Holiday apartment in Šuica: Karst River and Cultural Heritage

The Šujica Plateau lies at an altitude of about 950 to 1,000 metres. The landscape area includes the Šujičko Basin, one of the five named geographical areas of the municipality of Tomislavgrad. The Šujica River is a karst river: it flows through the Šujičko polje and the Duvanjsko polje before disappearing underground again in the direction of Buško blato. Elevation, karst waters and historical traces give Šuica a clearly recognisable profile.

Nature

The Šujica River forms numerous meanders through the Šujičko polje and has a calm, meandering course. Its corridor provides a habitat for wetland birds and birds of prey. These include ducks, herons, gulls, peregrine falcons and hawks. The bird species mentioned are associated with the river corridor and complement the picture of a landscape in which the watercourse and open spaces are closely interconnected.

Culture

The Chapel of Saint Jerome is located on Mount Rajkovača in the Šujica parish. A memorial cross was also erected on Rajkovača in 2003. It commemorates the Šujičans who fell in the First and Second World Wars and the Homeland War. Traditionally, a Mass is held there on the second Sunday in August.

The parish church of Saint Anthony is part of Šuica’s religious and artistic heritage. It features stained-glass windows by the academic painter Mate Ljubičić and Stations of the Cross by the academic painter Nada Falout. On 13 June, a solemn Mass was celebrated in the Šuica parish for the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua. It was preceded by a procession; the Mass began in front of the outdoor altar in the churchyard.

History

About 1 km downstream from Šuica stands the 17.2-metre-long stone Galečki Bridge, also known as the Rimski Bridge. It has five arches. The bridge is attributed to the 1st century, when the area was under Roman rule, and is described as being about 2,000 years old.

The Roman transport landscape is also connected with the locality: in Roman times, a road from Salona, present-day Solin near Split, into the interior of the Roman province of Dalmatia ran through the area of the Šuica settlement.

The Crkvina archaeological site associated with Šujica contains stone ornamental columns from a church with floral motifs. The Crkvina site in Bogdašići also includes the remains of an early Christian basilica and is associated with the remains of an Illyrian settlement. Thus, different historical references exist side by side at this site without belonging to a single era.

Experiences

The Šujički Half Marathon runs from Kupres to Šujica. It is referred to as the “oldest half marathon in Bosnia and Herzegovina”; its first edition took place in 2007. The connection between Kupres and Šujica is thus documented in an explicitly named running event.

Other places

For further pages about localities, continue reading here: Livno, Drvar, Donje Peulje, Blažuj, Kupres, Tomislavgrad.

For the overarching travel overview: Canton 10: Livno, Kupres and Buško jezero.