Know About Your Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosna i Hercegovina
Босна и Херцеговина |
|
Flag
Coat of
arms
|
|
Anthem:
"Državna himna Bosne i Hercegovine" / "Државна химна Босне и Херцеговине" "The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina" |
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Location of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (green)
in Europe (dark grey)
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Capital
and
largest city
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Sarajevo[1]
43°52′N 18°25′E |
Official
languages (state level)
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None[1]
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Official
languages (entity level)
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Bosnian
Serbian Croatian |
Demonym(s)
|
·
Bosnian
|
Government
|
Federal parliamentary
constitutional republic[2] |
• High
Representative
|
Valentin
Inzkoa
|
• Chairman
of the Presidency
|
Željko
Komšićb
|
• Members
of the Presidency
|
Šefik
Džaferovićd
Milorad Dodik |
• Chairman
of the Council of Ministers
|
Denis
Zvizdić
|
Legislature
|
Parliamentary
Assembly
|
• Upper
house
|
House
of Peoples
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• Lower
house
|
House
of Representatives
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Establishment
history
|
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• Bosnia
(early medieval polity)
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c. 7th
century
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• Banate
of Bosnia
|
1154
|
• Kingdom
of Bosnia
|
1377
|
• Ottoman
conquest
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1463
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• Austro-Hungarian
conquest and 1908 annexation
|
1878
|
• Creation
of Yugoslavia
|
1
December 1918
|
• ZAVNOBiH
|
25
November 1943
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• Independence from Yugoslavia
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1 March
1992
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• Washington
Agreement
|
18
March 1994
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• Dayton
Agreement
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14
December 1995
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Area
|
|
• Total
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51,129 km2 (19,741 sq mi)
(125th)
|
• Water (%)
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1.4%
|
Population
|
|
• 2013 census
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3,511,372[3]
|
• Density
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69/km2 (178.7/sq mi)
|
GDP (PPP)
|
2019 estimate
|
• Total
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$50.045
billion[4]
|
• Per
capita
|
$14,291[4]
|
GDP (nominal)
|
2019 estimate
|
• Total
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$20.720 billion[4]
|
• Per
capita
|
$5,917[4]
|
Gini (2011)
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33.8[5]
medium · 47th |
HDI (2017)
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0.768[6]
high · 77th |
Currency
|
Convertible
mark (BAM)
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Time
zone
|
UTC+01:00 (CET)
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• Summer (DST)
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UTC+02:00 (CEST)
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Date
format
|
dd. mm.
yyyy. (CE)
|
Driving
side
|
right
|
Calling
code
|
+387
|
ISO
3166 code
|
BA
|
Internet
TLD
|
.ba
|
a.
The
High Representative is an international civilian overseer of the Dayton
peace agreement with authority to dismiss elected and non-elected
officials and enact legislation.
b.
Chair of
current presidency (Croat)
c.
Current
presidency member (Bosniak)
d.
Current
presidency member (Serb)
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina,[a] abbreviated BiH or B&H,[b] sometimes
called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia,
is a country in Southeastern Europe, located within the Balkan
Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is an
almost landlocked country – it has a narrow coast at the Adriatic
Sea, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) long surrounding the town of Neum. It
is bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south; Serbia to
the east; and Montenegro to the southeast. In the central and eastern
interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is
moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The
inland, Bosnia, is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental
climate, with hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip, Herzegovina,
has a Mediterranean climate and mostly mountainous topography.
Bosnia and Herzegovina traces
permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and
after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations.
Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, having
been first settled by the Slavic peoples that populate the area today
from the 6th through to the 9th centuries. In the 12th century the Banate
of Bosnia was established, which evolved into the Kingdom of Bosnia in
the 14th century, after which it was annexed into the Ottoman Empire,
under whose rule it remained from the mid-15th to the late 19th centuries.
The Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much
of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation
into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In
the interwar period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia and after World War II, it was granted full republic status
in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following
the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence in
1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995.
Tourism in Bosnia and
Herzegovina has grown at double digit rates in recent years. Bosnia and
Herzegovina is regionally and internationally renowned for its natural
environment and cultural heritage inherited from six historical
civilizations, its cuisine, winter sports, its eclectic and
unique music, architecture, and its festivals, some of which are
the largest and most prominent of their kind in Southeastern Europe.[10][11] The
country is home to three main ethnic groups or, officially, constituent
peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest
group of the three, with Serbs second, and Croats third. A
native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is usually
identified in English as a Bosnian. Minorities, defined under the
constitutional nomenclature "Others", include Jews, Roma, Poles,
Ukrainians, and Turks. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature
and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group.
However, the central government's power is highly limited, as the country is
largely decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third unit,
the Brčko District, governed under local government. The Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of 10 cantons.
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks
highly in terms of human development, and has an economy dominated by the
industry and agriculture sectors, followed by the tourism and service sectors.[12] The
country has a social security and universal healthcare system, and primary- and
secondary-level education is tuition-free. It is a member of the UN, OSCE, Council
of Europe, PfP, CEFTA, and a founding member of the Union for
the Mediterranean upon its establishment in July 2008.[13] The
country is an applicant for membership to the European Union and has
been a candidate for NATO membership since April 2010, when it
received a Membership Action Plan.[14]
Contents
·
1Etymology
·
2History
o
2.1Early history
o
2.2Ancient Illyrians
o
2.3Middle Ages
o
2.4Ottoman Bosnia (1463–1878)
o
2.5Austro-Hungarian rule
(1878–1918)
o
2.6Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(1918–1941)
o
2.7World War II (1941–45)
o
2.8Socialist Federative
Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992)
o
2.9Bosnian War (1992–1995)
o
2.10Protests in 2014
·
3Geography
·
4Government
o
4.1Military
o
4.2Foreign relations
·
5Demographics
o
5.1Ethnic groups
o
5.2Languages
o
5.3Religion
o
5.4Cities
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6Economy
o
6.1Transport
o
6.2Communications
o
6.3Tourism
§ 6.3.1Tourist
attractions
·
7Education
·
8Culture
o
8.1Architecture
o
8.2Media
o
8.3Literature
o
8.4Art
o
8.5Music
o
8.6Cinema and theatre
o
8.7Cuisine
o
8.8Leisure activities
o
8.9Sports
Etymology
The first preserved widely
acknowledged mention of Bosnia is in De Administrando Imperio,
a politico-geographical handbook written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine
VII in the mid-10th century (between 948 and 952) describing the
"small land" (χωρίον in Greek) of "Bosona" (Βοσώνα).[15]
The name is believed to have
derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing
through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the
name Bosna could derive from Illyrian *"Bass-an-as"),
which would derive from the Proto-Indo-European root "bos" or
"bogh"—meaning "the running water".[16] According
to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia
"adapted the Latin designation [...] Basante, to their own idiom by calling
the stream Bosna and themselves Bosniaks [...]".[17]
The name Herzegovina ("herzog's
[land]", from German word for "duke")[16] originates
from Bosnian magnate Stjepan Vukčić Kosača's title, "Herceg (Herzog)
of Hum and the Coast" (1448).[18] Hum,
formerly Zahumlje, was an early medieval principality that was conquered
by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. The region was
administered by the Ottomans as the Sanjak of Herzegovina (Hersek)
within the Eyalet of Bosnia up until the formation of the
short-lived Herzegovina Eyalet in the 1830s, which remerged in the
1850s, after which the entity became commonly known as Bosnia and
Herzegovina.[citation needed]
On initial proclamation of
independence in 1992, the country's official name was the Republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina but following the 1995 Dayton Agreement and
the new constitution that accompanied it the official name was changed to
Bosnia and Herzegovina.[citation needed]
History
Early history
Mogorjelo,
ancient Roman suburban Villa Rustica from the 4th century, near Čapljina
Main
article: Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia has been inhabited by
humans since at least the Neolithic age. The earliest Neolithic
population became known in the Antiquity as the Illyrians. Celtic migrations
in the 4th century BC were also notable. Concrete historical evidence for
this period is scarce, but overall it appears the region was populated by a
number of different people speaking distinct languages. Conflict between the
Illyrians and Romans started in 229 BC, but Rome did not
complete its annexation of the region until AD 9. It was precisely in
modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina that Rome fought one of the most difficult
battles in its history since the Punic Wars, as described by the Roman
historian Suetonius.[19] This
was the Roman campaign against Illyricum, known as Bellum
Batonianum.[20] The conflict arose after
an attempt to recruit Illyrians, and a revolt spanned for four years (6–9 AD),
after which they were subdued.[21] In the
Roman period, Latin-speaking settlers from the entire Roman Empire settled
among the Illyrians, and Roman soldiers were encouraged to retire in the
region.[16]
Following the split of the
Empire between 337 and 395 AD, Dalmatia and Pannonia became parts of the Western
Roman Empire. The region was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 455 AD.
It subsequently changed hands between the Alans and the Huns. By
the 6th century, Emperor Justinian had reconquered the area for
the Byzantine Empire. Slavs overwhelmed the Balkans in the 6th and 7th
centuries. Illyrian cultural traits were adopted by the South Slavs, as
evidenced in certain customs and traditions, placenames, etc.[22] Timothy
Gregory explains:
"It is now generally agreed that the people
who lived in the Balkans after the Slavic "invasions" were probably
for the most part the same as those who had lived there earlier, although the
creation of new political groups and arrival of small numbers of immigrants
caused people to look at themselves as distinct from their neighbours,
including the Byzantines".
T E
Gregory, A History of Byzantium. Wiley- Blackwell, 2010. Pg 169
Ancient Illyrians
The bronze culture of
the Illyrians, an ethnic group with a distinct culture and art form,
started to organize itself in today's Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania and
parts of northern Greece.
Roman glass found
in Bosanski Novi from the 2nd century
From 8th century BC, Illyrian
tribes evolved into kingdoms. The earliest recorded kingdom in Illyria (a
region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians,
as recorded in classical antiquity) was the Enchele in the 8th century BC. The
era in which we observe other Illyrian kingdoms begins approximately at 400 BC
and ends at 167 BC. The Autariatae under Pleurias (337 BC) were considered to
have been a kingdom. The Kingdom of the Ardiaei (originally a tribe
from the Neretva valley region) began at 230 BC and ended at 167 BC. The most
notable Illyrian kingdoms and dynasties were those of Bardyllis of the Dardani
and of Agron of the Ardiaei who created the last and best-known Illyrian
kingdom. Agron ruled over the Ardiaei and had extended his rule to other tribes
as well.
