice, especially viniculture. The most known company from the area is HEPOK Mostar.
The service sector is also a part of the local economy which shows great development. Prove for this is the "Bišće polje" business zone between Gnojnice and the city area, which has attracted a lot of companies from commerce, gastronomy and the hotel industry.
The Mostar airport, located in the southern part of Gnojnice, is also of great importance.
The M-17 road, which connects Mostar with Sarajevo and the Croatian coast, goes through Gnojnice. The Sarajevo-Ploče railway is also crossing Gnojnice, but the first train station is located downtown, about seven kilometers away.
Mostarbus, the local bus company, maintains several routes (6, 10, 12, 13, 16, 28 and 29, as of September 2023) that head towards city centre and other southern Mostar suburbs. [7]
Regarding the public infrastructure, Gnojnice has one elementary school and an outpatient clinic of the Mostar Old Town Health Center (bos. Dom zdravlja "Stari Grad" Mostar). [8]
The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Canton 10, is one of the ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a political entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest canton by area and eighth by population. The local government seat is in Livno, while the assembly is in Tomislavgrad. It is divided into five municipalities: Bosansko Grahovo, Drvar, Glamoč, Kupres, Tomislavgrad and one city, Livno.
Mostar is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
The Bosnian War was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started on 6 April 1992, following a number of earlier violent incidents. The war ended on 14 December 1995 when the Dayton accords were signed. The main belligerents were the forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, and the Republika Srpska, the latter two entities being proto-states led and supplied by Croatia and Serbia, respectively.
Blaž Nikola Kraljević was a Bosnian Croat paramilitary leader who commanded the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) during the Bosnian War. An immigrant to Australia, Kraljević joined the Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood (HRB) upon his arrival there in 1967. During his return to Yugoslavia in January 1992 he was appointed by Dobroslav Paraga, leader of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), as leader of the HOS in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Croatian Defence Forces were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS organised several early companies and participated in Croatia's defence. At the peak of the war in Croatia, the HOS was several battalions in size. The first HOS units were headed by Ante Paradžik, a HSP member who was killed by Croatian police in September 1991. After the November 1991 general mobilisation in Croatia and the January 1992 cease-fire, the HOS was absorbed by the Croatian Army.
Kupres is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Kupres in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 5,057 inhabitants, while the town of Kupres has a population of 2,883 inhabitants.
The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia was an unrecognized geopolitical entity and quasi-state in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was proclaimed on 18 November 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia as a "political, cultural, economic and territorial whole" in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and abolished on 14 August 1996.
The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as Bosnian Croats or Herzegovinian Croats, are native and the third most populous ethnic group in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after Bosniaks and Serbs, and are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina have made significant contributions to the culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most Croats declare themselves Catholics and speakers of the Croatian language.
Operation Neretva '93 was an Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) operation against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in September 1993 on a 200 km long front from Gornji Vakuf to south of Mostar, one of its largest of the year, during the Croat–Bosniak War. The ARBiH made limited gains in the area of northern Herzegovina and around Mostar, but did not achieve a breakthrough to the southern Neretva, where the HVO retained control. The operation was halted in October. During the operation, dozens of Croat civilians were killed in the Grabovica and Uzdol massacres.
The Croat–Bosniak War was a conflict between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, supported by Croatia, that lasted from 18 October 1992 to 23 February 1994. It is often referred to as a "war within a war" because it was part of the larger Bosnian War. In the beginning, the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) fought together in an alliance against the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). By the end of 1992, however, tensions between Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats increased. The first armed incidents between them occurred in October 1992 in central Bosnia. The military alliance continued until early 1993, when it mostly fell apart and the two former allies engaged in open conflict.
Konjic is a city located in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northern Herzegovina, around 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Sarajevo, in a mountainous, heavily wooded area, and is 268 m (879 ft) above sea level. The municipality extends on both sides of the Neretva River. According to the 2013 census, the city of Konjic has a population of 10,732 inhabitants, whereas the municipality has 25,148.
Lištica is a sinking river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It starts under the name Ugrovača, and end its course as the Jasenica in Mostarsko Polje, before spills into the Neretva as its right-bank tributary. It is listed as the second coldest river in Europe, and is prone to constant flooding mostly during winter. The Lištica river connects with the Borak wellspring, which rises at the base of the mountainside on the outskirts of town of Široki Brijeg. The town of Široki Brijeg was named Lištica after the Lištica River during the SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1990) but changed its name when the country dissolved back into Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ethnic cleansing occurred during the Bosnian War (1992–95) as large numbers of Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Bosnian Croats were forced to flee their homes or were expelled by the Army of Republika Srpska and Serb paramilitaries. Bosniaks and Bosnian Serbs had also been forced to flee or were expelled by Bosnian Croat forces, though on a restricted scale and in lesser numbers. The UN Security Council Final Report (1994) states while Bosniaks also engaged in "grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other violations of international humanitarian law", they "have not engaged in "systematic ethnic cleansing"". According to the report, "there is no factual basis for arguing that there is a 'moral equivalence' between the warring factions".
The Siege of Mostar was fought during the Bosnian War first in 1992 and then again later in 1993 to 1994. Initially lasting between April 1992 and June 1992, it involved the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) fighting against the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia. That phase ended in June 1992 after the success of Operation Jackal, launched by the Croatian Army (HV) and HVO. As a result of the first siege around 90,000 residents of Mostar fled and numerous religious buildings, cultural institutions, and bridges were damaged or destroyed.
Operation Jackal (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Čagalj, also known as Operation June Dawns, was an offensive of the Bosnian War fought between a combined Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council army against the Army of Republika Srpska from 7–26 June 1992. The offensive was a Croatian pre-emptive strike against the VRS, a Bosnian Serb military formed in May 1992 from Yugoslav People's Army units that were stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The HV concluded that the JNA offensive operations of April and May 1992, resulting in the capture of Kupres and much of the Neretva River valley south of Mostar, were aimed at capturing or threatening the Croatian Port of Ploče and possibly Split. To counter this threat, the Croatian leadership deployed the HV, under the command of General Janko Bobetko, to the "Southern Front" including the area in which Operation Jackal was to be conducted.
Operation Tiger was a Croatian Army (HV) offensive conducted in areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina near Dubrovnik between 1 and 13 July 1992. It was designed to push the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) away from the city towards Popovo field and secure a supply route via Rijeka Dubrovačka, which was gained in early June as the siege of Dubrovnik by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) was lifted. The operation's success was facilitated by the establishment of the HV's Southern Front command and the successful conclusion of the May–June 1992 operations against the VRS in the Neretva River valley, which concluded with Operation Jackal.
The Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia was signed by Alija Izetbegović, President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Franjo Tuđman, President of the Republic of Croatia, in Zagreb on 21 July 1992 during the Bosnian and Croatian wars for independence from Yugoslavia. It established cooperation, albeit inharmonious, between the two and served as a basis for joint defense against Serb forces. It also placed the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) under the command of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH).
Vrapčići are a suburban neighborhood in the City of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are part of the Northern metropolitan area.
Operation Bura was a joint offensive conducted by the Croatian Defence Council and the Croatian Army on the territories held by the Nevesinje and Bileća brigades of the Army of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)