Neum

This article is about the town. For the musical notation, see Neume. For the Book of Mormon prophet, see Neum (prophet).

Neum
—  Town  —
Location of Neum municipality (shown in red) within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Neum Location of Neum (town)
Coordinates: 42°55′N 17°37′E / 42.917°N 17.617°E / 42.917; 17.617
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	The Federation
Canton	Herzegovina-Neretva
Municipality	Neum
Government
– Municipality 00president	Živko Matuško (HDZ)
Population (2009)[1]
– Total	4,605
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	+387 36
Website	http://www.neum.ba

Neum (Latin: Neum, Greek: Νέον, Neon) is the only coastal town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It comprises 24.5 km (15 mi) of coastline, the country's only access to the Adriatic Sea. As of 2009, municipal (općina) population was of 4,605 and the one of Neum main town (naselje) was of 4,268 (in 1991).

Features

Neum has steep hills, sandy beaches, and several large tourist hotels. Prices tend to be lower than in neighboring Croatia, making it popular with shoppers. Tourism, and the commerce it brings, is the leading contributor to the economy of the area. Border formalities with Croatia are relaxed at peak times. Neum has around 5,000 beds for tourists, 1,810 in hotels with the remaining capacity in motels, villas, and in private accommodation. Tourism in Neum is active only in the coastal region. The inland area behind Neum has a rich archeological history and untouched wilderness and is starting to develop agricultural tourism.

Geography

Overview

Bay of Neum

Resorts at the coast

Neum is 60 kilometers (37 mi) from Dubrovnik (80 km/50 mi from the Dubrovnik Airport), 70 km (43 mi) from Mostar and Međugorje and 30 km (19 mi) from Ploče and Metković, both of which have railway stations.

The Neum region cuts Croatia into two non-contiguous parts. This is a result of the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699. In this treaty the Republic of Ragusa gave the Neum region to the Ottoman Empire to ensure that it would not border on the encroaching Venetian Republic.

The fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina border must be crossed to reach the southernmost region of Croatia has caused the Croatian Government to plan a bridge from Klek to Pelješac to circumvent the area. Since this could potentially violate Bosnia-Herzegovinian rights under the International Law of the Sea, these plans have been put on hold until a mutually satisfactory solution can be reached.^{[citation needed]}

Neum is planned to be a freight port. There are plans to build a real seaport, rail and a motorway and thus the Croatian bridge must have a high clearance according to the view of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main freight port for Bosnia and Herzegovina today is Ploče (in Croatia) further north, which has a railway to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Subdivision

The municipality includes the town of Neum (municipal seat) and several villages:

Babin Do, Borut, Brestica, Broćanac, Brštanica, Cerovica, Cerovo, Crnoglav, Dobri Do, Dobrovo, Donji Drijen, Donji Zelenikovac, Dubravica, Duži, Glumina, Gornje Hrasno, Gradac, Hotanj Hutovski, Hutovo, Kiševo, Moševići, Prapratnica, Previš, Rabrani, Vinine and Žukovica.

Border crossings

Border crossing from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, north of Neum

Neum has two border crossing checkpoints with Croatia on the European route E65 or Adriatic Highway which connects the two parts of Croatia's Dalmatian coast. Neum 1 is located to the north-west of the city, with the Klek border checkpoint on the Croatian side. Neum 2 is located to the south-east, with the Croatian border checkpoint at Zaton Doli.

History

Early history

In 1399, the Dubrovnik Republic (Ragusa) acquired Neum from Zahumlje, and was added to the territories in the possession of the city. In 1699, Dubrovnik relinquished control of the region of Klek–Neum to the Ottoman Empire at the Treaty of Karlowitz following the Great Turkish War. It gave the Turkish army access to the sea, but just as important to Dubrovnik, it gave them a protection from the Republic of Venice. Neum was under Ottoman control for 179 years until 1878, when Bosnia and Herzegovina came under Austro-Hungarian rule. Neum then joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) as a part of a number entities between 1919 and 1992 (when Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence). For a time when in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it was part of the Banovina of Croatia (1939 to 1941).

Future

The only Herzegovinian road reaching Neum

Building a seaport is expected to have a positive impact on towns economy, social and cultural life. As of 2010, Bosnians do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen countries. The normal route when driving between Neum and other cities of Bosnia is through Croatia (roads D8 and E73), as the road inside Herzegovina is curvy and narrow.

Climate

Neum has warm summers and mild winters.

The average sea temperature ranges from 13 °C (55 °F) in January to 28 °C (82 °F) in July and August. Popular activities include swimming and sun bathing, beach-going, boating, and various other water-sports.

Demographics

The municipality of Neum shrank in size from 1971 to 1991; it had 4,781 residents in 1971, and decreased to 4,268 twenty years later. According to the 1991 census, 87.6% of the residents are Croats, 4.9% Serbs and other nationalities. The actual town of Neum had 1,993 residents in 1991, with a higher (91%) proportion of Croats.

Culture

Girls in folk costumes from Neum

Neum celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Good Health as its municipal day. As part of the celebrations, Neum hosts the Music Festival Etnofest Neum. The town also hosts the Neum Animated Film Festival.^[2]

The linđo is traditionally danced in the Neum region.^[3]

Neum is home to local branches of the cultural organizations Matica hrvatska and HKD Napredak.^[4][5]

Sport

Waterpolo court in Neum

Neum has a water polo club VK Jadran Neum, which is a member of the Croatian Water Polo Federation.

Neum gallery

• 

  Adriatic coast of Bosnia-Herzegovina

• 

  View of Neum Bay

• 

  Historical tombsstones Stećci from medieval Bosnia in Neum

• 

  Resorts at the coast

• 

  Klek peninsula

• 

  View of Neum

See also

• Sutorina
• Dubrovnik Highlands
• Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bosnia and Herzegovina–Croatia relations

References

1. ^ (Bosnian) Bosnian Federal Office of Statistics 2009
2. ^ Neum Animated Film Festival
3. ^ 50. Split Summer
4. ^ Matica hrvatska
5. ^ HKD Napredak

External links

• Future Port of Neum
• Bosnian Border Police
• Neum city portal / Neumski gradski portal
• Official website of Neum (In Croatian and English)
• Neum City info
• Neum City info
• Info and accommodation in Neum

Coordinates: 42°55′N 17°37′E / 42.917°N 17.617°E / 42.917; 17.617