From the 7th century BC,
bronze was replaced by iron, after which only jewelry and art objects were
still made out of bronze. Illyrian tribes, under the influence of Hallstatt cultures
to the north, formed regional centers that were slightly different.
A very important role in their
life was the cult of the dead, which is seen in their careful burials and
burial ceremonies, as well as the richness of their burial sites. In northern
parts, there was a long tradition of cremation and burial in shallow
graves, while in the south the dead were buried in large stone or earth tumuli (natively
called gromile) that in Herzegovina were reaching monumental sizes,
more than 50 m wide and 5 m high. Japodian tribes had an
affinity to decoration (heavy, oversized necklaces out of yellow, blue or white
glass paste, and large bronze fibulas, as well as spiral bracelets, diadems and
helmets out of bronze foil).
In the 4th century BC, the
first invasion of Celts is recorded. They brought the technique of
the pottery wheel, new types of fibulas and different bronze and iron
belts. They only passed on their way to Greece, so their influence in
Bosnia and Herzegovina is negligible. Celtic migrations displaced many Illyrian
tribes from their former lands, but some Celtic and Illyrian tribes mixed.
Concrete historical evidence for this period is scarce, but overall it appears
the region was populated by a number of different peoples speaking distinct
languages.
In the Neretva Delta in
the south, there were important Hellenistic influence of the
Illyrian Daors tribe. Their capital was Daorson in
Ošanići near Stolac, the main center of ancient culture in B&H.
Daorson in the 4th century BC was surrounded by megalithic, 5 m high
stonewalls (as large as those of Mycenae in Greece), composed of
large trapezoid stone blocks. Daors made unique bronze coins and
sculptures.
Middle Ages
Main
article: Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Middle Ages
Hval's Codex,
illustrated Slavic manuscript from medieval Bosnia.
The Early Slavs raided
the Western Balkans, including Bosnia, in the 6th and early 7th century (amid
the Migration Period), and were composed of small tribal units drawn from
a single Slavic confederation known to the Byzantines as the Sclaveni (whilst
the related Antes, roughly speaking, colonized the eastern portions
of the Balkans).[23][24] Tribes
recorded by the ethnonyms of "Serb" and "Croat" are
described as a second, latter, migration of different people during the second
quarter of the 7th century who do not seem to have been particularly numerous;[23][25] these
early "Serb" and "Croat" tribes, whose exact identity is
subject to scholarly debate,[26] came
to predominate over the Slavs in the neighbouring regions. The bulk of Bosnia
proper, however, appears to have been a territory between Serb and Croat rule
and is not enumerated as one of the regions settled by those tribes.[25]
Bosnia is first
mentioned as a land (horion Bosona) in Byzantine Emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus' De Administrando Imperio in the
mid 10th century, at the end of a chapter (Chap. 32) entitled Of the
Serbs and the country in which they now dwell.[27] This
has been scholarly interpreted in several ways and used especially by the Serb
national ideologists to prove Bosnia as originally a "Serb" land.
Other scholars have asserted the inclusion of Bosnia into Chapter 32 to merely
be the result of Serbian Grand Duke Časlav's temporary rule over Bosnia at
the time, while also pointing out Porphyrogenitus does not say anywhere
explicitly that Bosnia is a "Serb land".[28] In
fact, the very translation of the critical sentence where the word Bosona (Bosnia)
appears is subject to varying interpretation.[27]
In time, Bosnia formed a unit
under its own ruler, who called himself Bosnian.[25] Bosnia,
along with other territories, became part of Duklja in the 11th
century, although it retained its own nobility and institutions.[29]
Bosnia in
the Middle Ages spanning the Banate of Bosnia and the
succeeding Kingdom of Bosnia.
In the High Middle Ages political
circumstance led to the area being contested between the Kingdom of
Hungary and the Byzantine Empire. Following another shift of power
between the two in the early 12th century, Bosnia found itself outside the
control of both and emerged as the Banate of Bosnia (under the rule
of local bans).[16][30] The
first Bosnian ban known by name was Ban Borić.[31] The
second was Ban Kulin whose rule marked the start of a controversy
involving the Bosnian Church – considered heretical by the Roman
Catholic Church. In response to Hungarian attempts to use church politics
regarding the issue as a way to reclaim sovereignty over Bosnia, Kulin held a
council of local church leaders to renounce the heresy and embraced Catholicism
in 1203. Despite this, Hungarian ambitions remained unchanged long after
Kulin's death in 1204, waning only after an unsuccessful invasion in 1254.
During this time the population was called Dobri Bošnjani ("Good
Bosnians").[32][33] The
names Serb and Croat, though occasionally appearing in peripheral areas, were
not used in Bosnia proper.[34]
Bosnian history from then
until the early 14th century was marked by a power struggle between the Šubić and Kotromanić families.
This conflict came to an end in 1322, when Stephen II Kotromanić became Ban.
By the time of his death in 1353, he was successful in annexing territories to
the north and west, as well as Zahumlje and parts of Dalmatia. He was succeeded
by his ambitious nephew Tvrtko who, following a prolonged struggle
with nobility and inter-family strife, gained full control of the country in
1367. By the year 1377, Bosnia was elevated into a kingdom with the coronation
of Tvrtko as the first Bosnian King in Mile near Visoko in
the Bosnian heartland.[35][36][37]
Following his death in 1391
however, Bosnia fell into a long period of decline. The Ottoman Empire had
started its conquest of Europe and posed a major threat to the Balkans throughout
the first half of the 15th century. Finally, after decades of political and
social instability, the Kingdom of Bosnia ceased to exist in 1463 after its
conquest by the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]
Ottoman Bosnia (1463–1878)
Main
articles: Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Ottoman Bosnia
Gazi
Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo dating from 1531
The Ottoman conquest of Bosnia
marked a new era in the country's history and introduced drastic changes in the
political and cultural landscape. The Ottomans incorporating Bosnia as an
integral province of the Ottoman Empire with its historical name and
territorial integrity.[38]
Within Bosnia the Ottomans
introduced a number of key changes in the territory's socio-political
administration; including a new landholding system, a reorganization of
administrative units, and a complex system of social differentiation by class
and religious affiliation.[16]
The four centuries of Ottoman
rule also had a drastic impact on Bosnia's population make-up, which changed
several times as a result of the empire's conquests, frequent wars with European
powers, forced and economic migrations, and epidemics. A native Slavic-speaking
Muslim community emerged and eventually became the largest of the
ethno-religious groups due to lack of strong Christian church organizations and
continuous rivalry between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, while the
indigenous Bosnian Church disappeared altogether (ostensibly by
conversion of its members to Islam). The Ottomans referred to them as kristianlar while
the Orthodox and Catholics were called gebir or kafir,
meaning "unbeliever".[39] The
Bosnian Franciscans (and the Catholic population as a whole) were
protected by official imperial decrees and in accordance and full extent of
Ottoman laws, however in effect, these often merely affected arbitrary rule and
behavior of powerful local elite.[16]
As the Ottoman Empire
continued their rule in the Balkans (Rumelia), Bosnia was somewhat
relieved of the pressures of being a frontier province, and experienced a
period of general welfare. A number of cities, such as Sarajevo and Mostar,
were established and grew into regional centers of trade and urban culture and
were then visited by Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi in
1648. Within these cities, various Ottoman Sultans financed the construction of
many works of Bosnian architecture such as the country's first
library in Sarajevo, madrassas, a school of Sufi philosophy, and
a clock tower (Sahat Kula), bridges such as the Stari
Most, the Tsar's Mosque and the Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque.[citation
needed]
Furthermore, several Bosnian
Muslims played influential roles in the Ottoman Empire's cultural and political
history during this time.[40] Bosnian
recruits formed a large component of the Ottoman ranks in the battles of Mohács and Krbava
field, while numerous other Bosnians rose through the ranks of the Ottoman
military to occupy the highest positions of power in the Empire, including
admirals such as Matrakçı Nasuh; generals such as Isa-Beg Isaković, Gazi
Husrev-beg and Hasan Predojević and Sarı Süleyman Paşa;
administrators such as Ferhat-paša Sokolović and Osman
Gradaščević; and Grand Viziers such as the influential Mehmed
Paša Sokolović and Damad Ibrahim Pasha. Some Bosnians emerged
as Sufi mystics, scholars such as Muhamed Hevaji Uskufi Bosnevi, Ali
Džabič; and poets in the Turkish, Albanian, Arabic, and Persian
languages.[41]
Austro-Hungarian
troops enter Sarajevo, 1878
However, by the late 17th
century the Empire's military misfortunes caught up with the country, and the
end of the Great Turkish War with the treaty of Karlowitz in
1699 again made Bosnia the Empire's westernmost province. The 18th century was
marked by further military failures, numerous revolts within Bosnia, and
several outbursts of plague.[42]
The Porte's efforts at
modernizing the Ottoman state were met with distrust growing to hostility in
Bosnia, where local aristocrats stood to lose much through the proposed Tanzimat reforms.
This, combined with frustrations over territorial, political concessions in the
north-east, and the plight of Slavic Muslim refugees arriving
from the Sanjak of Smederevo into Bosnia Eyalet, culminated in a
partially unsuccessful revolt by Husein Gradaščević, who endorsed a Bosnia
Eyalet autonomous from the authoritarian rule of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud
II, who persecuted, executed and abolished the Janissaries and
reduced the role of autonomous Pashas in Rumelia. Mahmud II sent
his Grand Vizier to subdue Bosnia Eyalet and succeeded only with the
reluctant assistance of Ali-paša Rizvanbegović.[41] Related
rebellions were extinguished by 1850, but the situation continued to
deteriorate.
New nationalist movements
appeared in Bosnia by the middle of the 19th century. Bolstered by Serbia's
breakaway from the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century, Serbian
nationalists began making contacts and sending nationalist propaganda claiming
Bosnia as a Serbian province. In the neighboring Habsburg Empire across the
Ottoman border, Croatian nationalists made similar claims about Bosnia as a
Croatian province. The rise of these competing movements marked the beginning
of nationalist politics in Bosnia, which continued to grow in the rest of the
19th and 20th centuries.[43]
Agrarian unrest eventually
sparked the Herzegovinian rebellion, a widespread peasant uprising, in
1875. The conflict rapidly spread and came to involve several Balkan states and
Great Powers, a situation that led to the Congress of Berlin and
the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.[16]
Austro-Hungarian rule (1878–1918)
Main
article: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918)
Dome and
towers on the Academy of Arts in Sarajevo, designed by the Czech-born
architect Karel Pařík
At the Congress of Berlin in
1878, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Andrássy obtained
the occupation and administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he also
obtained the right to station garrisons in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, which
would remain under Ottoman administration until 1908, when the
Austro-Hungarian troops withdrew from the Sanjak.
