The unofficial capital of Herzegovina, Mostar is situated on the Neretva river. It has an international airport, located in the nearby village of Ortije. The city was founded in the late 15th century, Mostar was the chief administrative city for the Ottoman Empire in the Herzegovina region. The Austro-Hungarian Empire absorbed Mostar in 1878 and then it became part of Yugoslavia in the aftermath of World War I. After Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independance from Yugoslavia in 1992, the city was much damaged in the Bosnia war. Considerable reconstruction has since taken place.