Development of sports and other forms of physical activities in Herzegovina

It is known that throughout history the people of Herzegovina have been good and skilled fighters and competitors, especially in wrestling, boxing, throwing maces, spears and knives, fencing, etc. Those fighting skills and various competitions were traditional activities of Herzegovinians and were nurtured, preserved and passed down from generation to generation. In the Middle Ages, in the area of today's Herzegovina, physical activities were nurtured and practiced, as well as in neighboring areas and countries. During the Turkish occupation (1463-1878) there was a halt in their development, while during the Austro-Hungarian occupation (1878-1918) sports and other physical activities and competitions began to be practiced more intensively. Numerous sports and other physical activities appeared and began to develop, such as: athletics, cycling, equestrian sports, roller-skating, bowling, hunting, fencing, football, climbing, swimming, wrestling, diving, sokolism, tennis, etc. In the Kingdom of SCS/Yugoslavia (1918-1941), this development became more intensive in terms of content and institutions. In addition to the already mentioned, also began the development of other sports, such as: basketball, folk sports, volleyball, skiing, archery, etc. After the end of the Second World War, sport gained full momentum in Herzegovina, especially in the form of institutional organization. The subject of this research is sport and other physical activities in the territory of Herzegovina, with the aim of making an overview of their origin and development up to the most recent times. During writing historical method was used.