About Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is the heart shaped country in the middle of the former Yugoslavia. It is bordered by Croatia to the north and west and by Serbia and Montenegro to the south and east. It is here that civilisations met, clashed, and now unite east with west.

The name Bosnia dates back to Roman times. There are several theories as to where the name came from but it is a common belief that Bosna, from bosana, meaning water (Bosnia’s most plentiful resource), was named after its abundant fwater rivers, streams and springs. Herzegovina was named after the last Duke of Hum, Herceg Stjepan, who was the last ruler from the Bosnian aristocrat family Kosača before the Ottomans invaded. Herzegovina literally means ‘of the Duke’s’ or ‘belonging to the Duke.’ Bosnia and Herzegovina is often shortened to BiH due to its rather long name.