Borovci is a village near

Metković Metković () is a town in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the river Neretva and on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Climate Since records began in 1997, the highest temper ...

in the

Kula Norinska Kula Norinska is a village and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southeastern Croatia. Geography The municipality is situated on the northern border of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It borders the City of Ploče, the City of Opu ...

municipality with a population of 29 ( 2021 census).

Geography

Borovci is in a long and – wide

polje A polje, also called karst polje or karst field, is a large flat plain found in karstic geological regions of the world, with areas usually in the range of 5–400 km2 (2–154 sq mi). The name derives from the Slavic languages, ...

that lies in a northwestern-southeasterly direction. The altitude is . The polje has little

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

. It is surrounded by hills, Tikvina and Gradina from the northeast, and Rujnica from the southeast.

Archaeology and architecture

Stećci

There is a medieval necropolis with stećci in Zanoga, southeast of Borovci. 44 stone blocks are north and west of the stone pile. There are mostly undecorated coffins. A necropolis is also in Mravnici, near Zanoga. They are decorated with the

star and crescent The conjoined representation of a star and a crescent is used in various historical contexts, including as a prominent symbol of the Ottoman Empire, and in contemporary times, as a national symbol by some countries, and by some Muslims as a sym ...

Medieval Vratar fort

Near today's village of Vratar is a five-sided medieval fort with two

towers A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, on Gradina, at an altitude of . It was built in the 15th century and is a cultural good of the Republic of Croatia.

Parish Church of st. Nicholas

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

was first mentioned by the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Lišnjić in 1672 when he said that the church is "complete, but poorly equipped". The church was built in two phases. During works on the church in 1997 remains of the first phase's wallsm built in a

romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

, were found. Experts think it was originally built in the 13th century. In 1779

Fabijan Blašković ordered the church to be expanded to meet the needs of the increasing number of inhabitants. The expansion only happened in 1858 during the time of pastor Marko Marušić. The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

was built in 1865 and the roof was tiled in the beginning of the 20th century.

Chapel of Our Lady of Health

The

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

is near the parish. The chapel was originally built in 1759 and was named the Chapel of st.

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

. With the monetary help of

Croatian Americans Croatian Americans or Croat Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Croatian ancestry. In 2012, there were 414,714 American citizens of Croat or Croatian descent living in the United States as per revised 2010 United States Census ...

from Borovci,

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

Mijo Ivandić expanded the chapel and dedicated it to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. He changed the dedication because there had already been a church of st. Ante in Nova Sela. Kapela Gospe od Zdravlja Borovci

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, its population was 30.

Education

The first public school in Borovci was established on 1 October 1896. 70 pupils enrolled in it and the opening was celebrated. The school operated until 31 August 1968, except in wartime. It closed down because of the decreased number of children. Pupils from Borovci have since attended the school in Nova Sela.

References

{{Settlements in the Kula Norinska municipality Populated places in Dubrovnik-Neretva County