Although Austro-Hungarian
officials quickly came to an agreement with Bosnians, tensions remained and a
mass emigration of Bosnians occurred.[16] However,
a state of relative stability was reached soon enough and Austro-Hungarian
authorities were able to embark on a number of social and administrative
reforms they intended would make Bosnia and Herzegovina into a
"model" colony.
Habsburg rule had several key
concerns in Bosnia. It tried to dissipate the South Slav nationalism by
disputing the earlier Serb and Croat claims to Bosnia and encouraging
identification of Bosnian or Bosniak identity.[44] Habsburg
rule also tried to provide for modernisation by codifying laws, introducing new
political institutions, and establishing and expanding industries.[45]
Austria–Hungary began to plan
annexation of Bosnia, but due to international disputes the issue was not
resolved until the annexation crisis of 1908.[46] Several
external matters affected status of Bosnia and its relationship with
Austria–Hungary. A bloody coup occurred in Serbia in 1903, which brought a
radical anti-Austrian government into power in Belgrade.[47] Then
in 1908, the revolt in the Ottoman Empire raised concerns the
Istanbul government might seek the outright return of Bosnia-Herzegovina. These
factors caused the Austro-Hungarian government to seek a permanent resolution
of the Bosnian question sooner, rather than later.
National
Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established in 1888
Taking advantage of turmoil in
the Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian diplomacy tried to obtain provisional
Russian approval for changes over the status of Bosnia Herzegovina and
published the annexation proclamation on 6 October 1908.[48] Despite
international objections to the Austro-Hungarian annexation, Russians and their
client state, Serbia, were compelled to accept the Austrian-Hungarian
annexation of Bosnia Herzegovina in March 1909.
In 1910, Habsburg Emperor
Franz Joseph proclaimed the first constitution in Bosnia, which led to
relaxation of earlier laws, elections and formation of the Bosnian parliament,
and growth of new political life.[49]
Assassination
of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Sophie, Duchess of
Hohenberg in Sarajevo, illustrated in the Italian newspaper Domenica
del Corriere, 12 July 1914 by Achille Beltrame
On 28 June 1914, a Yugoslav
nationalist youth named Gavrilo Princip, a member of the secret
Serbian-supported movement, Young Bosnia, assassinated the heir
to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo—an
event that was the spark that set off World War I. At the end of the war,
the Bosniaks had lost more men per capita than any other ethnic group
in the Habsburg Empire whilst serving in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian
Infantry (known as Bosniaken) of the Austro-Hungarian
Army.[50] Nonetheless, Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole managed to escape
the conflict relatively unscathed.[40]
The Austro-Hungarian
authorities established an auxiliary militia known as the Schutzkorps with
a moot role in the empire's policy of anti-Serb repression.[51] Schutzkorps,
predominantly recruited among the Muslim (Bosniak) population, were tasked with
hunting down rebel Serbs (the Chetniks and Komiti)[52] and
became known for their persecution of Serbs particularly in Serb
populated areas of eastern Bosnia, where they partly retaliated against
Serbian Chetniks who in fall 1914 had carried out attacks against the
Muslim population in the area.[53][54] The
proceedings of the Austro-Hungarian authorities led to around 5,500 citizens of
Serb ethnicity in Bosnia and Herzegovina being arrested, and between 700 and
2,200 died in prison while 460 were executed.[52] Around
5,200 Serb families were forcibly expelled from Bosnia and Herzegovina.[52]
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941)
Main
article: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1918–1941)
Following World War I, Bosnia
and Herzegovina joined the South Slav Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes (soon renamed Yugoslavia). Political life in Bosnia at this time
was marked by two major trends: social and economic unrest over property
redistribution, and formation of several political parties that frequently
changed coalitions and alliances with parties in other Yugoslav regions.[40]
The dominant ideological
conflict of the Yugoslav state, between Croatian regionalism and Serbian
centralization, was approached differently by Bosnia's major ethnic groups and
was dependent on the overall political atmosphere.[16] The
political reforms brought about in the newly established Yugoslavian kingdom
saw few benefits for the Bosniaks; according to the 1910 final census of land
ownership and population according to religious affiliation conducted in
Austro-Hungary, Muslims (Bosniaks) owned 91.1%, Orthodox Serbians owned 6.0%,
Croatian Catholics owned 2.6% and others, 0.3% of the property. Following the
reforms Bosnian Muslims were dispossessed of a total of 1,175,305 hectares of
agricultural and forest land.[55]
Although the initial split of
the country into 33 oblasts erased the presence of traditional
geographic entities from the map, the efforts of Bosnian politicians such
as Mehmed Spaho ensured the six oblasts carved up from Bosnia and
Herzegovina corresponded to the six sanjaks from Ottoman times and, thus,
matched the country's traditional boundary as a whole.[16]
The establishment of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, however, brought the redrawing of administrative
regions into banates or banovinas that purposely
avoided all historical and ethnic lines, removing any trace of a Bosnian
entity.[16] Serbo-Croat tensions over the structuring of the Yugoslav state
continued, with the concept of a separate Bosnian division receiving little or
no consideration.
The Cvetković-Maček Agreement that
created the Croatian banate in 1939 encouraged what was essentially
a partition of Bosnia between Croatia and Serbia.[41] However
the rising threat of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany forced Yugoslav
politicians to shift their attention. Following a period that saw attempts
at appeasement, the signing of the Tripartite Treaty, and a coup
d'état, Yugoslavia was finally invaded by Germany on 6 April 1941.[16]
World War II (1941–45)
Main
article: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1941–1945)
The railway
bridge over the Neretva river in Jablanica, twice destroyed
during the Battle of the Neretva
Once the kingdom of Yugoslavia
was conquered by German forces in World War II, all of Bosnia was ceded to the
Nazi puppet regime, the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The NDH
leaders embarked on a campaign of extermination of Serbs, Jews, Romani as
well as dissident Croats, and, later, Josip Broz Tito's Partisans by
setting up a number of death camps.[56]
An estimated 209,000 Serbs and
Montenegrins were killed on the territory of Bosnia–Herzegovina during the war.[57][dubious – discuss] The Ustaše recognized
both Roman Catholicism and Islam as the national religions, but held
the position Eastern Orthodoxy, as a symbol of Serbian identity, was their
greatest foe.[58] Although Croats were by far the largest ethnic group to constitute
the Ustaše, the Vice President of the NDH and leader of the Yugoslav Muslim
Organization Džafer Kulenović was a Muslim, and Muslims (Bosniaks) in
total constituted nearly 12% of the Ustaše military and civil service authority.[59]
Many Serbs themselves took up
arms and joined the Chetniks, a Serb nationalist movement with the aim of
establishing an ethnically homogeneous 'Greater Serbian' state.[60]
The Chetniks, in turn,
persecuted and killed a large number of non-Serbs and Communist sympathizers,
with the Muslim population of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Sandžak being a
primary target.[61] Once captured, Muslim
villagers were systematically massacred by the Chetniks.[62] Of the
75,000 Muslims who lost their lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war,[57] approximately
30,000 (mostly civilians) were killed by the Chetniks.[63]
A percentage of Muslims served
in Nazi Waffen-SS units.[64] Between
64,000 and 79,000 Bosnian Croats were killed between April 1941 to May 1945.[57] Of
these, about 18,000 were killed by the Chetniks.[63]
Eternal
flame memorial to the military and civilian World War II victims
On 12 October 1941, a group of
108 prominent Sarajevan Muslims signed the Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims by
which they condemned the persecution of Serbs organized by the Ustaše,
made distinction between Muslims who participated in such persecutions and the
Muslim population as a whole, presented information about the persecutions of
Muslims by Serbs, and requested security for all citizens of the country,
regardless of their identity.[65]
Starting in 1941, Yugoslav
communists under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito organized their
own multi-ethnic resistance group, the partisans, who fought against both
Axis and Chetnik forces. On 29 November 1943 the Anti-Fascist Council of
National Liberation of Yugoslavia with Tito at its helm held a founding
conference in Jajce where Bosnia and Herzegovina was reestablished as
a republic within the Yugoslavian federation in its Habsburg borders.[66]
Military success eventually
prompted the Allies to support the Partisans, resulting in the successful Maclean
Mission, but Tito declined their offer to help and relied on his own forces
instead. All the major military offensives by the antifascist movement of
Yugoslavia against Nazis and their local supporters were conducted in
Bosnia–Herzegovina and its peoples bore the brunt of fighting. More than 300,000
people died in Bosnia and Herzegovina in World War II.[67] At the
end of the war the establishment of the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, with the constitution of 1946, officially made Bosnia and
Herzegovina one of six constituent republics in the new state.[16]
Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992)
Main
article: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1945–1992)
See
also: Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and
Herzegovina's flag while in the Socialist Federative Republic of
Yugoslavia
Due to its central geographic
position within the Yugoslavian federation, post-war Bosnia was selected as a
base for the development of the military defense industry. This
contributed to a large concentration of arms and military personnel in Bosnia;
a significant factor in the war that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia in
the 1990s.[16] However, Bosnia's existence within Yugoslavia, for the large part,
was a peaceful and very prosperous country, with high employment, a strong
industrial and export oriented economy, good education system and social and
medical security for every citizen of S. R. Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several
international corporations operated in Bosnia— Volkswagen (car
factory in Sarajevo, from 1972), Coca-Cola (from 1975), SKF Sweden
(from 1967), Marlboro, (a tobacco factory in Sarajevo), and Holiday Inn hotels.
Sarajevo was the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics.
During the 1950s and 1960s
Bosnia was a political backwater of the Republic of Yugoslavia. In the 1970s a
strong Bosnian political elite arose, fueled in part by Tito's leadership in
the Non-Aligned Movement and Bosnians serving in Yugoslavia's diplomatic
corps. While working within the Socialist system, politicians such as Džemal
Bijedić, Branko Mikulić and Hamdija Pozderac reinforced and
protected the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[68] Their
efforts proved key during the turbulent period following Tito's death in 1980,
and are today considered some of the early steps towards Bosnian independence.
