Široki Brijeg

Climate

Široki Brijeg has mild humid subtropical climate(Köppen climate classification:Cfa).^[4] Winters are chilly and often cold. Summers are warm to hot.

Terrain

The wider area of the municipality of Široki Brijeg is located on the characteristic, complex structural forms known as the "high karst zone" in geological terms. The basic characteristic is the rocky limestone relief in various karst forms (sinks, caves, sinkholes, karst fields, etc.), as well as deeply cut valleys with occasional torrents flows. The Široki Brijeg area is located on the direction of tectonic units Rakitno-Hrgud and spreads over Rakitno, Vardi mountains, Mostarsko Blato, Rotimlje and Hrgud to Trebišnjica in the southeast. The area is made-up of up late Jurassic sediments, followed by Cretaceous and Paleogene age layers, then Neogene and Quaternary deposits. Highlights are early Cretaceous dun, well stratified limestone and dolomites. Late Cretaceous deposits, cenoman-turon, are represented by white and pink, massive limestone with the shoot. In Paleogenic layers function Liburnijska and alveolinic-nummulitic limestones, then eocenic flysch, which is represented by marl, sandstone, calcarenite and conglomerates.

Neogenic layers are built of marl, sandy clay, sandstone and conglomerates, and can be found in the vicinity of Grabovo Drage and Mostarsko Blato. Quaternary banks of pebbles, sand and water karst saturated found on almost all rocky fields and drifts along the river beds. Between the lower mountain Vardi, Gvozd, Rujan and Trtle (altitude 600–900m) is a karstic depression Kočerinsko, Trnsko, Mokarsko and Ruževo field and Mostar Blato (altitude of 220–300m). Široki Brijeg area belongs to typical bauxite courts Lokve Black - Kidačke Njive, Resnica - deposit and Uzarići - Knešpolje. This area was devastated shoot landfills and tailings, and rehabilitation requirements.

Waters

The water from the municipality of Široki Brijeg belong to the basin of the Neretva river. The main surface currents towards Mostar Blato the ticket with Ugrovača, Mokašnica, Crnašnica and Žvatić. The river belongs Lištica of surface waters Čabulje, who bujični aquifer Brinje collected from Ladin and Dobrinja. Brinje whose rudiments north of Bogodola, below kote Kulic (1199) runs to the west and on their way to Lištica receives at Prskalo stream Ladin, and 2.5 kilometers below, the stream of water Dobrinski. These streams buy all surface waters during the period of abundant precipitation and dissolution of snow on the south-western parts of the mountain Čabulje.

Surface waters come to Rakitno field are being dried by water points, Jelica, Zmijinac and during major precipitation formed a periodic watercourse Ugrovača that going deeply carved canyon Brin, receiving side stream, and in the village of Trn, Kočerin water fields, and on the road to Blato Mostarskog, in Siroki Brijeg center connects with the river Lištica.

Ancient period

The ruins from the Illyrian period confirm that the area of Široki Brijeg had a large population in pre-historic times^{[citation needed]}. The evidence can be seen on the hill Gradina on the frontier of Mokro and Čerigaj. There is also evidence on the walls of the forts where they had been in past. During the ancient period there was plenty of life in that region. From the Roman period there are remains of a fort (refugium) in the village of Biograci and a basilica in Mokro; there are remains of the forts and roads there.

Middle ages

Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos mentions that Mokriskik was in that area ^{[citation needed]}. The basilica in Mokri was built and destroyed several times in the Middle Ages and it was used for its purpose. In her neighbourhood is nekrepola with stećak,which are present elsewhere. There number and size indicate that this region was (from 12th till 15th century) has been very populated and rich^{[citation needed]}. From that period on Kočerin was kept the longest tablet on stećak written with Bosnian Cyrillic, known as Kočerinska ploča („Kočerin tablet"). The residues of middle-age fort can be found in the Bork, close to the source of river Lištica.

Ottoman rule

After the Turkish conquest in the middle of 15th century the population was mainly rural and in the mountains. Until the middle of 19th century, Herzegovina was cut off from social, cultural and political events in other European countries.

World War II and Yugoslavia

During the Second World War the Ustaše held the city together with Italian troops. During their presence, the Italians built several forts for observation of the city.{l^[6] A number of prominent Ustaše officials, including Andrija Artuković were educated at the Široki Brijeg school and monastery.^[6][7]

Because of its history, it was demonized by the officials of Yugoslavia and was renamed Lištica (by the name of the river) instead of Široki Brijeg (Wide Hill) after the war.^{[citation needed]} Investment in the city was also very poor. A number of people emigrated to Zagreb and Dalmatia, as well as to Germany as gastarbeiters.

In 1985, the local Communist Party built a monument to the Yugoslav Partisans in the centre of the town.^{[citation needed]}

On 7 April 1992, during the first stages of the Bosnian War, the town was the target of an air raid carried out by the Yugoslav Air Force. Two aircraft that took off from Podgorica fired air-to-air rockets and dropped bombs on the town centre, killing six civilians.^[8]

Agriculture

Agricultural production in the municipality of Široki Brijeg is mostly reduced to the production for their own use on yards and a minor part of the arable land. It is the production of agricultural products for the market is very small compared to the alternatives, and refers primarily to the production of wine, a little bit in the production of vegetables and flowers, very little in the livestock and milk production.

This resulted in a large percentage of agricultural land is not used- according to latest statistics - even 60% that could be used for agricultural land is not processed.

The lack of clear government strategy and orientation towards the launching and development of agricultural production is also very important feature of the present situation in agriculture .

1971

27,285 total

• Croats - 26,940 (98.73%)
• Serbs - 234 (0.85%)
• Muslims - 43 (0.15%)
• Yugoslavs - 12 (0.04%)
• Others - 56 (0.20%)

1991

In the 1991 census, the municipality of Široki Brijeg had 26,437 inhabitants:

• 26,231 Croats (99.2%),
• 147 Serbs (0.6%),
• 19 Yugoslavs (0.07%),
• 9 Bosniaks (0.03%),
• 31 others (0.1%).

The town itself had 6,864 inhabitants, 99.37% being Croats.