 The History of Blagaj |
The ancient town of Blagaj, near Mostar, bears witness to the turbulent and rich history of the region more than any other one. The region settled already in 7000 BC was a home to the Neolithic being whose signs are still to be seen in the Green Cave (Zelena pecina). Many years later the Illyrians were replaced by Romans and a fortress was built on the ruins of their settlement during the reign of the emperor Justinian. The emperor Constantin Porfirogenet mentioned the fortress in his documents as a settlement of Bona.
Blagaj was at the apogee of its power during the reign of Duke Stjepan (Herceg Stjepan after whom Herzegovina was named).
It was the residence of many Bosnian rulers and the centres of political affairs in the medieval Bosnia. His stone fortress dating from the 15th century, the famous Šcepan Tower (Šcepan kula), is a witness of the glorious past of this land.
Beside the historical context, there are numerous natural curiosities in Blagaj. The most famous one is the spring of the Buna - one of the biggest and the strongest springs in Europe with the water flowing at of 43,000 liters a second. The river springs out of a beautiful cave, but the most interesting is the story of its name. The legend says that once upon a time there was a giant called Bunja or Buna. He had three heads: a head of eagle, of wolf and of human. There were 72 other giants who lived with him, but only the king dared speaking to him. One day, and the legend does not explain why, Buna and his friends rebelled against the king who ordered all giants to be knocked in a huge barrel which was hidden on the bottom of the Blagaj lake. God knows how many years they spent there until Venus herself helped them. She poured the water of the lake on neighbouring villages and when she saw the barrel, she opened it and the giants and Buna were free again. While all other giants left, Buna settled in the cave from which the river flew.
Near the river, named after a giant being in love with nature there is one of the oldest Dervish monasteries (tekija) in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The tekija of the Halvet Dervish order acts very impressively with a huge rock which hangs over it so that the rain drops never fall directly of the tekija. The tekija was founded after the fall of Herzegovina under the Turkish reign in 1466 and there are even some clues that it was founded by a famous Turkish sheikh Sari Satluk.
The inhabitants of Blagaj have been connected with the tekija and the nature around it in a special way.
The abundance of greenery, water and the sun presents a ideal place for a pleasant stay and vacation during the whole year. A favourable climate has created a natural domicile for birds, 169 species of birds, and the inhabitants of Blagaj are especially proud of hawks and eagles from the family of griffon vultures which settle the "hollow, red and craggy rock which rises to the blue sky" as a famous Bosnian chronicler Evlija Celebija used to write.
This rich treasury of archaeology, architecture and culture is a sufficient motive for you to visit Blagaj and to learn how this region that has not been damaged at all is the perfect illustration of a natural phenomenon managing to connect economy and ecology in the best way.
| The History of "NORFISH" |
Everything began in 1951, in Tito's time, when a little fish pond with a spawning place was made about 200 meters from the spring of the Buna. Its function was the preserving of Blagaj endemic fish species, but also its raising. It was a hard pioneer duty for fishermen who performed everything manually. These are the ones we have to thank for the development of fishing in this region. They contributed to the fact that nowadays we have a big and prosperous fishing company.
Day after day, the fishpond has been expanding its capacities. In 1974 it got additional 6,000 square meters of space, which enabled the production of seven species of salmons. Since then we have insisted on an ecology raising process for our fishes. Therefore we supply the fishpond, built a half a kilometre downstream from the Buna spring, with the clean spring water through an underground piping system. The first facilities aimed at the food storage as well as at the freezing compartments for fish were built in this area.
In 1987 the first raising cage for Californian trouts, and carps was installed on the artificial lake of Salakovac. In two years we got to have more than 220 cages. All of that has enabled the fishing industry of Blagaj to become number one in the development of freshwater fish culture of former Yugoslavia.
| "NORFISH" today |
Since June 2000 the fishing industry of Blagaj has beamed as a new company "Norfish Blagaj" thanks to the investment of a Norwegian company "Norwegian Balkan Invest". That has enabled our company to educate the whole staff, from fishing workers to the management according to the best Norwegian companies standards. Norway is the leading country in producing, raising, processing and disposal of fish and fish products in the world. |
All facilities have been renovated and the workers have seen their working conditions improved. Moreover our raising technology completely matches European standards in this regard.
The fish farm of Salakovac runs one of the best fish processing technologies in Europe nowadays. This technology is the first one in the Balkans. "Norfish Blagaj" is number one in producing, processing and distributing fish in Bosnia-Herzegovina. By building a modern factory for the fish processing we have got new opportunities to present our products both on domestic and foreign markets.
The factory was built according to Norwegian standards that are keeping with the ecological standards defined by the European Union.
As we connect our domestic knowledge and skills old of 40 years to the modern Norwegian technology, we can proudly say that we are able to respond to all market demands.
The facilities of "Norfish" are situated on three locations.
In Blagaj, 200 meters from the Buna spring, there is a modern spawning place where the newest Norwegian accomplishments in producing roe and young fish are applied. The actual annual capacity of the spawning place amounts to 9,000,000 pieces.
In Blagaj too there are concrete ponds with an annual capacity of 250 tons of fish weighing from 200 to 300 grams.
On the Neretva River, on the road M-17 in the northern part of Mostar, there is a pond with cages with the capacity of 500 tons of fish of different weights. On this location you can also find the production of trouts from 300 grams to 2 kilograms including the trout with red flesh.
If you sometimes decide to visit Blagaj, a complete pleasure will await you after sightseeing if you drop in at the fish restaurant, which is famous for its Blagaj trout. There, you can get non-stop the fresh trout from the fishpond of "Norfish". The capacity of the restaurant is 100 inside seats and 250 outside seats, in the garden. If you want to organize a lunch in this ecology oasis, we are offering you tasty fish specialties at satisfactory prices.
If you are interested, we can offer you additionally the free tourist service of sightseeing natural and historical phenomena of this part of Herzegovina - the Buna spring, the Dervish monastery (tekija) and the fortress of Duke Stjepan. But if you are interested in the whole process of fish production according to strict ecology regulations, our personnel and experts will show you the production facilities of the fishing industry "Norfish".
Therefore, if the road brings you to Mostar, visit Blagaj, meet its hospitable inhabitants, see all its ancient monuments, but also its mystical tekija - we promise you will not regret it!
| The Products of "Norfish" |
The company "Norfish Blagaj" offers to its customers:
- Young fish of Californian trout: 10 - 150 pcs./kg
- Young fish of stream trout: 5 - 12 cm
- Californian trout for consumption with the following weight:
200 g - 2 kg (white flesh)
500 g - 2 kg (red flesh)
- Processed and cleaned Californian trout (red and white flesh):
200 g - 2kg fresh, packed with ice in synthetics fiber boxes of 5, 10 and 20 kg
200 g - 2 kg frozen, packed in vacuum nylon bags, in cartons of 10, 15 and 20 kg
- Fish fillets 700 g - 1,3 kg frozen, vacuum packed, in cartons of 10, 15 and 20 kg
- Fish cutlets 400 g - 1 kg frozen, vacuum packed, in cartons of 10, 15 and 20 kg.
NORFISH: The Norwegian know-how to fish the best of Bosnia! |
