Aleksa Šantić

Aleksa Šantić was born on May 27, 1868, in Mostar into a Serbian merchant family. Educated in commerce in Trieste and Ljubljana, Šantić chose to dedicate his life to the poetic soul of his native Herzegovina, co-founding the literary magazine Zora and the Gusle singing society in Mostar.

Šantić's poetry celebrated the sunlit stone bridges, Neretva riverbanks, and vineyards of Mostar. His 1896 poem Ostajte ovdje pleaded with his Muslim neighbors not to emigrate to Turkey after Austro-Hungarian occupation, declaring 'The sun of foreign skies will not warm you like your own.' His romantic ballad Emina became an immortal sevdalinka. His funeral united Catholics, Orthodox, and Muslims in collective mourning.