In the Herzegovinian village of Hutovo, on the border between the municipalities of Stolac, Capljina, and Neum, the school that educated many generations has been closed after 91 years because there are no students, and the village is dying out due to poor traffic infrastructure and the emigration of the population.
It is important to mention that in the 1930s, Hutovo was an important center of this region, so in 1924 a municipality was opened there, and the National State School in Hutovo was opened in 1932. It was located in the now collapsed building of the former financial administration, known to older generations as “Albania”.
After the Second World War, classes began to be held in a building that served as a community center. In 1960, an eight-grade school started operating there for the first time, while in the 1974/1975 school year, a new, modernly equipped school building was built in Hutovo, which was also the only eight-year primary school in the area that includes today’s Neum municipality.
However, due to the abolition of the narrow-gauge railway, the population of Hutovo slowly moved out, and the number of students in the school in Hutovo decreased from year to year.
But, this school year, for the first time after 91 years of existence, there are no students in Hutovo, and this institution with a long tradition is closed.
There are currently around 70 elderly residents living in Hutovo and the village is doomed to extinction due to poor transport infrastructure and emigration of the population, although 100 years ago it was a business center and railway junction, and was connected directly to Vienna by railway, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
