Serbs in Mostar

The Serbs of Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina, numbered about 24,000 at the outbreak of the Bosnian War in 1992, during which almost all left or were ethnically cleansed. [Committee for the Collection of Data on Crimes Committed against Humanity and International Law, Genocide of the Serbs in Mostar [http://www.balkan-archive.org.yu/politics/war_crimes/report6/mostar.html] ] With the city's post-war division into Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) halves, very few Serbs have returned. As a result, its current Serb population is generally assumed to negligible, despite the fact that the last census was conducted in 1991.

History

Literature and culture

Serb singing society "Gusle"

The Serb singing society "Gusle" was founded on December 18 1888 in Mostar. There were 50 founding members, with Jovo R. Šola ("Јово Р. Шола") chosen as the first president of the society.

Zora

Zora was a Serb literary magazine founded in 1896, central to Mostar's reputation as a centre of culture. Its full name was Zora: Časopis za zabavu, pokuku i kulturu ("Зора: Часопис за забаву, поуку и књижевност").

The "Small Library"

Vidovdan slaughter

Mostar was part of the Nazi puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: "Nezavisna Država Hrvatska"; Serbian: "Независна Држава Хрватска" or "Nezavisna Država Hrvatska"), along with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ustasha fascist government was lead by Ante Pavelić in Zagreb, and its view of Serbs was akin to the Nazi German view of Jews. The persecution of the town's Serbs began in the summer of 1941. The events of June 24 - 28 1941 are known by Serbs as the Vidovdan (St. Vitus' day) slaughter (Serbian: "Видовдански Покољ" or "Vidovdanski pokolj"), as June 28 is St. Vitus' day in the Serb Orthodox calendar.

Mass arrests of town's Serbs by the Ustashas began on the afternoon of June 24 1941. The most prominent Serb traders, teachers, and priests of the Serb Orthodox Church were among those arrested. Some were killed the following night, while some were thrown into caverns. Almost thirty of Mostar's Serb citizens were thrown into a cavern above the village of Čitluk, about 10 km from the town. ["Arhiv Jugoslavije", ZKRZ BiH, inv. br. 55.802 & 55.325] ["Arhiv Hercegovine", fond Okružnog suda u Mostaru, br. Ko. 248/1946] ["Spomenica Mostara" 1941-1945]

Churches

During the Bosnian War of 1992-95, the Serb Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Tinity (Serbian: "Саборна црква Св. Тројице") and the Church of the Birth of the Most Holy Virgin ("Црква Рођења Пресвете Богородице"), both dating to the mid 19th century, were demolished by the HVO. [ [http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/prl-ii040304e.htm ICTY indictment against the Croat Herzeg-Bosnia leadership] , Statement of the Case, Article 27, 2003.] [ [http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/mostar/mostar2.html Prof. Michael Sells' page documenting the destruction] ] The cathedral was also know as the New Orthodox Church ("Нова православна црква"), while the latter was known as the Old Orthodox Church ("Стара православна црква"). According to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nikola Špirić, the reconstruction of the cathedral is due to begin in Spring 2008, and will be partially funded by Prince Charles. [ [http://www.rtrs.tv/vijesti/vijest.php?id=41172 Шпирић: Tреба се окренути будућности да би сви заједно успјели] ]

In early 2008, the city administration promised to set aside 100,000 convertible marks (about 50,000 euros) for the reconstruction of the cathedral, and the Ministry of Culture of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity pledged 200,000 convertible marks (about 100,000 euros), while a local attorney, Faruk Ćupina (a Muslim), was the private first private citizen to donate any money - 10,000 convertible marks (about 5,000 euros). The estimated total cost of the project is 15 mln convertible marks (about 7.5 mln euros). [ [http://www.politika.co.yu/rubrike/exyu/Obnova-Saborne-crkve-u-Mostaru.sr.html Политика: Обнова Саборне цркве у Мостару] ] [ [http://www.nezavisne.com/vijesti.php?vijest=20993&meni=2 Независне: Фарук Ћупина први даровао 10.000 КМ] ] [ [http://www.rtv.co.yu/sr/vesti/region/2008_03_11/vest_54588.jsp RTV: Dar od pet hiljada evra za obnovu pravoslavnog hrama od advokata – muslimana] ]

Prominent individuals

A number of famous Serbs were born or lived in Mostar, including Jovan Dučić, Vladimir Ćorović, Svetozar Ćorović, Aleksa Šantić and Pero Zubac. The young Serbian actor Sergej Trifunović was born in the town, as was Željko Samardžić, a singer, and Dušan Bajević, a footballer and club manager.

See also

* Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Žitomislić Monastery

External links

* [http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba/main.php?mod=galerija&action=spomenici&do=view&id_spomenika=1932&lang=1 Pictures of the Mostar cathedral]

References