Štedrica, Croatia
A Landscape Shaped by Centuries
Long before Štedrica Hills was imagined, this landscape was already shaped by generations of people who lived, farmed, and built here.
Štedrica lies in the historic Stonsko Primorje, a rural area between Ston and Dubrovnik that includes the neighboring villages of Imotica, Topolo, Stupa, Ošlje, Smokovljani, and Visočani. Together, these villages form a distinctive cultural landscape of stone, hills, fields, vineyards, and olive groves.
The communities are centuries old. Historical records from the time of the Republic of Ragusa document Štedrica, Imotica, Topolo, Stupa, and Ošlje as established villages in the 16th and 17th centuries. The people of this region lived closely connected to the land, raising livestock and cultivating crops including grapes, olives, and tobacco. The parish of Topolo, established in 1620, historically included Štedrica and Imotica, reflecting the close cultural and religious ties between these communities.
Evidence of an even older history remains scattered throughout the landscape. The surrounding hills and villages contain stećci, monumental medieval stone tombstones dating from the Middle Ages. In Štedrica, the cemetery at Greblje near Bistrina contains three preserved stećci, including an elaborately decorated example featuring motifs of snakes, crosses, shields, a sword, and a mounted hunter.
These stones, like the old homes and dry-stone walls that still define the landscape, tell the story of a community shaped by its surroundings. Stone was not simply a building material—it was part of everyday life.
Over the last century, that way of life has gradually changed. Economic transformation, war, migration, and the movement of younger generations toward larger towns and cities have contributed to the depopulation of many of the region’s villages. Štedrica today remains a small community; the 2021 census recorded 55 residents.
Yet the landscape remains.
The stone houses still stand among the hills. Old agricultural terraces and walls remain etched into the terrain. Olive trees continue to grow where generations before cultivated the land. And the stećci remain as quiet reminders of the people who lived here centuries ago.
Štedrica Hills begins with this history—not to recreate the past, but to build upon it.
Our vision is to preserve the character, architecture, and cultural heritage of Štedrica while creating a new chapter for the community: one where the land is productive again, people have a reason to return, and the traditions of the Five Villages can continue into the future.
