Traditions and Cultural Life
Herzegovina, likewise the whole country, is a land where eastern and western civilisations have always had to live together, which has thus created a multicultural society whose aspects can still be breathed in the air.
The population is of Illyrian origins and it was concurrent with the arrival of the Roman conquerors and under the influence of the Roman Empire that most of the people converted to the Christian religion. Later on, other peoples landed in the country, such as Slovenians and Avars, who thus contributed to create the melting pot that today distinguishes Bosnia- Herzegovina.
The root of the word “Bošnjak” derives from “Bošnjanin” (in Latin: Bosniensis), which once mentioned the inhabitants of the Medieval Bosnian Reign, without any reference to their ethnic origin. During the Ottoman period, the name was substituted by the present “Bošnjak” (Bosnian).
More than 95% of the population is divided into three main nationalities: Bosnians, Croatians and Serbs, which are all equally mentioned in the Constitution, so that not one of these is considered a minority. The official languages are Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian; the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina uses the Latin alphabet while the Serbian Republic uses the Cyrillic one. The only difference between these three nationalities is religion: the Croatians are mostly Catholics, the Bosnians are mainly Muslim, and the Serbs are orthodox Christian. The country also witnesses the presence of Jewish groups (of Sephardic origins), people from Montenegro, Slovenia, Rom and others.
Mostar is the administrative centre of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, as well as the cultural, geographic and environmental heart of the entire Herzegovina. You can feel its vitality while walking through its crowded city streets, by visiting its theatres, cultura centres, housemuseums and galleries, by talking to its inhabitants, going to its Traditions and Cultural Life and attending its shows all over the country.
