Doboj
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Doboj (Cyrillic: Добој) is a city and a municipality in the Republika Srpska entity, Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated on the river Bosna. Doboj is the largest railway junction in the country, and the seats of the Railways Corporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska Railways are in Doboj.
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[edit] History
The first official mention of the settlement is from 1415,as it was written in the charter issued by Dubrovnik to Hungarian Emperor Sigismund, although there are numerous artefacts and objects that have been found (The National Museum of Bosnia/Herzegovina in Sarajevo & The Regional Museum in Doboj) and which confirm the fact that the area had been inhabited ever since the early stone age, and that the Roman Empire had an army camp (Castrum) and a settlement (Canabea) in the vicinity of the town dating from the 1st century AD. Following the arrival of the Slavs in the 6th century A.D. it became a part of the region/bannate Usora (in the medieval documents sometimes put together with the nearby province Soli, hence, Usora and Soli).
The Doboj fortress, first built in the early 13th century and expanded in the early 15th century (1415), fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1476, only to be expanded yet again in 1490. It was a very important obstacle for the invaders coming from North, Hungarians, and later on, Austrians and Germans. It was built in the Gotho-Roman style with the gothic towers and romanic windows. Doboj was the site of a major battle between Hungarians and Bosnian/Turkish coalition in early August of 1415 in which Hungarians were heavily defeated. As an important border fortress (between Bosnian Kingdom and Hungary), it was also frequently attacked (officially recorded some 18 times)in the Austrian-Ottoman wars, and finally fell to the Habsburgs in 1878.
During World War I, Doboj was the site of the largest Austro-Hungarian concentration camp for Serbs. According to its official figures, it held, between December 27, 1915 and July 5, 1917:
- 16,673 men from Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly of Serb ethnicity)
- 16,996 women and children from Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly of Serb ethnicity)
- 9,172 soldiers and civilians (men, women, children) from the Kingdom of Serbia
- 2,950 soldiers and civilians from the Kingdom of Montenegro
In total, 45,791 persons.
By February 1916, the authorities began redirecting the prisoners to other camps. The Serbs from Bosnia were mostly sent to Győr (Sopronyek, Šopronjek/Шопроњек).
Most of the interned from Bosnia were whole families from the border regions of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is said that 5,000 families alone were uprooted from the Sarajevo district in eastern Bosnia along the border with the Kingdoms of Serbia & Montenegro.
The Nobel Prize-laureate Ivo Andrić was also an inmate of the camp.
During World War II, Doboj was an important site for the partisan resistance movement. From their initial uprising in August 1941 up until the end of the war, the Ozren partisan squad carried out numerous diversions against the occupation forces, among the first successful operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town was liberated on April 17, 1945.
[edit] Doboj and the Bosnian War
The majority of the Muslim and Croat population was expelled, or departed the city, during the war in Bosnia, while the town saw a massive influx of Serbian refugees from the surrounding Bosniak-held areas, and from cities far away as Sarajevo. This effectively changed the area's demographic creating ethinically monolitical areas dominated by Serbs in the Republika Srpska, and mainly Bosniaks in the neighboring Federation municipalities. At the outset of the Bosnian war the city was taken by the Serbs; it was heavily shelled by Bosniak and Croat forces throughout the conflict causing numerous civilian casualties, especially during the latter half of 1995.
Croat-populated parts of the pre-war Doboj municipality and the municipality of Tesanj, both of which have been in the Federation since 1992, were consolidated into the Municipality of Usora. Usora, a historic local toponym, is also a suburb of Doboj and the nearby river.
It is relevant to note that figures above pertain to the pre-war municipality of which parts are in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are predominantly Bosniak (namely the Federation municipalities of Doboj East and Doboj South which are over 95% Bosniak, and Usora, which is Croat), which reduces the figures pertaining to the number of Bosniaks and Croats in the territory of the municipality within the boundaries of the Republika Srpska (to around 25 thousand Bosniaks and around 9 thousand Croats).
Doboj saw the overwhelming Bosniak return (around 15,000 in 2001, according to the UNHCR figures) to the municipal area in the RS as well as the near perfect completion of the process of property reposessions. In addition, the numbers have increased further since 2001. These processes were implemented by the UNHCR, OSCE and the Office of the High Representative in cooperation with municipal authorities. Many Bosniaks returned to town, while many Serb displaced persons remained in it as well. Doboj ranks among the most multi ethnic cities in the entire country, sharply contrasting its entire wider region.