However, the republic did not escape the increasingly nationalistic climate of
the time. With the fall of communism and the start of the break-up of
Yugoslavia, doctrine of tolerance began to lose its potency, creating an
opportunity for nationalist elements in the society to spread their influence.[citation
needed]
Bosnian War (1992–1995)
Main
article: Bosnian War
See
also: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dissolution
process of Yugoslavia
On 18 November 1990,
multi-party parliamentary elections were held throughout Bosnia and
Herzegovina. A second round followed on 25 November, resulting in a national
assembly where communist power was replaced by a coalition of
three ethnically-based parties.[69] Following Slovenia and Croatia's
declarations of independence from Yugoslavia, a significant split developed
among the residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the issue of whether to remain
within Yugoslavia (overwhelmingly favored by Serbs) or seek independence
(overwhelmingly favored by Bosniaks and Croats).[citation
needed]
The Serb members of
parliament, consisting mainly of the Serb Democratic Party members,
abandoned the central parliament in Sarajevo, and formed the Assembly of
the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 24 October 1991, which marked
the end of the tri-ethnic coalition that governed after the elections in 1990.
This Assembly established the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in
part of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 9 January 1992. It was
renamed Republika Srpska in August 1992. On 18 November 1991, the
party branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the ruling party in the Republic of
Croatia, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), proclaimed the
existence of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia in a separate
part of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Croatian Defence
Council (HVO) as its military branch.[70] It
went unrecognized by the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which declared
it illegal.[71][72]
The
Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina burns after being struck by tank fire
during the Siege of Sarajevo, 1992
A declaration of the
sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 15 October 1991 was followed by a
referendum for independence on 29 February/1 March 1992, which was boycotted by
the great majority of Serbs. The turnout in the independence referendum was
63.4 percent and 99.7 percent of voters voted for independence.[73] Bosnia
and Herzegovina declared independence on 3 March 1992 and received
international recognition the following month on 6 April 1992.[74] The Republic
of Bosnia and Herzegovina was subsequently admitted as a member state of
the United Nations on 22 May 1992.[75] Serbian
leader Slobodan Milošević and Croatian leader Franjo Tuđman are
believed to have agreed on a partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina in
March 1991, with the aim of establishing Greater Serbia and Greater
Croatia.[76]
Following Bosnia and
Herzegovina's declaration of independence, Bosnian Serb militias mobilized in
different parts of the country. Government forces were poorly equipped and
unprepared for the war.[77] International
recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina increased diplomatic pressure for
the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) to withdraw from the republic's
territory, which they officially did in June 1992. The Bosnian Serb members of
the JNA simply changed insignia, formed the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS),
and continued fighting. Armed and equipped from JNA stockpiles in Bosnia,
supported by volunteers and various paramilitary forces from Serbia,
and receiving extensive humanitarian, logistical and financial support from
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Republika Srpska's offensives in 1992
managed to place much of the country under its control.[16] The
Bosnian Serb advance was accompanied by the ethnic cleansing of
Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats from VRS-controlled areas. Dozens of concentration
camps were established in which inmates were subjected to violence and abuse,
including rape.[78] The ethnic cleansing
culminated in the Srebrenica massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak men
and boys in July 1995, which was ruled to have been a genocide by the
ICTY.[79] Bosniak and Bosnian Croat forces also committed war crimes against
civilians from different ethnic groups, though on a smaller scale.[80][81][82][83] Most
of the Bosniak and Croat atrocities were committed during the Bosniak-Croat
war, a sub-conflict of the Bosnian War that pitted the Army of the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) against the HVO. The
Bosniak-Croat conflict ended in March 1994, with the signing of the Washington
Agreement, leading to the creation of a joint Bosniak-Croat Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which amalgamated HVO-held territory with that held by
the ARBiH.[citation needed]
Bosnia and
Herzegovina after the Dayton Agreement
Following the Srebrenica
massacre, NATO launched a bombing campaign against
Republika Srpska in August 1995. The bombing, together with a joint
HV/HVO/ARBiH ground offensive in western Bosnia, convinced the Bosnian Serb
leadership to consider a negotiated settlement, which manifested itself in
the Dayton Agreement of December 1995. It brought an end to active
combat and roughly established the basic political structure of the present-day
state. A NATO-led peacekeeping force was immediately dispatched to
the country to enforce the agreement. An estimated 100,000 people were killed
in the war, about two-thirds of whom were Bosniak.[84] An
additional 2.2 million citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina of all ethnicities
were displaced.[85] The International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has ruled the conflict
involved the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (subsequently Serbia and
Montenegro),[86] as well as Croatia.[87] Dozens
of Bosnian Serb officials and soldiers have been convicted for their role in
war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict, as well as for the
genocide in Srebrenica. Several high-ranking Croat and Bosniak officials have
also been convicted.[88] Victims'
remains continue to be unearthed.[89] After
the war, the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina brought a lawsuit against
Serbia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the
country of genocide. In 2007, the ICJ exonerated Serbia of direct
responsibility for the genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica,
but concluded the country had not done enough to prevent the massacre.[90]
Protests in 2014
Main
article: 2014 riots in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tuzla
government building burning after anti-government clashes on 7 February 2014
On 4 February 2014, the
protests against the government of the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, one of the country's two entities, dubbed the Bosnian
Spring, the name being taken from the Arab Spring, began in the
northern town of Tuzla. Workers from several factories that had been
privatised and had gone bankrupt united to demand action over jobs, and unpaid
salaries and pensions.[91] Soon
protests spread to the rest of the Federation, with violent clashes reported in
close to 20 towns, the biggest of which were Sarajevo, Zenica, Mostar, Bihać, Brčko and
Tuzla.[92] The Bosnian news media reported hundreds of people had been
injured during the protests, including dozens of police officers, with bursts
of violence in Sarajevo, in the northern city of Tuzla, in Mostar in the south,
and in Zenica in central Bosnia. The same level of unrest or activism did not
occur in the Republika Srpska, but hundreds of people also gathered in
support of protests in the town of Banja Luka against its separate
government.[93][94][95]
The protests marked the
largest outbreak of public anger over high unemployment and two decades of
political inertia in the country since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995.[96]
Geography
Main
article: Geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina
See
also: List of mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina, List of lakes in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and List of rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia is in the western Balkans,
bordering Croatia (932 km or 579 mi) to the north and
west, Serbia (302 km or 188 mi) to the east, and Montenegro (225 km
or 140 mi) to the southeast. It has a coastline about 20 kilometres (12
miles) long surrounding the city of Neum.[97][98] It
lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20°
E.
The country's name comes from
the two alleged regions Bosnia and Herzegovina whose border
was never defined. Historically, Bosnia's official name never included any of
its many regions until the Austria-Hungarian occupation.
Topographic map of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosna river, Ilidža
The country is mostly
mountainous, encompassing the central Dinaric Alps. The northeastern parts
reach into the Pannonian Plain, while in the south it borders the Adriatic.
The Dinaric Alps generally run in a southeast-northwest direction, and get
higher towards the south. The highest point of the country is the peak of Maglić at
2,386 metres (7,828.1 feet), on the Montenegrin border. Major mountains
include Kozara, Grmeč, Vlašić, Čvrsnica, Prenj, Romanija, Jahorina, Bjelašnica and Treskavica.
The geological composition of the Dinaric chain of mountains in Bosnia consists
primarily of limestone (including Mesozoic limestone), with
deposits of iron, coal, zinc, manganese, bauxite, lead,
and salt present in some areas, especially in central and northern
Bosnia.[99]
Overall, nearly 50% of Bosnia
and Herzegovina is forested. Most forest areas are in the centre, east and west
parts of Bosnia. Herzegovina has drier Mediterranean climate, with
dominant karst topography. Northern Bosnia (Posavina) contains very
fertile agricultural land along the River Sava and the corresponding area is
heavily farmed. This farmland is a part of the Pannonian Plain stretching into
neighboring Croatia and Serbia. The country has only 20 kilometres (12 miles)
of coastline,[97][100] around the town of Neum in the
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton. Although the city is surrounded by Croatian
peninsulas, by international law, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a right of
passage to the outer sea.
Sarajevo is the capital[1] and
largest city.[101] Other major cities are Banja Luka and Bihać in
the northwest region known as Bosanska Krajina, Bijeljina and Tuzla in
the northeast, Zenica in the central part of Bosnia and Mostar,
the largest city in Herzegovina.
There are seven major rivers
in Bosnia and Herzegovina:[102]
Maglić Mts.
from Trnovačko lake in Montenegro)
·
The Sava is the
largest river of the country, and forms its northern natural border with
Croatia. It drains 76%[102] of the
country's territory into the Danube and then the Black Sea. Bosnia and
Herzegovina is a member of the International Commission for the Protection
of the Danube River (ICPDR).
·
The Una, Sana and Vrbas are
right tributaries of Sava river. They are in the northwestern region of
Bosanska Krajina.
·
The Bosna river gave
its name to the country, and is the longest river fully contained within it. It
stretches through central Bosnia, from its source near Sarajevo to
Sava in the north.
·
The Drina flows
through the eastern part of Bosnia, and for the most part it forms a natural
border with Serbia.
·
The Neretva is the
major river of Herzegovina and the only major river that flows south, into the
Adriatic Sea.
Phytogeographically, Bosnia
and Herzegovina belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between
the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region and Adriatic
province of the Mediterranean Region. According to the World Wide
Fund for Nature, the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be subdivided into
three ecoregions: the Pannonian mixed forests, Dinaric Mountains
mixed forests and Illyrian deciduous forests.
Panoramic view towards Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina's 20 km
(12 mi) of coastline access to the Adriatic Sea
Government
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Main
articles: Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Political
divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and
Herzegovina consists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH); Republika
Srpska (RS); and Brčko District (BD).
The Politics of Bosnia and
Herzegovina takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative
democracy, whereby executive power is exercised by the Council
of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Legislative power is vested
in both the Council of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly are chosen according to
a proportional representation system.[103][104]
Bosnia and Herzegovina is
a liberal democracy. It has several levels of political structuring,
according to the Dayton Accords. The most important of these levels is the
division of the country into two entities: Republika Srpska and
the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina covers 51% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's total area, while Republika
Srpska covers 49%. The entities, based largely on the territories held by the
two warring sides at the time, were formally established by the Dayton peace
agreement in 1995 because of the tremendous changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina's
ethnic structure. Since 1996, the power of the entities relative to the State
government has decreased significantly. Nonetheless, entities still have
numerous powers to themselves.
