Prebilovci ( sr-cyrl, Пребиловци) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, near the city of

Čapljina Čapljina ( cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea. The rive ...

(Чапљина). Prebilovci was first mentioned in the 15th century. The village has a population of roughly around 50 inhabitants. Prebilovci is located in the Čapljina

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, which makes up one of the nine

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Herzegovina-Neretva Canton The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (;) ) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The canton mainly comprises the Neretva river valley area and parts of Herzegovina west of Mostar, its administrativ ...

. The village is also located near the

Nature Park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

and

Bird Reserve A bird reserve (also called ornithological reserve) is a wildlife refuge designed to protect bird species. Like other wildlife refuges, the main goal of a reserve is to prevent species from becoming endangered or extinct. Typically, bird species in ...

Hutovo Blato Hutovo Blato is a nature reserve and bird reserve A bird reserve (also called ornithological reserve) is a wildlife refuge designed to protect bird species. Like other wildlife refuges, the main goal of a reserve is to prevent species from becom ...

(5 km from Čapljina). Since 1995, Hutovo Blato has been protected as a nature park by the Public Enterprise Hutovo Blato.

Population

1991 census

Total: 174 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

- 171 (98.27%) *

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

- 1 (0.57%) * others and unknown - 2 (1.14%)

2013 census

Total : 57 *

: 57.

History

The name of the village, Prebilovci, first emerged sometime around the 15th century, and is believed to have come from the old family of Pribilović. In the Serb Orthodox cemetery and in some other locations too, there are many beautifully carved out stone graves, probably of

bogomils Bogomilism (; ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic, dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Peter I in the 10th century. I ...

from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

.Gelcich, Mon. Rag., Libri Ref. IV, 172 There is also an old grave which is believed to have belonged to a certain Stjepan Pribilović. Today the name Pribilovci is also more frequently used for the village. Before the outbreak of the

Second World War In Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned among Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attack ...

, the village was made up of

and a few

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

families as well. The present population is primary made up of Serbs, ever since the war drew to a close, when the Bosniaks left their homes or were expelled because of the ethnic tensions. The people acted in revenges for atrocities committed against their women and children. Few villages in Herzegovina have witnessed these kinds of horrors during the world war two persecution and genocide of Serbs.

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on 6 August 1941, Croatian forces lead the Prebilovci Massacre. Some 650 women and children were taken away from their homes, after which they were moved to a place called

Šurmanci Šurmanci ( sr-cyrl, Шурманци) is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, the village is located in the Municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, municipality of Čapljina and Parish Medjugorje. History and peop ...

, where they were later thrown to death into natural pits around that area (the most infamous being Golubinka pit), together with 1,300 other Serbs living in the Čapljina and Mostar municipalities.

1990s war

The village was attacked again in 1992, with memorial and remains to the Prebilovci Massacre's victims being destroyed.

References

External links

Prebilovci Site I
-
Prebilovci Site II
- {{Authority control Villages in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Populated places in Čapljina Serb communities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina