Cycling event: Ciro Trail Trebinje - Bileća
Biciklistički klub “Hercegovac” iz Bileće u suradnji sa biciklističkim klubom “Vučji Zub” i udrugom “HerzegovinaBike” najavljuju biciklijadu “Ćirinom prugom Trebinje Bileća” koja će se održati u Nedelju, 12.10.2025. sa početkom u 10:00h iz Trebinja. Bitno je kazati kako je ovo prvi put da se Ćiro biciklijada vozi ovom dionicom i zasigurno je da će svi sudionici ostati oduševljeni. Mi iz organizacije sa nestrpljenjem očekujemo ovaj događaj.
And of course, that's not all, we have more surprises for you! Follow our posts!
The bike ride is realized with financial support Općine Bileća, tvrtke HT Eronet, Continental Tires, Škoda Apolo Mostar, Capriolo SC Mostar and agencije REDAH, and in order to promote "South Herzegovina and the Ćiro Narrow Gauge Railway".
- Datum: 12.10.2025.
- Departure time: 10:00 am
- Track length: 85 km
- Organizer: Bicycle clubs "Hercegovac" Bileća; "Wolf Tooth" and HerzegovinaBike Association
- Tel. +387 65 975 333
- e-mail: bkhercegovac@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BK_Hercegovac
- Facebook event:
Peta po redu Ćirina biciklijada u 2025 godini vodi nas od Trebinja do općine Bileća, stazom u dužini od 44km u jednom pravcu, dok ćemo u oba pravca nakupiti ćemo nekih 85km. Staza je lagana, sa mješavinom makadamske i asvaltnih dionica, te sa prelijepim krajolicima, tako da je pogodna za MTB, Treking i Gravel bicikle. Kao što smo kazali ovo jedna jako lijepa dionica, gdje srećemo velik broj Ćirinih stanica, vozimo se pored Bilećkog jezera uz prelijepe prizore na ovo jezero. Biciklijadu završavamo u Općini Bileća, gdje su domaćini priredili okrijepu i ručak za sve sudionike zbog čega su nam i potrebne Vaše prijave kako bi smo znali na koliko ljudi trebamo računati za obroke.
The return to Trebinje, the starting point of the bike ride, is individual or group, that is, according to personal preferences, because we return the same way we came.
PLEASE NOTE: The dates of the event are created at the beginning of the year and are of a tentative nature, and depend on several aspects, such as the weather forecast, the calendar of events in the area, etc. We confirm the exact date of the event one month before it takes place, and we create Facebook events and send notifications to all interested participants.
Hvala na razumjevanju.
Organizer
Biciklistički klub „Hercegovac“ Bileća osnovan je 27.09.2021. i trenutno broji 22 člana. Klub organizuje recreational rides in the wider area of Bileća, Herzegovina and Montenegro, and the club also competes in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it achieves notable results and wins medals. The club also organizes a bicycle ride along the Ćir railway from Trebinje to Bileća.
The goal of BK Hercegovac is to contribute to:
- development and improvement of cycling,
- development and improvement of mutual relations of its members in the spirit of sportsmanship and tolerance
- promoting the development of cycling, healthy life, sports in general, natural beauty.
- education in the form of professional texts, advice, equipment tests, driving techniques,
- organizing bicycle rides,
- organizing bicycle races,
- making new bike paths,
- help in promoting ecological awareness and environmental protection,
- strengthening sports ties and cooperation with other cycling clubs.
In achieving its goals, the Association performs the following activities:
- participates in cycling events in BiH and abroad,
- organizes and implements sports and other activities with the content of cycling sports,
- connects and approaches organizations of a similar orientation in the country and abroad,
- assistance to its members in sports and technical education,
- advocates for the improvement and popularization of cycling,
- promotes the bicycle as an ecological means of transport,
- stands for increasing the safety of cyclists in traffic.
The address of the club is Kralja Petra I Oslobodioca bb, Bileca, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 89230.
The association for the promotion of cycling "Hercegovina bicycling" was created as a result of the need to promote cycling in Herzegovina in a comprehensive way, with the desire to gather around it all relevant cycling employees and cycling clubs in order to jointly try to brand Herzegovina as a region desirable for cycling, and which would ultimately contribute to the popularization and massification of cycling, but also to the creation of preconditions for the development of cycle tourism, which in recent years in Europe, but also in the world, is increasingly expanding and becoming an important tourist branch.
Association HerzegovinaBike was founded on February 8, 2013. and gathers members of cycling clubs from Herzegovina. Since its foundation, the association, together with the ministries of resources (Tourism, Culture and Sports), has been actively promoting cycling as cycling tourism first, and then as sport, recreation and a way of life. So far, we have presented a number of projects of active cycling as a sport and recreation, of which we would like to highlight: Bicycle caravans of friendship "Mostar - Vukovar" which gathered over 1,000 cyclists from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Croatia, International bicycle road races "Hercegovina Classic", International multi-day the "Blidinje BIKE Festival" event, which gathers thousands of cyclists and tourists from several countries through a three-day organization, and she was also the holder of the project to mark the European Car-Free Day and organized several cycling events in urban areas. Association "Hercegovina Bicikl" gathers cycling clubs from the areas of Mostar, Široki Brijeg, Posušje, Grud, Drinovac, Ljubuški, Čapljina, Neum, Trebinje, Ravno, Stolac, Jablanica and Rama.
