PREDOLAC – ŠIBANICA

Predolac – Šibanica

(prehistoric hillfort and mounds, fortification architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries). The beginning of the stairs below the cemetery.

The earliest remains indicating the settlement of the location where the present-day city of Metković later arose come from the Predolac hill, from the Bronze and Iron Ages. This is evidenced by the remains of a stone embankment that had a defensive function and a large number of fragments of ceramic vessels, which have now been largely destroyed by the construction of the city cemetery on the site of which this prehistoric settlement probably stood. A stone burial mound is also associated with the settlement, which is still preserved and probably dates from the same period, and served the same purpose as several other destroyed ones for the burial of the deceased. Predolac and the neighboring and higher Šibanica hill became important during the Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of the 19th century and during the 20th century, as evidenced by the system of bunkers and tunnels, some of which were interconnected, and which were built by the Italian fascist army during World War II. In addition, the network of hiking trails that connected Predolac and Šibanica has been preserved and is largely still in use today. It dates back to the 19th century and the Austrian rule, and largely from the Second World War and the construction of bunkers and tunnels.