Neum
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s only town on the sea, on a strip of coast that splits Croatia in two. The strip began in 1699 as an Ottoman buffer between the republics of Venice and Dubrovnik, and survived every border change since. In 2022 Croatia opened a bridge so that its drivers could go around it.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 30 September 2026Suggest a correction
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A buffer between two republics
For centuries Dubrovnik, then the city-republic of Ragusa, kept its independence by manoeuvring between Venice, which held the rest of Dalmatia, and the Ottoman Empire, with which it traded.[4] The peace signed at Karlowitz in 1699 set up a corridor between the Venetian and Ragusan republics that was then handed to the Ottoman Empire, and Neum grew up as a port on it in the 18th century.[1]
Neum stayed Ottoman until 1878, when it passed to Austria-Hungary, which attached it to the Makarska district of Dalmatia even though it was formally still Ottoman. After the Second World War it became part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]
From internal line to border
In Yugoslavia the strip was just a line between two republics. When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991 those lines became international borders, and Bosnia kept its small outlet to the sea, which cut Croatia in two.[3] During the Bosnian war of 1992–95 Croatian forces held the Neum area, and under the Dayton agreement of 1995 it is in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]
Today Neum lives on tourism, with hotels and holiday homes.[1] About 90,000 Croatians, including the people of Dubrovnik, were cut off from the rest of their country by the strip, and drivers on the coast road had to cross into Bosnia and back out again about 9 km later.[3][2]
The bridge around it
With Croatia due to join the Schengen area, where travellers are checked on entering and leaving, a border blip at Neum threatened long queues in summer.[2] On 26 July 2022 Croatia opened a 2.4 km bridge from its mainland to the Pelješac peninsula, letting traffic reach Dubrovnik without passing through Bosnia.[3]
In Neum, reactions were mixed: a roadside waiter feared that losing the passing tourists would finish his business, while a café owner hoped easier access to the coast would bring more Bosnians down to the sea.[2]
Timeline
1699
Karlowitz
A corridor between Venice and Ragusa is handed to the Ottomans.[1]
1878
Austria-Hungary
Neum passes to Austro-Hungarian rule.[1]
1991
Yugoslavia breaks up
Neum’s strip becomes an international border.[3]
1995
Dayton
Neum stays in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]
202226 July 2022
Pelješac bridge
Croatian traffic can bypass Neum.[3]
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Sources
- [1]
- [2]Bypassing Bosnia: The Massive Bridge Poised To Transform Balkan Travel · Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty · 2022
- [3]Croatia opens long-awaited bridge bypassing Bosnia · Al Jazeera (news agencies) · 26 July 2022
- [4]Dubrovnik · Encyclopaedia Britannica
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.