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International conference taking place on the consequences of disappearance of the Bosnian Kingdom

MOSTAR, October 24 (FENA) – A two-day international academic conference titled “Consequences of the Fall of the Bosnian Kingdom” began on Thursday in Mostar. The event focuses on the aftermath of the fall of medieval Bosnia and Hum into Ottoman hands. One of the organizers, the Croat Cultural Society (HKD) ‘Napredak’, has declared this year the “Year of Queen Katarina” in honor of the 600th anniversary of her birth.

The president of the HKD Napredak, Nikola Čiča, emphasized the importance of the conference not only because of its historical significance but also for its contribution to understanding contemporary challenges.

Čiča stated that by gaining better insight into these pivotal moments in the history of the Bosnian Kingdom, we can more effectively address future challenges.

He also highlighted the participation of 29 presenters from eight European countries.

“They will critically assess the consequences of the major upheaval that brought a new civilization to the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving lasting impacts visible even today. These are reflected not only in the identities that developed in this region but also in the social and political repercussions that still affect Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Čiča said.

Dijana Pinjuh, head of the History Department at the University of Mostar’s Faculty of Philosophy, stated that the conference would provide new perspectives and enrich current knowledge about Queen Katarina and the events following the fall of Bosnia and the Bosnian Kingdom.

Vinicije Lupis, head of the Dubrovnik branch of the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, expressed his satisfaction with being invited to the conference. He recalled publishing a paper on the relics of Saint Luke in 1997, which facilitated the relics’ return to the Franciscan Monastery in Jajce in 2015.

“That year, we completed the distribution of the relics. The relics had been kept in a monastery in Ston, where Queen Katarina, while fleeing, entrusted them to the Franciscans. The reliquary was commissioned by Boniface Drakulica, a prominent Croatian Franciscan who served three times as Custodian of the Holy Land and restored the Holy Sepulchre,” Lupis explained.

He stressed the importance of revisiting such topics and gathering new insights. Conferences like this, according to Lupis, help consolidate these findings and present them to the public, especially in the context of the still-unfinished processes of national integration for certain peoples. He pointed out that Croats consider Queen Katarina both their queen and the Queen of Bosnia and reminded that many Croat settlements from Gradišće to Italy originated from the flight from Ottoman occupation.

“Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the ethnic composition of the Croat people took shape as we know it today,” Lupis added.

Associate Professor Marinko Marić from the University of Dubrovnik spoke about part of Katarina’s life, specifically her escape from Bosnia and refuge in Dubrovnik in 1463.

“Dubrovnik maintained friendly relations with the Kosača family and the royal family, but it was also under Ottoman control. As a result, they had to carefully balance between the Ottomans and the Kosača and Tomašević families. Katarina stayed in Dubrovnik for four months, alternating between the city and nearby islands,” Marić explained.
Željko Peković, a professor at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Split, highlighted the restoration of the Old Bridge in Mostar, during which traces of earlier urban structures and bridges were discovered, including the earliest crossings over the Neretva River.

“Initially, it was a cable car, followed by a suspension and wooden bridge, and in 1566, the stone bridge was built, which we preserved in a replica today,” Peković noted.

He added that the Neretva River divides the area of Herzegovina, creating a natural barrier, and people and goods have always needed to cross it, either in the south near Počitelj or in the north near Konjic.

“In the middle of Herzegovina, where the riverbanks are relatively close, the earliest crossing appears to have been a cable car. Archaeological research uncovered elements of a suspension and wooden bridge, with wooden parts precisely dated to the 11th, 13th, and 14th centuries,” Peković elaborated.

The two-day conference is organized by HKD Napredak and the Institute for Culture and Tradition of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with co-organizers including the University of Mostar’s Faculty of Philosphy, the University of Split’s Faculty of Philosphy, and the Institute for Migration Studies in Zagreb.

The conference is sponsored by the Croat Academy of Sciences and Arts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with media sponsorship by the Federal News Agency FENA.