Donji Humac

History

It is assumed that in the 11th century, Donji Humac was called Gomilje or Gomirje and had already been a settlement for a while. In 1080, a Brač person named Tišen bought from a Split aristocrat named Cassarias some houses and land in Gomilje. Gomilje lies on the western side of the Humac hill, just below Kis (from the Latin word ecclesia). A cloister and the oldest buildings of Donji Humac are expected to have been in Kis, close to the Smokvica pond. The name Humac is mentioned in sources for the first time in 1305. The settlers are supposed to have come from the area of Saint Elias and Banje to the west of Humac. The name Donji Humac (literally translated as "lower hillside") was only introduced later to differentiate it from Gornji Humac ("upper hillside"), which is on the eastern high plateau of Brač. Traditionally in Slavic culture, the east was associated with up and the west with down. In medieval times, most of the population of Brač lived inland, as the coast was too dangerous due to pirate and other attacks. During that time, the northwest of the island belonged to Donji Humac, including the settlements Sutivan and Mirca, both of which are larger than Donji Humac today. In the 20th century, the worsening economic situation in Donji Humac – first through the grape phylloxera louse, which destroyed several grape harvests and thus the wine production; later World War II and its aftermath – led to several waves of emigration. This has left Donji Humac today with only a third or quarter of the population of a century ago.