The Brčko District in
the north of the country was created in 2000, out of land from both entities.
It officially belongs to both, but is governed by neither, and functions under
a decentralized system of local government. For election purposes, Brčko
District voters can choose to participate in either the Federation or Republika
Srpska elections. The Brčko District has been praised for maintaining a
multiethnic population and a level of prosperity significantly above the
national average.[105]
Bosnia and
Herzegovina's government building in Sarajevo
The Presidency Building in
central Sarajevo
The third level of Bosnia and
Herzegovina's political subdivision is manifested in cantons. They are
unique to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, which consists of
ten of them. Each has a cantonal government, which is under the law of the
Federation as a whole. Some cantons are ethnically mixed and have special laws
to ensure the equality of all constituent people.[citation
needed]
The fourth level of political
division in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the municipality. The Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into 74 municipalities, and Republika Srpska
into 63. Municipalities also have their own local government, and are typically
based on the most significant city or place in their territory. As such, many
municipalities have a long tradition and history with their present boundaries.
Some others, however, were only created following the recent war after
traditional municipalities were split by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line.
Each canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of several
municipalities, which are divided into local communities.[citation
needed]
Besides entities, cantons, and
municipalities, Bosnia and Herzegovina also has four "official"
cities. These are: Banja Luka, Mostar, Sarajevo, and East
Sarajevo. The territory and government of the cities of Banja Luka and Mostar
corresponds to the municipalities of the same name, while the cities of
Sarajevo and East Sarajevo officially consist of several municipalities. Cities
have their own city government whose power is in between that of the
municipalities and cantons (or the entity, in the case of Republika Srpska).
As a result of the Dayton
Accords, the civilian peace implementation is supervised by the High
Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina selected by the Peace
Implementation Council. The High Representative has many governmental and
legislative powers, including the dismissal of elected and non-elected officials.
More recently, several central institutions have been established (such
as defense ministry, security ministry, state court, indirect
taxation service and so on) in the process of transferring part of the
jurisdiction from the entities to the state. The representation of the
government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is by elites who represent the country's
three major groups, with each having a guaranteed share of power.
The Chair of the Presidency
of Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates among three members (Bosniak, Serb, Croat),
each elected as the Chair for an eight-month term within their four-year term
as a member. The three members of the Presidency are elected directly
by the people with Federation voters voting for the Bosniak and the Croat, and
the Republika Srpska voters for the Serb.
The Chair of the Council
of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of
Representatives. He or she is then responsible for appointing a Foreign
Minister, Minister of Foreign Trade, and others as appropriate.
The Parliamentary
Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of
two houses: the House of Peoples and the House of
Representatives. The House of Peoples has 15 delegates chosen by parliaments of
the entities, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5 Croat and 5
Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of
Representatives is composed of 42 Members elected by the people under a form
of proportional representation (PR), two-thirds elected from the
Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska.[citation
needed]
The Constitutional Court of
Bosnia and Herzegovina is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is
composed of nine members: four members are selected by the House of
Representatives of the Federation, two by the Assembly of the Republika Srpska,
and three by the President of the European Court of Human Rights after
consultation with the Presidency, but cannot be Bosnian citizens.[citation
needed]
However, the highest political
authority in the country is the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
the chief executive officer for the international civilian presence
in the country and is selected by the European Union. Since 1995, the High
Representative has been able to bypass the elected parliamentary assembly, and
since 1997 has been able to remove elected officials. The methods selected by
the High Representative have been criticized as undemocratic.[106] International
supervision is to end when the country is deemed politically and democratically
stable and self-sustaining.
Military
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The Armed Forces of
Bosnia and Herzegovina (OSBiH) were unified into a single entity in 2005,
with the merger of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
the Army of Republika Srpska, which had defended their respective regions.
The Ministry of Defense was founded in 2004.
The Bosnian military consists
of the Bosnian Ground Forces and Air Force and Air Defense. The
Ground Forces number 14,725 active and 7,000 reserve personnel. They are armed
with a mix of American, Yugoslavian, Soviet, and European-made weaponry,
vehicles, and military equipment. The Air Force and Air Defense Forces have
3,000 personnel and about 62 aircraft. The Air Defense Forces operate MANPADS hand-held
missiles, surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries, anti-aircraft
cannons, and radar. The Army has recently adopted remodeled MARPAT uniforms,
used by Bosnian soldiers serving with ISAF in Afghanistan. A
domestic production program is now underway to ensure that army units are
equipped with the correct ammunition.
Beginning in 2007, the Ministry
of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina undertook the army's first ever
international assistance mission, enlisting the military to serve with ISAF peace
missions to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Democratic Republic
of Congo in 2007. Five officers, acting as officers/advisors, served in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. 45 soldiers, mostly acting as base
security and medical assistants, served in Afghanistan. 85 Bosnian
soldiers served as base security in Iraq, occasionally conducting infantry
patrols there as well. All three deployed groups have been commended by their
respective international forces as well as the Ministry of Defence of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international assistance operations are still
ongoing.
The Air Force and
Anti-Aircraft Defence Brigade of Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed when
elements of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
the Republika Srpska Air Force were merged in 2006. The Air
Force has seen improvements in the last few years with added funds for
aircraft repairs and improved cooperation with the Ground Forces as
well as to the citizens of the country. The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia
and Herzegovina is pursuing the acquisition of new aircraft including
helicopters and perhaps even fighter jets.[107]
Foreign relations
Main
article: Foreign relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina
See
also: Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union
EU integration is one of
the main political objectives of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it initiated the Stabilisation
and Association Process in 2007. Countries participating in the SAP have
been offered the possibility to become, once they fulfill the necessary
conditions, Member States of the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina is therefore a
potential candidate country for EU accession.[108]
The implementation of
the Dayton Accords of 1995 has focused the efforts of policymakers in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the international community, on regional
stabilization in the countries-successors of the former Yugoslavia.[citation
needed]
Within Bosnia and Herzegovina,
relations with its neighbors of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro have
been fairly stable since the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995.
On 23 April 2010, Bosnia and Herzegovina received the Membership Action
Plan from NATO, which is the last step before full membership in the
alliance. Full membership was expected in 2014 or 2015, depending on the
progress of reforms.[109] In
December 2018, NATO approved Bosnia's Membership Action Plan.[110]
Demographics
Population
density in Bosnia and Herzegovina by municipalities, early data from the 2013
census
Main articles: Demographics
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Demographic history of Bosnia and
Herzegovina
According to the 1991
census, Bosnia and Herzegovina had a population of 4,369,319, while the 1996
World Bank Group census showed a decrease to 3,764,425.[111] Large
population migrations during the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s have caused
demographic shifts in the country. Between 1991 and 2013, political
disagreements made it impossible to organize a census. A census had been
planned for 2011,[112] and
then for 2012,[113] but
was delayed until October 2013. The 2013 census found a total
population of 3,791,622 people in 1.16 million households; 585,411 fewer people
than the 1991 census.[114]
Ethnic groups
Main
article: Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ethnic composition in Bosnia and Herzegovina as of 2013
Bosniaks (50.11%)
Serbs (30.78%)
Croats (15.43%)
Others
(2.73%)
Bosnia and Herzegovina is home
to three ethnic "constituent peoples", namely Bosniaks, Serbs,
and Croats, plus a number of smaller groups including Jews and Roma.[115] According
to data from 2013 census published by the Agency for Statistics of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniaks constitute 50.11% of the population, Serbs
30.78%, Croats 15.43%, and others form 2.73%, with the remaining respondents
not declaring their ethnicity or not answering.[7] The
census results are contested by the Republika Srpska statistical office and by
Bosnian Serb politicians.[116] The
dispute over the census concerns the inclusion of non-permanent Bosnian
residents in the figures, which Republika Srpska officials oppose.[117] The European
Union's statistics office, Eurostat, concluded in May 2016 that the census
methodology used by the Bosnian statistical agency is in line with
international recommendations.[118]
Languages
Bosnia's constitution does not
specify any official languages.[119][120][121] However,
academics Hilary Footitt and Michael Kelly note the Dayton Agreement states it
is "done in Bosnian, Croatian, English and Serbian",
and they describe this as the "de facto recognition of three official
languages" at the state level. The equal status of Bosnian, Serbian and
Croatian was verified by the Constitutional Court in 2000.[121] It
ruled the provisions of the Federation and Republika Srpska constitutions on
language were incompatible with the state constitution, since they only
recognised "Bosniak" and Croatian (in the case of the Federation) and
Serbian (in the case of Republika Srpska) as official languages at the entity
level. As a result, the wording of the entity constitutions was changed and all
three languages were made official in both entities.[121] The
three standard languages are fully mutually intelligible and
are known collectively under the appellation of Serbo-Croatian, despite
this term not being formally recognized in the country. Use of one of the three
languages has become a marker of ethnic identity.[122] Michael
Kelly and Catherine Baker argue: "The three official languages of today's
Bosnian state...represent the symbolic assertion of national identity over the
pragmatism of mutual intelligibility".[123]
According to the 1992 European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes
the following minority languages: Albanian, Montenegrin, Czech, Italian, Hungarian, Macedonian, German, Polish, Romani, Romanian, Rusyn, Slovak, Slovene, Turkish, Ukrainian and
Jewish (Yiddish and Ladino).[124] The
German minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina are mostly remnants of Donauschwaben (Danube
Swabians), who settled in the area after the Habsburg monarchy claimed
the Balkans from the Ottoman Empire. Due to expulsions and (forced)
assimilation after the two World Wars, the number of ethnic Germans
in Bosnia and Herzegovina was drastically diminished.[125]
In a 2013 census, 52.86% of
the population consider their mother tongue Bosnian, 30.76% Serbian, 14.6%
Croatian and 1.57% another language, with 0.21% not giving an answer.[7]
Religion
Main
article: Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2013)
|
||||
religion
|
percent
|
|||
Islam
|
|
51%
|
||
Serbian
Orthodoxy
|
|
31%
|
||
Catholicism
|
|
15%
|
||
Others/none/not
stated
|
|
3%
|
According to the 2013
census, Islam is the majority faith in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making
up 51% of the population with Sunni Muslims making up 38% and the rest are
either Shia or follow other denominations or don't identify with any
denomination.[126] The Islam practiced in the country is
unlike that of the Middle East, for instance Christian men are allowed to marry
a Muslim woman without converting to Islam, which is forbidden in traditional
Islam.[127]
46% of the population identify
as Christian; of these, the Serbian Orthodox Church makes up the
largest group, accounting for 31% of the population (of whom most identify
as Serbs), and the Roman Catholic Church 15% (of whom most
identify as Croats). The smallest groups are Agnosticism 0.3%, Atheism 0.8%
and other 1.15%, with the remainder not declaring their religion or not
answering 1.1%.[7][128] A 2012
survey found 54% of Bosnia's Muslims are non-denominational
Muslims, while 38% follow Sunnism.[126]
Cities
Sarajevo is home to
395,133 inhabitants in its urban area which comprises the City of Sarajevo as
well as municipalities of Ilidža, Vogošća, Istočna Ilidža, Istočno
Novo Sarajevo and Istočni Stari Grad.[129] The metro
area has a population of 555,210 and includes Sarajevo Canton, East
Sarajevo and municipalities Breza, Kiseljak, Kreševo and Visoko.
