Livno, Bosnia Overview

Brief History (until the collapse of Yugoslavia) -
The Livno area has been populated since approximately 2000 BC. The first known occupants are the Illyrian tribe of Dalmations. It was conquered by Romans around 120 BC. Slavs are assumed to have arrived in the 7th century, where the Illyrians assimilated with the Slav culture and slowly lost their language and customs.

Livno celebrates its founding as being September 28. 892 AD. At the time, it was the center of the medieval Kingdom of Croatia. From the 12th to 13th century, Livno was part of the Bosnian Kingdom. In the 14th century, the Ottoman Turks conquered Bosnia and thus controlled Livno for the next 400 years. In the late 19th century, Livno was occupied by the Austro-Hungarian empire. In 1918 it was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Culture -
Though Livno is a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatians make up the majority of the population. Culturally, Livno is on the crossroads between Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.

Geography -
Livno sits in the Livanjsko polje and has a small river, the Bistrica, which flows through the city. A polje is a karstic field, or plain. Karst is a geological formation shaped of the dissoltion of layer(s) of bedrock). The polje that Livno sits in is one of the largest in the world and is surrounded by 4 mountains to the south, east, west, and north. There are major two lakes -  one in the southeast, and one in the northwest. Livno is located in the northeastern section of the field beneath mount Basajkovac. There are several historical archaeological sites, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, mountains, and caves within the area. Livno is also situated ideally for hang gliding.

Potential Places to Explore
1) The Old Bridge on Duman - Duman is the source of the Bristrica. The old bridge is a national historic site.
2) The Firdus and Pirija (also known as the Smailagich) Tower - The only surviving tower from medieval times.
3) Franciscan Museum and Gallery Gorica
4) Traditional wool processing cottages and mills
5) Church at Gorica
6) Monument to King Tomislav
7) Administrative buildings from the Austro-Hungarian period
8) Illyiran ruins