[edit] Demographics
In 1991, prior to the Yugoslav wars, the Doboj municipality was inhabited by 102,519 people, including:
- 41,241 Muslims by nationality (40.2%)
- 40,020 Serbs (39%) (See: Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- 13,283 Croats (13%) (See: Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- 5,637 Yugoslavs (5.5%)
- 2,338 others (2.3%)
Yugoslavs (5.5% of the municipal population) were likely to be Serbs, Muslims or children from numerous inter-ethnic marriages.
In urban part of pre-war Doboj municipality, there was:
- 11,133 (40.36%) Muslims by nationality
- 8,088 (29.32%) Serbs
- 4,334 (15.75%) Yugoslavs
- 2,755 (9.98%) Croats
- 1,269 others
Population by settlements composing the town of Doboj:
- Bare: 732 (62%) Serbs, 153 (13%) Yugoslavs, 135 (11%) Croats, 112 (9%) Muslims, 53 (4%) others, 1,185 total
- Centar: 3,720 (35%) Serbs, 3,365 (31%) Muslims, 1,982 (18%) Yugoslavs, 1,236 (12%) Croats, 432 (4%) others, 10,735 total
- Čaršija: 3,561 (72%) Muslims, 594 (12%) Yugoslavs, 303 (6%) Serbs, 195 (4%) Croats, 273 (6%) others, 4,926 total
- Doboj Novi: 358 (48%) Muslims, 237 (32%) Serbs, 39 (5%) Yugoslavs, 7 (1%) Croats, 108 (14%) others, 749 total
- Donji Grad: 1,879 (37%) Serbs, 1,547 (31%) Muslims, 844 (17%) Yugoslavs, 569 (11%) Croats, 196 (4%) others, 5,035 total
- Orašje: 1,411 (66%) Muslims, 293 (14%) Serbs, 231 (11%) Yugoslavs, 111 (5%) Croats, 90 (4%) others, 2,136 total
- Usora: 924 (33%) Serbs, 779 (28%) Muslims, 502 (18%) Croats, 491 (17%) Yugoslavs, 117 (4%) others, 2,813 total
Serbs made majority in Bare, Centar, Donji Grad and Usora, while Bosniaks made majority in Čaršija, Doboj Novi and Orašje.
Source: [2].
[edit] Geography
Before the war in Bosnia the municipality of the same name had a bigger area surface. Presently, a larger part of the pre-war municipality is part of the Republika Srpska, including the city itself, (the Doboj Region). The southern rural areas are part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the eastern rural part of the municipality is part of the Tuzla Canton, also in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The parts of the pre-war Doboj Municipality that are in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the municipalities of Doboj South (Doboj Jug) and Doboj East (Doboj Istok) and the Municipality of Usora.
[edit] Economy
As a rail hub, before the Bosnian War, Doboj focused much of its industrial activities around it. Moreover, as a regional center, it was home to several factories, now mostly bankrupt from mismanagement or privatized, including "Bosanka Doboj", a fruit and vegetable product factory; "Trudbenik", a maker of electric equipment, etc. Nowadays, most of the economy, similar to the rest of the country and typical of poorly executed transition from state-controlled to market economy, bases around the service industry. High unemployment warrants a vibrant coffee shop and bar scene, crowded throughout most of the day.
[edit] Transportation
Doboj's economy has long been tied to the trade business due to its favorable location as a transit hub. The city is the region's commanding railroad knot, going north to Ploče on the Adriatic Sea, east to Banja Luka and Zagreb, north to Vinkovci, Croatia, and east to Tuzla and Zvornik. The route of the future E-75 highway is supposed to pass through the Doboj area.
[edit] Education
Doboj hosts the private Slobomir P University branch, with several colleges. It seats the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technical School.
[edit] Notable places/events in Doboj
- Doboj Fortress from the early 13th Century, with an amazing view of the town and its surroundings
- Roman military camp (Castrum) from 1st century AD (right above the confluence of the Usora and the Bosna rivers)
- Regional museum ("Zavicajni Muzej Doboj")
- Monument dedicated to the Serb civilians died in the World War I (in the Austro-Hungarian detention camp in Doboj)
- Annual Doboj International TV Handball Tournament
[edit] External links
- http://www.dobojlive.com
- http://www.doboj.net
- http://www.bhtourism.ba/eng/doboj.wbsp
- http://www.doboj.com