The association for the promotion of cycling "Hercegovina bicycling" together with REDAH participates in several projects related to the sports and tourism promotion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and independently implements the project "By bike through Herzegovina", which passed the competition of the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Firmaprojekt fund of the established from USAID and SIDA organizations. The association is also an active partner in the revitalization project of the Austro-Hungarian narrow-gauge railway, popularly called Ćiro, a project that has received worldwide positive attention and has been covered by many foreign media, and which connected Mostar and Dubrovnik via a bicycle route. Also, together with the West Herzegovina County Office for EU Integration, we implement and actively participate in the implementation of the "CYCLING RURAL" project, which aims to promote rural tourism through bicycle paths and cycle tourism offers. Furthermore, for several years now, the association, in cooperation with the Bicycle Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina and tourist associations, has been implementing a training project for cycle tourism guides, and together with the Regional Development Agency of Herzegovina "REDAH" has been implementing the "Bike Friendly" project in which we educate motels, restaurants and inns about cycle tourism. cyclists as guests and we assign them BikeFriendly tags.
Venue
Bileća is a municipality and a populated place in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The area of the municipality is 632.33 km2. It is administratively part of Republika Srpska. According to the 2013 population census, the municipality of Bileća has 11,536 inhabitants. The municipality of Bileća is a border municipality with Montenegro, in the north with Nevesinje and Gacko, in the west with Berkovići and Ljubinje and in the south with Trebinje.
Geography
Bileća is located in eastern Herzegovina. The altitude of the city area is 476 m. In the area of Bileća, the Mediterranean and continental-mountain climates meet. The relief is hilly, between which there are karst fields: Dabarsko, Fatničko, Plansko and Bilećko. South of Bileća is the source of the river Trebišnjica. In 1966, a hydroelectric power plant was built and one of the largest artificial reservoirs in the world was created, Lake Bilećko, which is 18 km long and 3–4 km wide. With the construction of the Grančarevo dam on the Trebišnjica river almost half a century ago, its tamed waters, poured into the Bilećko lake, covered the villages of Panik, Orah, Čepelica, Zadublje and Miruše. In addition to houses and estates, a rich cultural and historical heritage from the Roman era remained under Lake Bileć.
History
Illyrian and Roman times
The first traces of civilization in the area of Bileća municipality date back to the Neolithic, as evidenced by archaeological sites that are still insufficiently explored. Prehistoric tumuli, mounds and mounds, of which there are over 2,000 according to the latest research, clearly indicate the continuity and density of the population. Of special note is the tumulus from Plana, in which two helmets, twelve spears, a large number of fibulae and hairpins (also known from Glasinac) were found.
The southern parts of the municipality of Bileća entered the Roman state in 135 BC. after the subjugation of Ardijejaci and Plerej (they held the area between Popova polje and Boka Kotorska). Together with Trebinje, it was part of Epidaurus (Cavtat), the southernmost Roman colony on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, as its hinterland. From that time is the famous U-villa urbanu in Panik, the property of a rich Italian, around which a large building complex developed, the center of a vast latifundia (arable fields, pastures, forests). Other buildings also belonged to this villa, villa rustica on the Dracova side, on Potkućnice and next to Trebišnjica, and a number of other buildings, including cult ones (temple, mausoleum, tomb). On the mosaics and frescoes of the U-villa from the 3rd century, symbols of Christianity (Orpheus, Medusa) are present, so researchers consider these to be the first traces of Christianity in the interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The local Epichorian population continued to live in their wooden and dry-walled settlements in the karst fields and fields, slowly accepting Romanization.
To the east of the Daorsa tribe, which was located in the area of Stolac, was the Deremisti tribe, in the area of Dabarski, Fatnica and Planski polje, and probably also on the site of the present-day town of Bileć. An inscription typical of the southeastern Illyrian region was found in Fatnica. Relatively rich archeological and settlement elements from the Dabar area, Fatnica, Orahovica and Plana speak of significant population in Roman times as well. This is best confirmed by the urban settlement in Orahovice with construction remains (foundation walls, profiled fragments of the roof cornice of a monumental building, lots of bricks and tiles), which are located on an area of 700x400 meters.
Middle Ages
The first mention of Bileća as a populated place can be found in the documents of the Dubrovnik archive from 1286, when it is mentioned under the name Bilechia. Bileća is also mentioned in the same sources and under the same name in the 14th and 15th centuries as an important crossroads on the medieval caravan route. In a document dated September 8, 1388, it is pointed out that the army of Duke Vlatko Vuković severely defeated the Ottoman army under the command of Šahin Pasha in the field near Bileća, which is also considered one of the first defeats of the Ottomans in the Balkans.
In the period from the 13th to the 16th centuries, history also records a large number of stećaks in these areas, which as monoliths weigh up to 5 tons. As part of the project that aims to nominate stećaks - tombstones for inclusion in the World Heritage List - UNESCO, the necropolis in the settlement of Baljci is from the territory of Bileć. Bileća fell under the Ottoman rule in 1466 and during the centuries of the Empire's rule in this area it suffered heavily due to eternal rebellions and resistance. In the immediate vicinity of Bileća is Vučji Do, where the famous Battle of Vučidol took place in 1876, in which 16 companies from Bileća took part. By the decision of the Berlin Congress, Bileća became part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and economic development took place during that period. The first elementary school in Bileća was opened in 1880.
