Travel Guide Gacko

Gacko/Гацко (pronounced "gatsko") has a population of about 5,700, 95% of which are Bosnian-Serbs. It is the capital of the municipality of Gacko (population 9,700), within the Bosnian Serb Republic. The town is 19 km northwest of the Krstac border crossing with Montenegro, 44 km north of Bileća, 60 km southwest of Foča(via the Sutjeska National Park), and 88 km southeast of Mostar. Bus connections: 10/day with Bileća and Trebinje, 8/day with Foča, 3/day with Mostar, other connections with Banja Luka, Istočno Sarajevo, Serbia and Montenegro.Dominated by the cooling tower of its power plant, Gacko is not really an incentive to stop on the road along Montenegro between Trebinje and Foča. But it is a rather rich town. Located in a karst plain, at 940 m altitude, it has one of the largest reserves of lignite in Europe (370 million tons). This black gold ensures almost full employment in the region. However, if the surroundings are rather pretty with Mount Lebršnik (1,985 m above sea level), to the northeast, the city itself is without charm. As is often the case in the Bosnian Serb Republic, it is haunted by ghosts: those of the Bosnian inhabitants (46% of the population in 1991) massacred or deported during the last war. Today, Gacko proudly remembers its Serbian lords of the 14th century and the first revolt against the Nazis, on June 6, 1941, launched here by the Serbian clergy a month before Tito's.