Gacko

Gacko is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inhabitants, while the municipality has 8,990 inhabitants.

WWW Official Site

Geography

The municipality covers an area of, making it one of the largest municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The town is near the state border with Montenegro.

History

Middle Ages

In the 14th century the region was governed by the powerful Vojinović family.
In 1359, veliki čelnik Dimitrije controlled the region.

Ottoman period

The rebels were defeated at the field of Gacko. This was ultimately due to the lack of foreign support.

Modern history

Austro-Hungarian authorities took it over in 1878, a decision which was made at the Berlin Congress. In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina sparking the Bosnian Crisis, which eventually led to World War I.
The Croatian fascist Ustaše movement committed the Gacko massacre on 4 June 1941. In response, on 6 June 1941 the rebels from Gacko under the command of Orthodox priest Radojica Perišić started the uprising against the Independent State of Croatia known as the June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina. The first Partisan battalion established in Gacko at the end of 1941 was named "6th June" in honor of the first date of the uprising. During the period after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gacko municipality proclaimed 6 June as their holiday in honor of the beginning of the uprising and held public ceremonies on 6 June named the Day of Gacko.
When the German and Italian Zones of Influence were revised on 24 June 1942, Gacko fell in, administered civilly by Croatia but militarily by Italy.

Settlements

Aside from the town of Gacko, the municipality includes the following settlements:

Economy

The Gacko coal mine and thermoelectric powerplant is located in the municipality, and is also the largest employer in the area.
The following table gives a preview of the total number of registered people employed in professional fields per their core activity :

Professional field	Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	28
Mining and quarrying	682
Manufacturing	31
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	1,246
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	129
Construction	230
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	155
Transportation and storage	78
Accommodation and food services	75
Information and communication	16
Financial and insurance activities	21
Real estate activities	-
Professional, scientific and technical activities	15
Administrative and support service activities	2
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security	183
Education	185
Human health and social work activities	79
Arts, entertainment and recreation	39
Other service activities	36
Total	3,230

Sports

The local football club, FK Mladost Gacko, plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska.
Volleyball teams, both men's and women's, are among the most successful in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the women's volleyball team being vice champions multiple times, also winning the Cup of Republika Srpska once.