Ljubinje
Љубиње
Serbian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Ljubinje
Serbian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Ljubinje
Coat of arms of Ljubinje
Location of Ljubinje within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location of Ljubinje within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location of Ljubinje
Coordinates: 42°57′05″N 18°05′25″E / 42.95139°N 18.09028°E / 42.95139; 18.09028
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity Republika Srpska
Geographical regionHerzegovina
Boroughs21 (2008)
Government
 • Municipal mayorStevo Drapić (SDS)
 • Municipality319.07 km2 (123.19 sq mi)
Population
 (2013 census)
 • Town
2,744
 • Municipality
3,511
 • Municipality density11/km2 (28/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code59

Ljubinje (Serbian Cyrillic: Љубиње) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in southeastern part of Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 2,744 inhabitants, while the municipality has 3,511 inhabitants.

History

Ancient history

In antiquity, a road ran from Narona (near Metković) to Epidaurum (Cavtat) via Pardua, in the present-day village of Gradac near Ljubinje. The remains of a Roman settlement have been identified near Ljubinje. No systematic expert investigations have been conducted in the area (since 1973).[1]

Middle Ages

In the early medieval period the area of the present-day Ljubinje municipality belonged to the large župa (county) of Popovo, constituting the northernmost part of the Popovo county, bordering the counties of Dubrave and Dabar.[2] Politically, the area belonged to Zahumlje ("Hum"), ruled between the 12th and early 14th century with minor interruptions by the Nemanjić dynasty. After the War of Hum (1326–1329), this part of Hum was occupied by the Bosnian Ban Stjepan II Kotromanić, whose heir Tvrtko I had by 1373 extended the Bosnian borders southwards to include all of Hum.[3] Tvrtko's reign saw the rise of the Kosača family, of whom Vlatko Vuković had already by that time begun to rule much of Hum. Hum was governed by the family through Sandalj Hranić (1392–1435), Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (1435–1466), and the latter's sons, until 1482.

Ottoman period

People in front of the Pandurica pit, a place where Ustaše killed 36 locals by throwing them alive into a mass grave, as part of the wider Genocide of the Serbs

The Ottoman Empire occupied the area around Ljubinje between 1465 and 1467, and the defter (tax registry) of the Bosnian sanjak for 1468/69 already included the nahiya of Ljubinje.[4]

Austro-Hungarian rule

Under article 29 of the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, Austria-Hungary received special rights in the Ottoman Empire's provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. On 14 August 1878,[5] the Austro-Hungarian army marched into Ljubinje, ending Ottoman rule in the region. On 6 October 1908, Emperor Franz Joseph announced to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina his intention to give them an autonomous and constitutional regime. The provinces were then annexed. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was not countenanced by the Treaty of Berlin and set off a flurry of diplomatic protests and discussions.[6] Ljubinje remained part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the liberation at the end of World War I, when the Serbian army marched into Ljubinje.

World War II

In June 1941 Ustaše soldiers killed 36 locals by throwing them alive into a mass grave, which was part of the wider Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia.

Culture

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin

A church in Gradac

The Serbian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Ljubinje, was built in 1867 (as recorded by the inscription engraved on a plaque above the entrance to the church). The church belongs to a type of Herzegovinian single-nave stone-built church with an apse and a stone belltower — a type known as "na preslicu", perched over the main entrance facade.[7] A belltower na preslicu with three bells, made of finely finished limestone blocks, tops the left wall of the church. Belltowers of this form are one of the main characteristics of churches of this type in Herzegovina. The church is roofed with industrial tiles. Only the ends of the roof panes (of the belltower and apse respectively) are covered with sheet copper. The apse is also covered with sheet copper. The nave is separated from the altar space by an iconostasis partition. The iconostasis of the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Virgin in Ljubinje was installed in the early 20th century. The artist who painted the icons remains unidentified. The frame of the iconostasis is wooden, and icons are attached to it, with various scenes painted on canvases. The church contains a copy of the Gospels dating from 1793, in a metal cover with two metal clasps to the side, donated from Russia along with a double-sided processional icon, made of copper, by Zorka Radonjić (1901).[8] The centre of one side of the processional icon is occupied by an embossed and engraved scene of the Nativity of Christ, and the other by the Evangelist Luke, also embossed and engraved.

To the north, east and west, the church is surrounded by an Orthodox cemetery in active use, and a necropolis with stećak tombstones. About 20 metres to the north of the church is a mausoleum in memory of World War II victims of fascist terror.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments in 2005 issued a decision to add the architectural ensemble of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Ljubinje to the List of National Monuments.[9]

Church of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ

Ljubinje municipality by population proportional to the settlement with the highest and lowest population (1991)

The Serbian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ in Ljubinje was designed by the Serbian architect Ljubiša Folić.[10] The church was named after the Nativity of Christ for the fact that its construction started in 2000, an important year in Christianity that actually commemorates its most important event and the reason why it exists in the first place. Completion of the work and consecration of the new Orthodox Cathedral was solemnly celebrated on 21 September 2004, on the Patron Saint's Day of the Ljubinje municipality (The feast day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos). The Holy Hierarchal Liturgy was served by the episcope Grigorije of Zahumlje, Herzegovina and the Littoral.[8]

