Inhabiting
high, isolated areas was the tradition of the first settlers
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vlasic was not only home to old
Illyrian highlanders and followers of the medieval Bosnian
Church but also to a large shepherd community that continues
to live off the fertile lands across the vast plateau of
Vlasic Mountain.
The
lives of the highlanders were dramatically affected by the
recent conflict and many of them were forced to abandon the
lifestyles that they and their ancestors had enjoyed for
centuries.
However, much of that life has now returned to Vlasic and
the highlanders have resumed their age-old customs of
sheep-raising and cheese production.