The most characteristic and recognizable part of today’s Opuzen is the local square, a large deep, almost scenic area, at the end of which is the church of Sv. Stephen built in the late 19th century in the forms of neoclassicism.
The simple and clean facade of the church and the strong volume accentuated by the slender bell tower, is confronted by a series of storeys that line the square.
There are several assumptions about the origin of the name Opuzen, of which the most famous is the one after which Opuzen was named after the fortress Fort Opus, built by the Venetians in 1684. on the ruins of the pentagonal tower called Koš, whose rampart still adorns the old town.
With the disappearance of the fort and the military camp that was nearby, the word Forte disappeared, leaving only Opus, to which a suffix -en was added, and thus the current form of the name Opuzen was formulated.
Even before that, Jakov Petar Lukarić (1551 – 1615) (Luccari) called the fortress Koš Opusena.
The island was formed from silt caused and deposited by the river and was slippery.
Koš Fortress was built on this strategically important site precisely because of its inaccessibility.
Mud and swamp allowed a relatively small crew to withstand various invaders for a long time.
Due to its inaccessibility, this part was called Opuzina or Opuz, which has remained in today’s terminology of the Neretva Valley.
The Venetian name Forte Opus would mean the fortress of Opus or Opuz – a fortress located on the site of Opuz.
Opuzen had his first post office in the Neretva. The post office was opened on May 2, 1803.
This post office, the only one in Dalmatia, did not have a stamp with the official name of the place (Fort Opus), but NARENTA, probably due to the role of receiving and sending mail to the Turkish area.
