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ABOUT TREBINJE

About Trebinje

"Trebinje" photo © Slavenko Vukasović

Geographical position

Area of municipality Trebinje is placed in the southernmost part of Republic of Srpska and BiH. It is the hinterland of south Jadran or the hinterland of Dubrovnik’s and Herceg Nova’s littoral.

Municipality Trebinje covers the area of 904 km² and it is considered to be of medial size when compared to the size of other municipalities in Republic of Srpska.

In the north, the municipality is bounded by municipality Bileca, in the northwest with municipality Ljubinje, in the south and southwest with municipality Ravno (Federation BiH), in the south and southeast with municipality Dubrovnik (Croatia Republic) and municipality Herceg Novi (Montenegro), and in the east with municipality Niksic (Montenegro).

Typical Mediterranean architecture of Trerbinje, photo © Slavenko Vukasović

History of Trebinje

Trebinje is first mentioned as Tribune in the 10th century at Constantine Porfirogenit. Then it was located on the caravan route that led from Koror and Dubrovnik to Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro. The town got its first urban contour in the Middle Ages. First, it was part of the Byzantine government, and then, until the 14th century, it was the centre of state Travunija, which was part of Nemanjici’s state. At the beginning of the New Ages and during the Middle Ages, Trebinje’s area was developing under the strong influence of the Byzantine, and in the 15th century, after long state independence, it fell under the centuries-old government administration of first the Ottoman Empire and then, until 1918, of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In the Middle Ages, less than 200 years, Trebinje was in the grip of Nemanjici, and then under the government administration of Tvrtko Kotromanic. Since 1377 until it fell in the grip of Turkish government (in 1466), Trebinje was part of the Bosnian Banat which was ruled by Kosace. Since 1466 until 1878, it was in the grip of Turkish government. Trebinje’s Old Town emerged at the beginning of the 18th century on the coast of the Trebisnjica River and it was called Ban Vir. Current Old Town – Kastel emerged from the former centre of trade and craft.

Reminders of Austro-Hungarian government are public buildings, head offices, military camps, schools, etc. That style has fit into the Mediterranean centre of Trebinje. Stormy history of this area has left its trails and monuments of cultural-historical heritage: medieval necropolis, where two signboards in cirilica (the 12th century), monastery Tvrdos (the 4th-6th century), monastery Duzi (the 16th century), St Paul and Peter’s monastery (the 4th-6th century) and monastery Zavala (the 13th century) have been discovered.

Crkvina, Herzegovinian Gračanica

Designed to resemble the Gračanica monastery in Kosovo, the Herzegovinian Gračanica church was built at the Crkvina hill two kilometres away from the town, as a fulfilment of a wish of Trebinје s famous poet Jovan Dučiić. In 2000, Dučić’s remains were moved from the United Stases to this church.

In addition to the temple, the church complex also includes a tower, collection of icons, amphitheatre, bishop’s house, summer garden, library and a fountain.

The Herzegovinian Gračanica can be seen from any place in Trebinje and it is said to be one of the most beautiful sacral sites in the Eastern Herzegovina.

Trebišnjica

Pillar of tourism and development is the river of Trebišnjica, once the biggest underground stream in Europe. It is 98 kilometres long; with all its underground streams, it is a 187- kilometre long system. Several beautiful bridges were built across this river; one of the most famous is the Perović-Arslanagić Bridge constructed by Mehmed Pasha Sokolović in the second half of the 16th century (year 1574). Others include the Stone Bridge built in 1953, the Andrić bridge, the Gelj bridge, the Roman bridge- Vučija and others.