Description : Donji Humac is one of the oldest settlements on the Croatian island of Brač, located on an inland hill. The top of the hill is marked by a widely visible baroque bell-tower. The nearby Kopačina cave has been inhabited more than 13,200 years ago. It is assumed that in the 11th century, Donji Humac was called Gomilje and was already a settlement for a while. In 1080, a Brač person named Tišen bought from a Split aristocrat 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. In medieval times, most of the population of Brač was living 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 quite larger than Donji Humac today. In the 20th century, the worsening of the 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 - lead to several waves of emigration, leaving Donji Humac today with only a third or quarter of the population only a century ago.
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