Donji Vakuf

Donji Vakuf
Доњи Вакуф

Basic data

State :

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Entity :

Federation of BiH

Canton :

Central Bosnia

Coordinates :

44 ° 8 ' N , 17 ° 24' E Coordinates: 44 ° 8 '22 " N , 17 ° 23' 46" E

Height :

515 m. i. J.

Area :

325 km²

Residents :

13,985 (2013)

Population density :

43 inhabitants per km²

Telephone code :

+387 (0) 30

Postal code :

70220

Structure and administration (as of 2016)

Structure :

16 local communities

Mayor :

Huso Sušić ( SDA )

Website :

www.donji-vakuf.ba

Donji Vakuf ( Serbian - Cyrillic Доњи Вакуф ) is a small town and municipality of the same name in the center of Bosnia and Herzegovina . It lies on the Vrbas , a right tributary of the Save in the Central Bosnia canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina .

Street in Donji Vakuf

geography

Donji Vakuf is located in the narrow river valley of the Vrbas on the west side of the Komar Mountains (up to 1510 m). The city is about 12 km as the crow flies from the entity border to the Republika Srpska . It borders the municipalities of Jajce and Travnik in the north, Novi Travnik and Bugojno in the south-east, Kupres in the south-west and Šipovo in the west.

Mosque in Donji Vakuf

population

Before the Bosnian War , Bosniaks made up about 55% of the total of 24,544 inhabitants in the municipality of Donji Vakuf, 38.8% were Bosnian Serbs. In 1999 the place was almost exclusively populated by Bosniaks. The city itself had around 5,300 inhabitants before the war and around 7,500 in 1999. According to the 2013 census, 13,985 people lived in the Donji Vakuf municipality, 95.6% of them Bosniaks .

Localities

The Donji Vakuf municipality consists of 68 locations: Babin Potok, Babino Selo, Barice, Blagaj, Brda, Brdo, Brezičani, Ćehajići, Ćemalovići, Daljan, Dobro Brdo, Doganovci, Dolovi, Donji Rasavci, Donji Vakuf, Đulovići, Fakigeći, Fonjgeći Galešići, Grabantići, Gredina, Grič, Guvna, Hemići, Jablan, Jemanlići, Karići, Keže, Komar, Korenići, Košćani, Kovačevići, Krivače, Kutanja, Makitani, Novo Selo, Oborci, Orahđovljani, Petjujći , Pribraća, Prisika, Prusac, Rasavci, Rastičevo, Rudina, Ruska Pilana, Sandžak, Semin, Silajdževina, Slatina, Sokolina, Staro Selo, Suhodol, Sultanovići, Suljići, Šahmani, Šatare, Šeherdžik, Šutkovlaići, Torlačevija and Vrljaj. The village of Ljuša in the west of the municipality has belonged to Šipovo in the Republika Srpska since 1995.

Serbian Orthodox Church in Donji Vakuf damaged in the war

history

middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, the area where Donji Vakuf is today belonged to Gornji Vakuf. It is not known when the area was first settled by humans. About one and a half kilometers north of the city there are two medieval Stećci . In 1530, Benedikt Kuprešić named the town Donji Vakuf. According to the historian Nasuf Fazlagić, the city was founded in 1574 by Ibrahim-beg Malkočević (the second of the seven sons of Malkoč-beg, the Sandžakbeg of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Kliska), who also built the first mosque, the Čaršijska-bas džamija. During this time Donji Vakuf was called Novosel.

Ottomans

The Ottomans called Donji Vakuf "Fakvi-ziv" and later Donji Vakuf. It is known from writings that the village at that time consisted of 161 houses and 33 "Medereda" (unmarried men). At that time the Ottomans had a small base in Donji Vakuf, which can be explained by its geographical importance. At that time, Donji Vakuf was declared a city. They also built a small fortress in the village of Prusac.

Today there is still a famous clock tower in Donji Vakuf, the "Sahat Kula", as built by the Ottomans in almost every important city.

Austria-Hungary

At the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire the village had 2,000 inhabitants. The city was now a very important connection point between Bugojno, Jajce and Travnik. Hugo Feldbauer ruled over the city of around 2,400 inhabitants at this time. The simple population was supported by agriculture. At that time, shops were owned only by very influential people. In 1888 the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption was built.

Yugoslavia war

Before the Bosnian War (1992–1995), Donji Vakuf was a developed, modern city in which a hospital and theater were planned. The construction of the theater, which was to be built from solid concrete and steel, was also started and the shell was completed. The construction was canceled for political and economic reasons.

At the beginning of the war in 1992, Donji Vakuf was captured by the Army of the Republika Srpska . All Bosniaks were expelled and the city was named Srbobran from that point on. In Donji Vakuf, all mosques and the Roman Catholic Church in the "Stanica" district in the southwest of the city were destroyed.

During Operation Oluja in 1995, Donji Vakuf was captured by the army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina . During this time the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption was damaged. The church has been under renovation since 2016. Now almost only Bosniaks colonized the city.

economy

There is a large gypsum factory owned by Komar AG, which dates back to the establishment of the first gypsum company in 1934. Up until the war, the Janj joinery with hundreds of employees was located in Donji Vakuf.

The Servistrans company is also located in Donji Vakuf. The travel company is the most important bus operator in the central Bosnian canton. He also operates the regular buses in the city and the surrounding villages.

traffic

Road traffic

Road bridge in Donji Vakuf over the Vrbas .

Donji Vakuf is located at the intersection of national roads 5 ( Travnik - Jajce ) and 16 ( Jajce - Livno ) 14 km north of Bugojno . Other roads that are difficult to drive lead through the mountains in the west to the Republika Srpska . In the city, the three-star hotel “Vrbas” and the four-star motel “Otoka”, which are fairly centrally located, offer accommodation to travelers.

railroad

At Donji Vakuf station , the narrow-gauge railway from Travnik branched out to Jajce and Bugojno .

In 1894 Donji Vakuf received a station on the Lašva – Travnik – Bugojno line . A year later the wing section from Donji Vakuf to Jajce was opened. The railway with a Bosnian gauge of 760 mm ran over the Komar Pass with a cogwheel drive . The narrow-gauge trains or their locomotives were affectionately called "Ćiro" in the Yugoslav vernacular. 1972 to 1975 the operation of the narrow-gauge railway was stopped and the tracks dismantled.

Bus transport

From the bus station there are connections to Bugojno, Jajce, Sarajevo , Travnik, Zenica and other cities in Bosnia. There are also some international bus routes that run regularly, especially to popular coastal cities such as Split and Makarska , which are mainly located in Croatia . Buses also run two days a week to Vienna , Graz and Linz in Austria and to other destinations such as Amsterdam , Berlin and Frankfurt am Main . As Donji Vakuf is on the M5 main road, the bus station has long been a hub for public transport. Many buses coming from Mostar , Bugojno and other major cities stop in Donji Vakuf to take transferring passengers from Sarajevo and Travnik. These are often long-distance coaches that drive to Sweden, where large populations from the former Yugoslavia live.

swell

Report for the return of refugees (1999) ( Memento of December 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
Report on history as well as economy and traffic translated
Bus connections and bus companies
population
http://www.tzsbk.com/donji-vakuf.html