Largest
municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
2013 census final results[130] |
|||||||||
Rank
|
Division
|
Pop.
|
Rank
|
Division
|
Pop.
|
||||
Sarajevo
Banja Luka
|
1
|
Sarajevo
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
356,454
|
11
|
Zvornik
|
Republika
Srpska
|
58,856
|
Tuzla
Zenica
|
2
|
Banja
Luka
|
Republika
Srpska
|
185,042
|
12
|
Živinice
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
57,765
|
||
3
|
Tuzla
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
110,979
|
13
|
Bihać
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
56,261
|
||
4
|
Zenica
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
110,663
|
14
|
Travnik
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
53,482
|
||
5
|
Bijeljina
|
Republika
Srpska
|
107,715
|
15
|
Gradiška
|
Republika
Srpska
|
51,727
|
||
6
|
Mostar
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
105,797
|
16
|
Gračanica
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
45,220
|
||
7
|
Prijedor
|
Republika
Srpska
|
89,397
|
17
|
Lukavac
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
44,520
|
||
8
|
Brčko
|
Brčko
District
|
83,516
|
18
|
Tešanj
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
43,063
|
||
9
|
Doboj
|
Republika
Srpska
|
71,441
|
19
|
Sanski
Most
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
41,475
|
||
10
|
Cazin
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
66,149
|
20
|
Velika
Kladuša
|
Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
40,419
|
Economy
Main
article: Economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina
See
also: List of companies of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Graphical
depiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina's product exports in 28 color-coded
categories
The tallest
building in Tuzla Canton is the Hotel Mellain.
During the Bosnian War,
the economy suffered €200 billion in material damages.[131] Bosnia
and Herzegovina faces the dual-problem of rebuilding a war-torn country and
introducing transitional liberal market reforms to its formerly mixed economy.
One legacy of the previous era is a strong industry; under former republic
president Džemal Bijedić and SFRY President Josip Broz Tito,
metal industries were promoted in the republic, resulting in the development of
a large share of Yugoslavia's plants; S.R. Bosnia and Herzegovina had a very
strong industrial export oriented economy in the 1970s and 1980s, with large
scale exports worth millions of US$.
For most of Bosnia's history,
agriculture has been conducted on privately owned farms; Fresh food has
traditionally been exported from the republic.[132]
The war in the 1990s, caused a
dramatic change in the Bosnian economy.[133] GDP
fell by 60% and the destruction of physical infrastructure devastated the
economy.[134] With much of the production capacity
unrestored, the Bosnian economy still faces considerable difficulties. Figures
show GDP and per capita income increased 10% from 2003 to 2004; this and
Bosnia's shrinking national debt being negative trends, and high
unemployment 38.7% and a large trade deficit remain cause for
concern.
The national currency is the
(Euro-pegged) Convertible Mark (KM), controlled by the currency
board. Annual inflation is the lowest relative to other countries in the region
at 1.9% in 2004.[135] The
international debt was $5.1 billion (as on 31 December 2014) . Real
GDP growth rate was 5% for 2004 according to the Bosnian Central Bank
of BiH and Statistical Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has
displayed positive progress in the previous years, which decisively moved its
place from the lowest income equality rank of income equality rankings fourteen
out of 193 nations.[136]
According to Eurostat data,
Bosnia and Herzegovina's PPS GDP per capita stood at 29 per cent of the EU
average in 2010.[137]
The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) announced a loan to Bosnia worth US$500 million to be
delivered by Stand-By Arrangement. This was scheduled to be approved in
September 2012.[138]
The United States Embassy in
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina produces the Country Commercial Guide – an
annual report that delivers a comprehensive look at Bosnia and Herzegovina's
commercial and economic environment, using economic, political, and market
analysis. It can be viewed on Embassy Sarajevo's website.
By some estimates, grey
economy is 25.5% of GDP.[139]
In 2017, exports grew by 17%
when compared to the previous year, totaling €5.65 billion.[140] The
total volume of foreign trade in 2017 amounted to €14.97 billion and
increased by 14% compared to the previous year. Imports of goods increased by
12% and amounted to €9.32 billion. The coverage of imports by exports has
increased by 3% compared to the previous year and now it is 61 percent. In
2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina mostly exported car seats, electricity, processed
wood, aluminum and furniture. In the same year, it mostly
imported crude oil, automobiles, motor oil, coal and briquettes.[141]
The unemployment rate in 2017
was 20.5%, but The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies is
predicting falling unemployment rate for the next few years. In 2018, the
unemployment should be 19.4% and it should further fall to 18.8% in 2019. In 2020,
the unemployment rate should go down to 18.3%.[142]
On December 31, 2017, Council
of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued the report on public debt of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating the public debt was reduced by €389.97 million,
or by more than 6% when compared to December 31, 2016. By the end of 2017,
public debt was €5.92 billion, which amounted to 35.6 percent of GDP.[143]
As of December 31, 2017,
there were 32,292 registered companies in the country, which together had
revenues of €33.572 billion that same year.[144]
In 2017, the country received
€397.35 million in foreign direct investment, which equals to 2.5% of the
GDP.[145]
In 2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina
ranked 3rd in the world in terms of the number of new jobs created by foreign
investment, relative to the number of inhabitants.[146][147]
In 2018, Bosnia and
Herzegovina exported goods worth 11.9 billion KM (€6.07 billion), which is
7.43% higher than in the same period in 2017, while imports amounted to 19.27
billion KM (€9.83 billion), which is 5.47% higher.[148]
The average price of new
apartments sold in the country in the first 6 months of 2018 is 1,639 km
(€886.31) per square meter. This represents a jump of 3.5% from the previous
year.[149]
On June 30, 2018, public debt
of Bosnia and Herzegovina amounted to about €6.04 billion, of which external
debt is 70.56 percent, while the internal debt is 29.4 percent of total public
indebtedness. The share of public debt in gross domestic product is 34.92
percent.[150]
In the first 7 months of 2018,
811,660 tourists visited the country, a 12.2% jump when compared to the first 7
months of 2017.[151]
In the first 11 months of
2018, 1,378,542 tourists visited Bosnia-Herzegovina, an increase of 12.6%, and
had 2,871,004 overnight hotel stays, a 13.8% increase from the previous year.
Also, 71.8% of the tourists came from foreign countries.[152]
In 2018, the total value
of mergers and acquisitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina amounted to
€404.6 million.[153]
In 2018, 99.5 percent of
enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina used computers in their business, while
99.3 percent had internet connections, according to a survey conducted by the
Bosnia and Herzegovina Statistics Agency.[154]
In 2018, Bosnia and
Herzegovina received 783.4 million KM (€400.64 million) in direct foreign
investment, which was equivalent to 2.3% of GDP.[155]
In 2018, Central Bank of
Bosnia and Herzegovina made a profit of 8,430,875 km (€4,306,347).[156]
The World Bank predicts
that the economy will grow 3.4% in 2019.[157]
Bosnia and Herzegovina was
placed 83rd on the Index of Economic Freedom for 2019. The total
rating for Bosnia and Herzegovina is 61.9. This position represents some
progress relative to the 91st place in 2018. This result is below the regional
level, but still above the global average, making Bosnia and Herzegovina a
"moderately free" country.[158]
On 31 January 2019, total
deposits in Bosnian banks were KM 21.9 billion (€11.20 billion), which
represents 61.15% of nominal GDP.[159]
In the second quarter of 2019,
the average price of new apartments sold in Bosnia and Herzegovina was
1,606 km (€821.47) per square meter.[160]
In the first six months of
2019, exports amounted to 5.829 billion KM (€2.98 billion), which is 0.1% less
than in the same period of 2018, while imports amounted to 9.779 billion KM
(€5.00 billion), which is by 4.5% more than in the same period of the previous
year.[161]
In the first seven months of
2019, 906,788 tourists visited the country, a 11.7% jump from the previous
year.[162]
In the first six months of
2019, foreign direct investment amounted to 650.1 million KM (€332.34 million).[163]
Transport
Main
article: Transport in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Apron
overview of Sarajevo International Airport
Train trip
from Sarajevo to Mostar via Neretva River scenery
Sarajevo International Airport (IATA: SJJ, ICAO: LQSA),
also known as Butmir Airport, is the main international
airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located 3.3 NM (6.1 km;
3.8 mi) southwest of the Sarajevo main railway station[164] in the
city of Sarajevo in the suburb of Butmir.
Railway operations in Bosnia
and Herzegovina are successors of the Yugoslav
Railways within the country boundaries following independence from
the Former Yugoslavia in 1992.
Communications
Main
article: Telecommunications in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Bosnian communications
market was fully liberalised in January 2006. There are three landline telephone
providers, although each one predominantly serves a partile services are
provided by three operators, with nationwide services. Mobile data services are
also available, including high-speed EDGE and 3G services.[165]
Oslobođenje (Liberation),
founded in 1943, is one of the country's longest running continuously
circulating newspapers. There are many national publications, only some of
which include the Dnevni Avaz (Daily Voice), founded in 1995,
and Jutarnje Novine (Morning News) in circulation in Sarajevo.[166] Other
local periodicals include the Croatian newspaper Hrvatska riječ and
the Bosnian magazine Start, as well as the weekly newspapers Slobodna
Bosna (Free Bosnia) and BH Dani (BH Days). Novi
Plamen, a monthly magazine, is the most left-wing publication. The
international news station Al Jazeera maintains a sister channel that
caters to the Balkan region, Al Jazeera Balkans, broadcasting
out of and based in Sarajevo.[167] Since
2014, the N1 platform began broadcasting as an affiliate of CNN
International and has headquarters in Sarajevo, Zagreb, and Belgrade.[168]
Additionally, the country is
the most liberal in terms of freedom of the press in the region,
ranking 43rd internationally.[169]
As of December 2017,
there are 3,064,072 internet users in the country or 86.77% of the entire
population.[170]
Tourism
Main
article: Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
See
also: Sites of interest in Sarajevo
Mostar's Stari
Most
Trebinje, on
the banks of the Trebišnjica
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad; UNESCO world
heritage site since 2007.
