Herzegovina is the tourist destination of the future, according to the renowned Financial Times magazine in London, and Capljina has been singled out as the best investment destination in Southeast Europe.
Capljina is a city and municipality located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is located on the border with Croatia a mere 20 kilometres from the Adriatic Sea.
The river Neretva flows through the city and flows into the Adriatic just over the border. The town’s landmark is a statue of King Tomislav, the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is also a prominent facet of the city.
The municipality has a rich archaeological history and untouched wilderness and is starting to develop agricultural tourism.
It is also home to Hutovo Blato Park, which contains one of the most diverse bird populations in all Europe.
When it comes to Herzegovina, tourists mainly visit the world-famous Stari Most (meaning simply ‘Old Bridge’), Mostar’s indisputable visual focus.
Its pale stone magnificently reflects the golden glow of sunset or the tasteful night-time floodlighting.
The bridge’s swooping arch was originally built between 1557 and 1566 on the orders of Suleiman the Magnificent. The current structure is a very convincing 21st-century rebuild following the bridge’s 1990s bombardment during the civil war.
Numerous well-positioned cafes and restaurants tempt you to sit and savour the splendidly restored scene.
An engineering marvel of its age, the bridge was nonetheless pounded into the river during a deliberate Croatian artillery attack in November 1993.
Depressing footage of this sad moment is shown on many a video screen in Mostar.
After the war, Stari Most was painstakingly reconstructed using 16th-century building techniques and stone sourced from the original quarry.
It reopened in 2004 and is now a Unesco World Heritage site famed for its bridge divers.
