Heart shaped Bosnia-Herzegovina is located in the centre of south-eastern Europe. This is where eastern and western civilisations came together, at times clashed, but more often than not enriched, reinforced and strengthened each other all through its long and interesting history.

The entire country is only just over 50,000 square kilometres in size. Bosnia covers the country’s northern and central part, while Herzegovina covers the south. Its name is thought to originate from ‘bosana’, an old Indo-European word meaning water and the ancient region of Hum in the south, which was later named Herzegovina after it was invaded and conquered by the Ottomans.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is a strikingly beautiful country with a huge range of landscapes, cultures, traditions and people. Facing the Adriatic Sea, the country is neighboured by Croatia in the north and west and Serbia-Montenegro in the south-east. Its land and air connections are excellent, making Bosnia-Herzegovina easily accessible by most means of transport.

The capital city, Sarajevo, is located in one of the country’s most mountainous regions and enjoys a number of festivals in addition to Olympic style skiing opportunities on the Jahorina and Bjelasnica Mountains.

Many of the older hotels built in the socialist era have undergone renovation and often provide high quality accommodation and a cheaper alternative to the more expensive modern facilities. The smaller hotels offer a nice family atmosphere and guests are often invited to drink coffee or wine on the terrace with the hosts. Local owners are usually very friendly and will do everything they can to help you on your trip.

Dominated by a mountainous and hilly landscape and traversed by major rivers to the north and east, Bosnia-Herzegovina enjoys a climate as changeable as the rest of the former Yugoslav confederation, with very cold winters and hot summers. The best time to visit is from May to October, when the weather is at its warmest and driest. A jumper will come in handy in the evenings, even in summer as they can be chilly. The winters are very cold and often rainy, snowy and incredibly windy. 

The climate in Bosnia-Herzegovina varies with each province. Herzegovina and the southern area has a Mediterranean climate with an average annual precipitation of 600 to 800mms, while the central and northern area of Bosnia have an Alpine climate with an average annual precipitation of 1,500 to 2,500mms. Average temperatures in Sarajevo range from -5°C in January to 20°C in July.

The earliest inhabitants of Bosnia were the Neolithic people who were chased out by the Indo-European tribes (the Illyrians). In the 4^th and 5^th centuries BC, a flood of Celts arrived. In some places the Celtics intermingled with the Illyrians, while in other places they drove them out.

The Romans invaded Bosnia in 9 BC which led to many Latin-speaking people settling in the region and an increase in Christianity. In the 6^th century AD, the emperor Justinian re-conquered the area for the Byzantine Empire. In this same century, the Slavs and the Eurasian Avars invaded the eastern Roman Empire and settled in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In the 9^th and 10^th centuries AD, the kingdoms of Serbia and Croatia divided their control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the following years, Bosnia-Herzegovina became a major dispute between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Byzantine Empire. In the 12^th century, as a result of political disorder, Bosnia became an independent state. From 1254 to the 14^th century, Bosnia experienced a fight for power between the Subic and the Kotromanic families. In 1463, Bosnia officially fell and it was followed by Herzegovina in 1482.

The Ottomans ruled the country from 1463 onwards and brought about several socio-political changes to the country. After four centuries, the Ottoman rule over Bosnia came to an end. This was the result of agrarian turmoil in the province in 19^th century, which led to a peasant uprising in 1875 involving several other Balkan states forcing the Ottomans to relinquish control of the country to Austria-Hungary in 1878. Bosnia was ruled by Austria-Hungary until 1918. During WWI, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo.

The end of the war saw Bosnia being incorporated into the South Slav kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later t become known as Yugoslavia. During WWII, Nazi armed forces invaded the kingdom of Yugoslavia. Bosnia was then ceded to Croatia, a puppet-state for the Nazis. They went on to round up and persecute the country’s Jews. In 1943, the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia held a conference that re-established Bosnia-Herzegovina as a republic within the Yugoslavian Federation in its Ottoman borders. 

Bosnia-Herzegovina was declared autonomous in 1991. In 1992, Yugoslavia held a referendum for independence, which was boycotted by the Bosnia-Herzegovina Serbs. A UN Protection force was deployed to the country in 1992, as Serbia along with the Bosnian Serbs launched an armed assault on the Croats and Bosnians. Much blood flowed during these two years.

In 1993, Lord Owen brought a peace agreement dividing Bosnia-Herzegovina into three ethnical parts. But this only led to further conflict between Bosnian and Croat units over territory. In March 1994, the fighting factions signed an agreement, which reduced the number of warring parties from three to two. The bloodshed finally ended in 1995 with the Dayton Agreement. The presidents of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia signed the Dayton agreement, bringing peace to the region. This agreement also sanctioned the division between the Muslim and Croat groups of the country.