According to projections by
the World Tourism Organization, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the third
highest tourism growth rate in the world between 1995 and 2020.[171]
In 2018, 1.883.772 tourists
visited Bosnia-Herzegovina, an increase of 44,1%, and had 3.843.484 overnight
hotel stays, a 43.5% increase from the previous year. Also, 71.2% of the
tourists came from foreign countries.[172]
In 2017, 1,307,319 tourists
visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, an increase of 13.7%, and had 2,677,125
overnight hotel stays, a 12.3% increase from the previous year. 71.5% of the
tourists came from foreign countries.[173]
In 2006, when ranking the best
cities in the world, Lonely Planet placed Sarajevo, the national
capital[1] and host of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, as #43 on the
list.[174] Tourism in Sarajevo is chiefly focused on
historical, religious, and cultural aspects. In 2010, Lonely Planet's
"Best In Travel" nominated it as one of the top ten cities to visit
that year.[175] Sarajevo also won travel blog Foxnomad's
"Best City to Visit" competition in 2012, beating more than one
hundred other cities around the entire world.[176]
Međugorje has become one
of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Christians in the world and has turned
into Europe's third most important religious place, where each year more than 1
million people visit.[177] It has
been estimated that 30 million pilgrims have come to Međugorje since the
reputed apparitions began in 1981.[178]
Bosnia has also become an
increasingly popular skiing and Ecotourism destination. Bosnia and
Herzegovina remains one of the last undiscovered natural regions of the
southern area of the Alps, with vast tracts of wild and untouched nature
attracting adventurers and nature lovers. National Geographic magazine named
Bosnia and Herzegovina as the best mountain biking adventure destination for
2012.[179] The central Bosnian Dinaric Alps are
favored by hikers and mountaineers, containing both Mediterranean and Alpine
climates. Whitewater rafting is somewhat of a national pastime,
with three rivers, including the deepest river canyon in Europe,
the Tara River Canyon.[171]
Most recently, the Huffington
Post named Bosnia and Herzegovina the "9th Greatest Adventure in
the World for 2013", adding that the country boasts "the cleanest
water and air in Europe; the greatest untouched forests; and the most wildlife.
The best way to experience is the three rivers trip, which purls through the
best the Balkans have to offer."[180]
Tourist attractions
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article is in list format, but may read better as prose. You
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Some of the tourist
attractions in Bosnia and Herzegovina include:
·
Sarajevo, the "Olympic
City" or "European Jerusalem"; the scientific, cultural, tourist
and commercial center of Bosnia and Herzegovina
·
Vratnik old town
and Bijela Tabija fortress in Sarajevo
·
Shrine of Our Lady of
Međugorje, with Annual Youth Festival; the site of a Marian apparition and
subsequent Catholic pilgrimage destination
·
Mostar, the "City on
Neretva" or "City of Sunshine"; the location of the UNESCO World
Heritage Sites of Stari most and old-town Mostar
·
Višegrad, location of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge
·
Banja Luka, the "Green
City", with sights such as the Kastel fortress and Ferhadija mosque
·
Bihać and the waterfalls
of the river Una within Una National Park
·
Jajce, city of the Bosnian
kings and the place where the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was
founded, Pliva lakes and waterfall
·
Prijedor, featuring its Old
City Mosque, Kozara National Park and, at Mrakovica, Bosnia's largest
World War II monument
·
The salt-lakes of Tuzla,
birthplace of Meša Selimović
·
The Neretva river
and the Rakitnica river canyons in Upper Neretva
·
The Trebižat river
and its waterfalls at Kravica and Koćuša
·
The Buna with its
spring and historic town of Blagaj
·
The Lower Tara river
canyon, the deepest canyon in Europe
·
Sutjeska National Park,
featuring the ancient forest of Perućica (one of the last
two remaining primeval forests in Europe) and the Sutjeska river canyon
·
Počitelj historical
village
·
Mount Bjelašnica and Jahorina,
sites used during XIV Olympic Winter Games in 1984
·
Neum, the only coastal city in
Bosnia and Herzegovina with direct access to the Adriatic Sea
·
Doboj and its
13th-century fortress
·
Stolac, featuring the Begovina neighborhood
and Radimlja tombstones
·
Visoko, city of the Bosnian
nobility and monarchy, historical capital of the Kingdom of Bosnia and
the site of the alleged Bosnian pyramids
·
Prokoško Lake in Fojnica
·
Tešanj, one of Bosnia's oldest
known cities
·
Bijeljina, known for its
agriculture and ethnic village Stanišić
·
Lukavac, featuring Modrac
Lake, the largest artificial lake in Bosnia and Herzegovina
·
Travnik, the birthplace
of Ivo Andrić and once the capital city of the Bosnia Eyalet
·
Jablanica, Museum of Battle
of Neretva and Old bridge destroyed by Yugoslav army in Second World
War
·
Ostrožac Castle, a
16th-century castle built by the Ottoman Empire and later expanded by the House
of Habsburg
·
Konjic, featuring Tito's
underground nuclear bunker[181]
·
Drvar, featuring Tito's cave
and great natural landscapes
Education
Main
article: Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The University
of Sarajevo's Faculty of Law
Higher education has a long
and rich tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first bespoke
higher-education institution was a school of Sufi philosophy
established by Gazi Husrev-beg in 1531. Numerous other religious
schools then followed. In 1887, under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a Sharia law
school began a five-year program.[182] In the
1940s the University of Sarajevo became the city's first secular
higher education institute. In the 1950s post-bachelaurate graduate degrees
became available.[183] Severely
damaged during the war, it was recently rebuilt in partnership with more than
40 other universities. There are various other institutions of higher
education, including: University "Džemal Bijedić" of Mostar, University
of Banja Luka, University of Mostar, University of East Sarajevo, University
of Tuzla, American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Academy
of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is held in high regard as
one of the most prestigious creative arts academies in the region.
Also, Bosnia and Herzegovina
is home to several private and international higher education institutions,
some of which are:
·
Sarajevo School of Science and
Technology
·
International University of
Sarajevo
·
American University in Bosnia
and Herzegovina
·
Sarajevo Graduate School of
Business
·
International Burch University
Primary schooling lasts for
nine years. Secondary education is provided by general and technical secondary
schools (typically Gymnasiums) where studies typically last for four
years. All forms of secondary schooling include an element of vocational
training. Pupils graduating from general secondary schools obtain the Matura and
can enroll in any tertiary educational institution or academy by passing a
qualification examination prescribed by the governing body or institution.
Students graduating technical subjects obtain a Diploma.[184]
Culture
Main
article: Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The National
Library in Sarajevo.
Architecture
Main
article: Architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The architecture of Bosnia and
Herzegovina is largely influenced by four major periods where political and
social changes influenced the creation of distinct cultural and architectural
habits of the population. Each period made its influence felt and contributed
to a greater diversity of cultures and architectural language in this region.
Media
Main
article: Media of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Radio
and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina headquarter in Sarajevo.
Some television, magazines,
and newspapers in Bosnia and Herzegovina are state-owned, and some are
for-profit corporations funded by advertising, subscription, and
other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina guarantees freedom
of speech.
As a country in
transition with a post-war legacy and a complex domestic political
structure Bosnia and Herzegovina's media system is under transformation.
In the early post-war period (1995–2005), media development was guided mainly
by international donors and cooperation agencies, who invested to help
reconstruct, diversify, democratize and professionalize media outlets.[185][186]
Post-war developments included
the establishment of an independent Communication Regulatory Agency, the
adoption of a Press Code, the establishment of the Press Council, the
decriminalization of label and defamation, the introduction of a rather
advanced Freedom of Access to Information Law, and the creation of a Public
Service Broadcasting System from the formerly state-owned broadcaster. Yet,
internationally backed positive developments have been often obstructed by
domestic elites, and the professionalisation of media and journalists has
proceeded only slowly. High levels of partisanship and linkages between the
media and the political systems hinder the adherence to professional code of
conducts.[186]
Literature
Main
article: Literature of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a
rich literature, including the Nobel prize winner Ivo Andrić and
poets such as Croat Antun Branko Šimić, Aleksa Šantić, Jovan
Dučić and Mak Dizdar, writers such as Zlatko Topčić, Meša
Selimović, Semezdin Mehmedinović, Miljenko Jergović, Isak
Samokovlija, Safvet beg Bašagić, Abdulah Sidran, Petar Kočić, Aleksandar
Hemon, and Nedžad Ibrišimović. The National Theater was founded 1919 in
Sarajevo and its first director was the dramatist Branislav Nušić.
Magazines such as Novi Plamen or Sarajevske sveske are
some of the more prominent publications covering cultural and literary themes.
Art
Main
article: Art of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stećci from
Radimlja, near Stolac (13th century)
The art of Bosnia and
Herzegovina was always evolving and ranged from the original medieval
tombstones called Stećci to paintings in Kotromanić court.
However, only with the arrival of Austro-Hungarians did the painting
renaissance in Bosnia really begin to flourish. The first educated artists from
European academies appeared with the beginning of the 20th century. Among those
are: Gabrijel Jurkić, Petar Šain, Roman Petrović and Lazar
Drljača.
After World War II artists
like Mersad Berber and Safet Zec rose in popularity.
In 2007, Ars Aevi, a
museum of contemporary art that includes works by renowned world artists was
founded in Sarajevo.