Demographics

Landscape from Ljubinje
Road towards Ljubinje

Population

Population of settlements – Ljubinje municipality
Settlement 1879. 1885. 1895. 1910. 1921. 1931. 1948. 1953. 1961. 1971. 1981. 1991. 2013.
Total 10,283 11,381 12,238 14,606 14,422 14,980 4,837 4,516 4,172 3,511
1 Bančići 113
2 Dubočica 160
3 Gleđevci 74
4 Grablje 81
5 Gradac 65
6 Ivica 99
7 Kapavica 42
8 Krajpolje 134
9 Krtinje 51
10 Kruševica 233
11 Ljubinje 503 469 621 796 1,660 2,265 2,744
12 Mišljen 65
13 Obzir 48
14 Pocrnje 37
15 Pustipusi 64
16 Rankovci 33
17 Ubosko 142
18 Vlahovići 169
19 Vođeni 153
20 Žabica 45
21 Žrvanj 99

Ethnic composition

Ethnic composition – Ljubinje town
2013. 1991. 1981. 1971.
Total 2,744 (100,0%) 2,265 (100,0%) 1,660 (100,0%) 796 (100,0%)
Serbs 2,114 (93,33%) 1,448 (87,23%) 710 (89,20%)
Bosniaks 103 (4,547%) 74 (4,458%) 49 (6,156%)
Others 28 (1,236%) 1 (0,060%)
Yugoslavs 17 (0,751%) 107 (6,446%) 16 (2,010%)
Croats 3 (0,132%) 5 (0,301%) 5 (0,628%)
Montenegrins 22 (1,325%) 8 (1,005%)
Albanians 3 (0,181%)
Roma 8 (1,005%)
Ethnic composition– Ljubinje municipality
2013. 1991. 1981. 1971.
Total 3,511 (100,0%) 4,172 (100,0%) 4,516 (100,0%) 4,837 (100,0%)
Serbs 3,469 (98,80%) 3,748 (89,84%) 3,840 (85,03%) 4,170 (86,21%)
Others 20 (0,570%) 34 (0,815%) 11 (0,244%) 16 (0,331%)
Bosniaks 12 (0,342%) 332 (7,958%) 407 (9,012%) 532 (11,00%)
Croats 10 (0,285%) 39 (0,935%) 55 (1,218%) 62 (1,282%)
Yugoslavs 19 (0,455%) 159 (3,521%) 17 (0,351%)
Montenegrins 24 (0,531%) 16 (0,331%)
Roma 17 (0,376%) 8 (0,165%)
Albanians 3 (0,066%) 1 (0,021%)
Slovenes 13 (0,269%)
Macedonians 2 (0,041%)

Economy

The following table gives a preview of the total number of registered people employed in professional fields per their core activity (as of 2018):[11]

Professional field Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 80
Mining and quarrying -
Manufacturing 48
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 19
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 13
Construction 4
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 70
Transportation and storage 8
Accommodation and food services 39
Information and communication 85
Financial and insurance activities 5
Real estate activities -
Professional, scientific and technical activities 8
Administrative and support service activities 3
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security 71
Education 78
Human health and social work activities 25
Arts, entertainment and recreation 8
Other service activities 7
Total 571

Notable residents

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Bojanovski (1973: 137-187)
  2. ^ Anđelić (1983: 8–69)
  3. ^ Ćirković (1964: 88–90, 162)
  4. ^ Aličić (1985: various).
  5. ^ "Tardy Peace In The Orient - Austria'S Struggle With Bonnia. The So-Called Insurgents Fighting Obstinately-Mehemet Ali'S Mission To The Provinces-Austrian Suspicion Of Servia And Panslavism-Hungarian Restriction On The Sale Of Arms. - View Article - Nytimes.Com" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  6. ^ Albertini (2005: 218–219).
  7. ^ "Commission to preserve national monuments". Kons.gov.ba. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  8. ^ a b "Епархија ЗХиП - ПАРОХИЈА ЉУБИЊСКА | Епархија захумско-херцеговачка и приморска". Arhiva.eparhija-zahumskohercegovacka.com. 1982-04-13. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  9. ^ "Commission to preserve national monuments". Kons.gov.ba. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  10. ^ Milan Maksimovic. "Folic Archiitects - Portfolio - Religious - St. Resurection Cathedral". Folicarchitects.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  11. ^ "Cities and Municipalities of Republika Srpska" (PDF). rzs.rs.ba. Republika Srspka Institute of Statistics. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
Secondary sources
  • Anđelić, Pavao. 1983. Srednjovjekovna župa Popovo (The mediaeval county of Popovo), Tribunia, no. 7, Trebinje.
  • Ćirković, Simo. 1964. Istorija srednjovjekovne bosanske države (History of the mediaeval Bosnian state), Belgrade.
  • Aličić, Ahmed. 1985. Poimenični popis sandžaka vilajeta Hercegovina.(Name lists of the sandžak of the vilayet of Herzegovina) Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, Sarajevo.
  • Albertini, Luigi. 2005. Origins of the War of 1914 – Vol. 1, Enigma Books, New York.
  • Bojanovski, Ivo. 1973. Rimska cesta Narona - Leusinium kao primjer saobraćajnog kontinuiteta. Godišnjak ANUBiH, Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja 10/8, Sarajevo.