Livno (Serbian Cyrillic: Ливно, pronounced[lǐːʋno]) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Field at the foot of Kruzi plateau which are located beneath the Cincar mountain and rocky hill Crvenice. Livno is the centre of the Canton 10 which mainly covers an area of the historical and geographical region of Tropolje.[1][2] As of 2013, it has a population of 37,487 inhabitants.
The town, with its historic ruins and old town from the 9th century, was first mentioned in 892, developing at the crossroads between the Adriatic coast and inland, i.e., regions of Bosnia, Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Krajina.[3]
History
The plains of Livno have been populated since approximately 2000 BC. In the late Bronze Age, the Neolithic population was replaced by more Indo-European tribes known as the Illyrians. The region was inhabited by Illyrian tribe of Dalmatae which capital was Delminium in today's Tomislavgrad. They left remains that testify about their presence in this area. The most important of them are the gradine, remains of Illyrian settlements which were distributed along the Livno Field. The three most important are Velika gradina, Mala gradina and Kasalov gradac.[4]
After the Roman conquest of the area, it was part of the province of Dalmatia. During the twenties of the first century AD, Roman government built a road connecting Salona, a city on the coast with Servitium, a city at the peripanonic lowlands. Its route passed through the Livno Field where two road stations have been established. The station of Pelva was located at the area of village Lištani and in the area of Livno station Bariduo was based.[5]
Livno celebrates its founding date as 28 September 892 AD, being mentioned in a document from Duke Mutimir which was released at that time. It was the centre of Hlebiana (ή Χλεβίανα) županija (province) of the Kingdom of Croatia, as mentioned in the tenth century work De Administrando Imperio (chapter 30). From 1199 Emeric until 1326 Mladen II Šubić of Bribir, who was a resident of Livno, it was part of the Chelmensis territory. From 1326 until 1463 Livno was part of the Bosnian Kingdom. One of the noble families of the Bosnian Kingdom bought Livno, Duvno, and Kupres (12th to 13th century) then called "Tropolje," (Three Fields). Cemeteries with large medieval tombstones were found in the area and the anthropological research carried out in 1982 on skeletons from 108 graves with "stecci" type slabs near Livno, indicates a population of autochthonous Vlach origin[6]
The beginning of 15th century saw the Ottoman Empire advance, invade, and occupy Bosnia for the next 400 years. Mosque complex in the picture (left) the Hajji Ahmed the Ducat Minter's Mosque (more commonly known as the Glavica ("Head") Mosque, called after the knap above town on which it is erected) Constructed upon design by Mimar Sinan in 1574. (some date to 1587), it is situated on a hill overlooking the old town of Livno, the river Bistrica and the spring Duman in the upper section of the old town of Livno. The mosque complex consists of a compact main building of the mosque under a dome and uncharacteristically short minaret, with a clock tower which was erected around 1659, and is still in use today. Within the perimeter is an almost 500-year-old necropolis with characteristic early Bosnian Muslim tombstones and later ones.[7][8]
In 1878, Livno was occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces. Soldiers from Dalmatia and an infantry division from Osijek fiercely fought against 3,000 Ottoman and Muslim militias around Livno, finally capturing the town on September 27. The Congress of Berlin approved of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina that year.
From 1918 it was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929 the kingdom was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and divided into nine banates (banovine). Livno was divided into the Littoral Banovina, with its centre in the city of Split. This division brought Livno politically closer to Croatia. In 1939, the banates were further redrawn so that there was a Croatian banate (Banovina Hrvatska) of which Livno was also part.
From 1941–45, Livno was part of the Axis Independent State of Croatia, and was labeled as a pro-Ustaše region. The territory that partisans liberated and managed to keep under their control from November 1942 to January 1943 (dubbed the Republic of Bihać) included all of rural Western Herzegovina west of Neretva and Široki Brijeg, including Livno. Livno and its area, under partisan control from August to October 1942, was very important for partisan resistance, as key Croatian Peasant Party members from Livno Florijan Sučić and Ivan Pelivan joined the partisans resistance and mobilized many other Croats.[9]Croatian writer Ivan Goran Kovačić joined the Partisans in Croata, writing his epic poem "Jama" ("The Pit") during his time with the resistance. He finished it in Livno. When Croatian Ustaše forces drove the partisans out of Livno in October 1942.
The territory of the municipality is 994 km2 (384 sq mi). Livno is both the cultural and industrial center of the canton. It is the biggest city in the canton and situated 730 meters above sea level. The Bistrica river flows through the city and is itself is 3 km (1.9 mi) long, which means that it is a very small river. Livno is also situated in the Livanjsko field which is the largest field in the entire country. The field is situated between the mountains Dinara and Kamešnica in the south, Tušnica in the east, Cincar in the north and Šator in the west. Livanjsko field is 405 km2 (156 sq mi), making it almost half of the Livno municipality.
Climate
Livno has a stable continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. It is situated between the mountains Cincar and Kamesnica which make the climate more continental than the climate in Mostar and Čapljina for example. The winters in that part of the country are not as cold as in Livno. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[11]
Climate data for Livno (1961–1990, extremes 1949–present)
Source: Meteorological Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina[12][13]
Governance
The main local government of the city is City Council of Livno. Council has 31 members elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. Livno has its mayor who is the highest-ranking officer in the municipal government.
M16 road, passing through Kupres and Šujica, connects Livno with Croatia and Central Bosnia. M6.1 starts at Bosansko Grahovo, runs through Livno connecting it with Tomislavgrad, Herzegovina and Mostar. Going northwards M15 connects Livno with Glamoč and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
^"Livno". proleksis.lzmk.hr. Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
^"Povijest Livna". livno.ba. Municipality of Livno. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
^Bojanovski, Ivo (1974). Dolabelin sistem cesta u rimskoj provinciji Dalmaciji. Sarajevo: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. p. 59.
^Mužić, Ivan (2009) . "Vlasi i starobalkanska pretkršćanska simbolika jelena na stećcima". Starohrvatska prosvjeta (in Croatian). Split: Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments. III (36): 315–349.
Konačni rezultati popisa stanovništva od 15. marta 1948. godine (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 9. Belgrade: Savezni zavod za statistiku i evidenciju. 1955.
Nacionalni sastav stanovništva SFR Jugoslavije: podaci po naseljima i opštinama (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 1. Belgrade: Federal Statistical Office. 1991.
Nacionalni sastav stanovništva SFR Jugoslavije: podaci po naseljima i opštinama (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 2. Belgrade: Federal Statistical Office. 1994.
Nacionalni sastav stanovništva SFR Jugoslavije: podaci po naseljima i opštinama (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 3. Belgrade: Federal Statistical Office. 1994.
Nacionalni sastav stanovništva: rezultati za Republiku po opštinama i naseljenim mjestima 1991 (in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: State Bureau for Statistics of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1994.
Popis stanovništva 1953 (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 11. Belgrade: Federal Statistical Office. 1960.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