Music
Main
article: Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina
See
also: List of Bosnia and Herzegovina patriotic songs
Typical Bosnian and
Herzegovinian songs are ganga, rera, and the traditional Slavic
music for the folk dances such as kolo and from Ottoman era
the most popular is sevdalinka. Pop and Rock music has a tradition here as
well, with the more famous musicians including Dino Zonić, Goran
Bregović, Davorin Popović, Kemal Monteno, Zdravko Čolić, Elvir
Laković, Edo Maajka, Hari Mata Hari and Dino Merlin. Other
composers such as Đorđe Novković, Al' Dino, Haris Džinović, Kornelije
Kovač, and many pop and rock bands, for example, Bijelo Dugme, Crvena
Jabuka, Divlje Jagode, Indexi, Plavi Orkestar, Zabranjeno
Pušenje, Ambasadori, Dubioza kolektiv, who were among the leading
ones in the former Yugoslavia. Bosnia is home to the composer Dušan Šestić,
the creator of the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
father of singer Marija Šestić, to the world known jazz musician, educator
and Bosnian jazz ambassador Sinan Alimanović, composer Saša Lošić and
pianist Saša Toperić. In the villages, especially in Herzegovina,
Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats play the ancient Gusle. The gusle is
used mainly to recite epic poems in a usually dramatic tone.
Probably the most distinctive
and identifiably "Bosnian" of music, Sevdalinka is a kind of
emotional, melancholic folk song that often describes sad subjects such as love
and loss, the death of a dear person or heartbreak. Sevdalinkas were
traditionally performed with a saz, a Turkish string instrument, which was
later replaced by the accordion. However the more modern arrangement, to the
derision of some purists, is typically a vocalist accompanied by the accordion
along with snare drums, upright bass, guitars, clarinets and violins.
Main
article: Bosnian root music
Rural folk traditions in
Bosnia and Herzegovina include the shouted, polyphonic ganga and
"ravne pjesme" (flat song) styles, as well as instruments like
a droneless bagpipe, wooden flute and šargija. The gusle,
an instrument found throughout the Balkans, is also used to accompany
ancient Slavic epic poems. There are also Bosnian folk songs in
the Ladino language, derived from the area's Jewish population.
Bosniaks
dancing a traditional Kolo
Bosnian roots music came
from Middle Bosnia, Posavina, the Drina valley and Kalesija.
It is usually performed by singers with two violinists and a šargija player.
These bands first appeared around World War I and became popular in
the 1960s. This is the third oldest music following after the sevdalinka and
ilahija. Self-taught people, mostly in two or three members of the different
choices of old instruments, mostly in the violin, sacking, saz, drums,
flutes (zurle) or wooden flute, as others have already called, the original
performers of Bosnian music that can not be written notes, transmitted by ear
from generation to generation, family is usually hereditary. It is thought to
be brought from Persia-Kalesi tribe that settled in the area of present
Sprecanski valleys and hence probably the name Kalesija. In this part of Bosnia
it is the most common. Again, it became the leader of First World War onwards,
as well as 60 years in the field Sprecanski doline. This kind of music was
enjoyed by all three peoples in Bosnia, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, and it
contributed a lot to reconcile people socializing, entertainment and other
organizations through festivala. In Kalesija it's maintained each year with the
Bosnian Festival Original music.
Studio Kemix firm Dzemal
Dzihanovic from Živinice together with his artists brought this kind
of music to perfection at the end 20th century. With its entirely new form of
modernity, it is most common in the Tuzla Canton and the cradle of
this music city Živinice was named Bosnian town of original music.
Songs are performed preferably in a diphthong, the first and second voice
which is a special secret performance of this music and some performers sing in
troglasju as they do Kalesijski triple that was recorded in 1968, as the first
written record of the tone on the album, along with Higurashi no naku.
Cinema and theatre
Main
article: List of Bosnia-Herzegovina films
Sarajevo is internationally
renowned for its eclectic and diverse selection of festivals. The Sarajevo
Film Festival was established in 1995, during the Bosnian War and has
become the premier and largest film festival in the Balkans and South-East
Europe.
Bosnia has a rich cinematic
and film heritage, dating back to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia; many Bosnian
filmmakers have achieved international prominence and some have won
international awards ranging from the Academy Awards to
multiple Palme d'Ors and Golden Bears. Some notable Bosnian
screenwriters, directors and producers are Danis Tanović (known for
the Academy Award– and Golden Globe Award–winning 2001 film No
Man's Land and Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize–winning 2016
film Death in Sarajevo),[187] Emir
Kusturica (won two Palme d'Or at Cannes), Jasmila Žbanić (won
Golden Bear), Zlatko Topčić, Ademir Kenović, Dino Mustafić, Ahmed
Imamović, Pjer Žalica, Aida Begić, Adis Bakrač, etc.
Cuisine
Main
article: Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine
Bosnian meat
platter
Bosnian cuisine uses many
spices, in moderate quantities. Most dishes are light, as they are cooked in
lots of water; the sauces are fully natural, consisting of little more than the
natural juices of the vegetables in the dish. Typical ingredients include
tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, cucumbers,
carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, dried
beans, fresh beans, plums, milk, paprika and cream called Pavlaka.
Bosnian cuisine is balanced between Western and Eastern influences.
As a result of the Ottoman administration for almost 500 years,
Bosnian food is closely related to Turkish, Greek, and other
former Ottoman and Mediterranean cuisines. However, because
of years of Austrian rule, there are many influences from Central Europe.
Typical meat dishes include primarily beef and lamb. Some local specialties
are ćevapi, burek, dolma, sarma, pilav, goulash, ajvar and
a whole range of Eastern sweets. Ćevapi is a grilled dish of minced meat, a
type of kebab, popular in former Yugoslavia and considered a national dish
in Bosnia and Herzegovina[188] and Serbia.[189][190][191] Local
wines come from Herzegovina where the climate is suitable for growing
grapes. Herzegovinian loza (similar to Italian Grappa but
less sweet) is very popular. Plum (rakija) or apple (jabukovača)
alcohol beverages are produced in the north. In the south, distilleries used to
produce vast quantities of brandy and supply all of ex-Yugoslav
alcohol factories (brandy is the base of most alcoholic drinks).
Leisure activities
Coffeehouses, where Bosnian
coffee is served in džezva with rahat lokum and sugar
cubes, proliferate Sarajevo and every city in the country. Coffee
drinking is a favorite Bosnian pastime and part of the culture. Bosnia and
Herzegovina is the ninth country in the entire world by per capita coffee
consumption.[192]
Sports
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See
also: Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Olympics and Football in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Asim
Ferhatović Hase Stadium in Sarajevo hosted the opening ceremony to
the 1984 Winter Olympics
Edin Džeko,
captain of the Bosnian national football team
Bosnia and Herzegovina has
produced many athletes, both as a state in Yugoslavia and independently after
1992. The most important international sporting event in the history
of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the 14th Winter Olympics, held in Sarajevo from
7 to 19 February 1984. The Borac handball club has won
seven Yugoslav Handball Championships, as well as the European
Championship Cup in 1976 and the International Handball
Federation Cup in 1991.
Amel Mekić, Bosnian judoka,
became European champion in 2011. Track and field athlete Amel
Tuka won the bronze medal in 800 metres at the 2015 World
Championships and Hamza Alić won the silver medal in shot
put at the 2013 European Indoor Championships.
The Bosna Royal basketball
club from Sarajevo were European Champions in 1979. The Yugoslav
national basketball team, which won medals in every world championship from
1963 through 1990, included Bosnian players such as FIBA Hall of Famers Dražen
Dalipagić and Mirza Delibašić. Bosnia and Herzegovina regularly
qualifies for the European Championship in Basketball, with players
including Mirza Teletović, Nihad Đedović and Jusuf Nurkić. Bosnia
and Herzegovina national u-16 team won two gold medals in 2015, winning
both 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival as well as 2015
FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.
Women's basketball club Jedinstvo
Aida from Tuzla won Women's European Club Championship in 1989
and Ronchetti Cup final in 1990, led by Razija Mujanović, three
times best female European basketball player, and Mara Lakić
The Bosnian chess team
was Champion of Yugoslavia seven times, in addition to club ŠK
Bosna winning four European Chess Club Cups. Chess grandmaster Borki
Predojević has also won two European Championships. The most impressive
success of Bosnian Chess was runner-up position in Chess Olympiad of
1994 in Moscow, featuring Grandmasters Predrag Nikolić, Ivan
Sokolov and Bojan Kurajica.
Middle-weight boxer Marijan
Beneš has won several Championships of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslav
Championships and the European Championship.[193] In
1978, he won the World Title against Elisha Obed from the Bahamas.
Amel Tuka, a
middle-distance runner who earned country's first medal in a major athletics
championship
Association football is the
most popular sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It dates from 1903, but its popularity
grew significantly after World War I. Bosnian clubs FK Sarajevo and Željezničar,
won the Yugoslav Championship, while the Yugoslav national football team included
Bosnian players of all ethnic backgrounds and generations, such as Safet
Sušić, Zlatko Vujović, Mehmed Baždarević, Davor Jozić, Faruk
Hadžibegić, Predrag Pašić, Blaž Slišković, Vahid Halilhodžić, Dušan
Bajević, Ivica Osim, Josip Katalinski, Tomislav Knez, Velimir
Sombolac and numerous others. The Bosnia and Herzegovina national
football team played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, its first major
tournament. Players on the team again includes notable players of all country's
ethnic background, such as then and now captains Emir Spahić, Zvjezdan
Misimović and Edin Džeko, defenders like Ognjen Vranješ, Sead
Kolašinac and Toni Šunjić, midfielders like Miralem Pjanić and Senad
Lulić, striker Vedad Ibišević, and so on.
Former Bosnian footballers
include Hasan Salihamidžić, who became only the second Bosnian to ever win
a UEFA Champions League trophy, after Elvir Baljić. He made 234
appearances and scored 31 goals for German club FC Bayern Munich. Sergej
Barbarez, who played for several clubs in the German Bundesliga including Borussia
Dortmund, Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen was joint-top
scorer in the 2000–01 Bundesliga season with 22 goals. Meho
Kodro spent most of his career playing in Spain most notably
with Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona. Elvir Rahimić made
302 appearances for Russian club CSKA Moscow with whom he won
the UEFA Cup in 2005. Milena Nikolić, member of women's
national team, was 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League top scorer.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was the
world champion of volleyball at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and volleyball
at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Many among those on the team lost their legs in
the Bosnian War.
Tennis is also gaining a
lot of popularity after the recent successes of Damir Džumhur and Mirza
Bašić at Grand Slam level. Other notable tennis players who
represented Bosnia are, Amer Delić and Mervana Jugić-Salkić.
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