Livno

22
Jan

Prince Mutimir's Povelja Charter from September 28, 892 is celebrated as the birthday of the town of Livno. The town itself is an interesting blend of Dalmatian, Ottoman and socialist structures.

However, as in many other areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, archaeological research in and around Livno has uncovered human settlements from over 4,000 years ago. Many of these finds are located at Duman, a large karst cave that is the source of the River Bistrica. This source greatly resembles the one found in Blagaj where the Buna River originates.

On the high, steep cliffs of Teber there are also the same type of caves as seen in Blagaj. It is most likely that the indigenous Illyrian tribes built the first fortifications atop these cliffs, and the Romans, Slavs and Ottomans later reinforced them.

The great rush of water from the caves made it an ideal location for powering mills. The Ottomans built a lovely stone arched bridge over the Duma. There are daily buses from Mostar and Split to Livno. Livno is also a transit stop for some traffic from Sarajevo and central Bosnia.
Franciscan Monastery of St. Peter and Paul (Franjevacki samostan sv. Petra i Pavla) at Gorica is a home to a Franciscan Museum and Gorica Gallery (Franjevacki muzej i Goricka galerija). Both provide a chronological insight into the historical events from Celtic, Illyrian, Roman and Croat tribes to the present day. The Gallery has a permanent exhibition of Gabrijel Jurkic's works. He is one of the most eminent local artists and some of his works are displayed at the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.
Livno is also famous for its cheese. Livanjski sir (Livno cheese) was first made in 1885 according to a recipe for a French Gruyère cheese. You can find it elsewhere but if you buy the one in Livno you can be sure you have a genuine Livno cheese. It tastes great with the local red Herzegovinian wine and local ham.
Tomislavgrad is located 36 km southeast from Livno (Livno is located west of Mostar and 90 km northeast of Split). Tomislavgrad has been settled since the ancient times and numerous findings indicate that this was the centre of the Illyrian tribe Dalmatae – Daelminium. Today, the town is named Tomislavgrad in the honour of King Tomislav who was crowned at the field of Duvno in 925.
Franciscan Monastery in Tomislavgrad has a Museum with archaeological, ethnographic, sacral and African exhibitions.