Ston

There still existed a semi-independent Nez of Hum in the western part of Herzegovina, descended from Nemanja's brother.

It had been brought into the Serbian church through a bishopric in the town of Ston, but still retained its own political sphere, mostly with the competing towns of Split and Dubrovnik.

Its prince in the 1220s was elected to be the prince of Split between 1223 and 1227, and became deeply involved in Croatian politics, and in a rivalry with Dubrovnik and its jurisdiction in Bosnia.

All of this upset the balance of power, and by the 1230s, when Vladislav was in power, Bosnian isolation and charges of heresy had led the Pope to replace their local bishop, who had been traditionally elevated by the Bosnian locals, with a German-Dominican monk.

It was a highly desirable commodity and resource that had an incredible influence on society.

Many, many years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Croatia and stop at a place called Ston.

The first recorded mention, uh, of Ston is from when the Romans occupied it in 167 BC.

So that's 200 years before Jesus is sharing this scripture with us this morning, and it's believed to have existed a long time before that.

Ston has the oldest active salt pan in the world.

It uses an ancient process, harnessing the sea, the sun, and the wind.

It looks a little bit like this.

In 1922, he's boarded a train from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik on return from work.

He was riding with the elderly mother of a mayor, a mayor of Ston.

Ston sounds funny.

Who had entrusted her into Selick's care.

While riding through a canyon during rainy weather, the train derailed after a mudslide and the train plunged into the cavern below.