Bosanska Krajina

tween the Una and Vrbas rivers was referred by the name
Turkish Croatia.[1][2][3] The name was rst used consistently by Austian military topographers who worked in
the Austro-Ottoman border commission after the Treaty
of Karlowitz of 1699.[1] In the mid 19th century the name
Turkish Croatia was replaced by cartographers in favor of
Bosanska Krajina.[1]
The name Turkish Croatia was given to the area by the
Ottoman Turks and accepted by Austrian, Italian, and
German cartographers. In 1860, the Serb population of
the area wanted that name abolished in favor of Bosanska Krajina (Bosnian Frontier). Bosanska Krajina rst
appears on maps in 1869.
Map of Vrbas Banovina in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which
included entire Bosanska Krajina, 1929-1941.

2 History

Bosanska Krajina (pronounced [b sanska krjina]) or

2.1 Middle Ages
Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion
of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed
In the 6th century, todays northwestern Bosnia was
by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic,
part of the Roman province of Dalmatia. It fell under
economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
the jurisdiction of the Eastern Roman Empire. Shortly
The largest city, and its historical center is Banja thereafter, Eurasian Avars and their Slavic subjects from
Luka.
Other cities include Biha, Cazin, Velika northern Europe invaded Dalmatia and settled in what
Kladua, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Gradika, Kozarska Du- is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the 7th century the
bica, Bosanski Novi, Bosanska Krupa, Klju, Bosanski Serbs and Croats formed principalities initially under the
Petrovac, Kotor Varo, ipovo, Mrkonji Grad, Drvar, Eastern Roman Empire.
Glamo, Bosansko Grahovo, Jajce, Kneevo, Buim,
Between the 7th and the 9th century, Pannonian Croatia
Laktai, and elinac.
was a vassal to the Avar Khaganate and to the Franks.
Bosanska Krajina has no political borders or political rep- During this time the Croats were largely Christianized.
resentation in the structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina; In the 10th century, the Trpimirovi dynasty joined the
however it has a signicant cultural and historical identity Croatian lands into an independent Croatian kingdom,
that was formed through several historic and economic which lasted until the beginning of the 12th century,
events. The territory of Bosanska Krajina is currently when Croatia joined the Kingdom of Hungary. In the
divided between two entities of Bosnia and Herzegov- 13th and 14th century, a region called Donji Kraji, loina: Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and cated in todays southern Bosanska Krajina, was rst
Herzegovina.
mentioned as a property of the Diocese of Bosnia and
claimed by the Kingdom of Bosnia.

By the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire had significantly expanded into the western Balkans in a series
of wars, and the Turkish westward incursions eventually made this region an Ottoman borderland. Jajce had
fallen to the Ottomans in 1463, marking the downfall of
the Kingdom of Bosnia. The Battle of Krbava Field in
1493 eectively ended the Kingdom of Croatia's persistent hold over the entire region, restricting them to fortied cities.

Naming

The far northwest corner of Bosanska Krajina is also

known as Cazinska Krajina named after the city of Cazin.
It is also sometimes called Ljuta Krajina, meaning Mad
Frontier, due to the uprisings that often originated there
while it was a part of the Ottoman Empire and later
Austria-Hungary.

Between the 16th and 19th centuries the territory be- In the late 15th century, a local Croatian lord (knez) Juraj
1

2 HISTORY

Mikulii erected a fort in the village of Buim near Biha, fearing the advancing Ottoman army. Mikulii died
in 1495, but the Buim fort would not pass to Ottoman
control until 1576.[4]

2.2

Ottoman period

Over the course of the 16th century, the Turks took

hold of much of the region. The fort of Ostrovica (near
Kulen Vakuf) passed to one Skender-pasha in 1501. In
1520, the Croatian ban Petar Berislavi was killed in a
Turkish ambush in the Biha area. Turkish commander
Gazi Husrev-beg was made the governor of the Sanjak
of Bosnia in 1521 and proceeded to expand its territory,
and conquered Udbina the same year. By 1523, Gazi
Husrev-begs army had also captured the southern regions
including the forts of Knin, Ostrovica (near Benkovac)
and Skradin. In the following years, his army gradually
overtook much of the Bosanska Krajina region.
After the crucial 1526 Battle of Mohcs and the 1527
election in Cetin, Croatia became part of the Austrian
Habsburg Empire. The Ottoman Empire formally established the Eyalet of Bosnia in 1580. The Croatian lands
in general were reduced to a fraction of what they encompassed, and only the westernmost parts of todays
Bosanska Krajina still resisted the Ottoman rule. Nevertheless the Ottoman armies preferred to advance towards
their targets in the northwest through more easily passable terrain, such as along the river Danube, for example Vienna was rst besieged in 1529 after the army had
gone through Osijek, Mohcs and Buda. The natural obstacles in and around the region, especially at the time, included the rivers Sava, Vrbas, Una and Sana, as well as the
mountains such as Pljeevica, ator, Klekovaa, Radua,
Grme, Kozara and Vlai.

Ottoman vizier, attacked and forcefully occupied Biha.

Records show that nearly 2,000 people died in defense
of Biha, and an estimated 800 Croat children from Biha were sent into servitude in Turkey, to be educated
in Islam and become Yenicari. Hasan-pasha Predojevi
pressed further north into Croatia, but was defeated in the
June 1593 Battle of Sisak.
When the Ottoman Empire lost the 1683-1690 War of
the Holy League to the Habsburg Monarchy and her allies, and ceded Slavonia and Hungary to Austria at the
1699 Treaty of Karlowitz, the northern and western borders of the Bosnian Province (corresponding to the modern Bosnian borders), became a permanent frontier between the Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Ottomans
wanted to turn the tide of warfare to their side, so, opposite to the Habsburg Military Frontier, they formed a
Bosnian Frontier which was in the Military Frontiers like,
split on captains, each having its own fortications and
military regiments.
The Frontier was further settled by Serbian herders, who
served as militia, defending it from hostile incursions and
maintaining order, or as medics and workforce for the
much needed frontline with the Austrian Empire. Since
then, the Serbs formed the majority of the Bosnian Frontiers population.
During the military intrusions of their fellowmen from the
Military Frontier, the Uskoci, mostly helped them.

2.3 19th century

In mid-1858, an uprising known as Pecijas First Revolt
broke out in the region, resulting from Ottoman pressure
against the local Serb populace. It was crushed by December.

The Bosnian Frontier, like the rest of Bosnia and HerzeIn January 1528, the Ottomans under Gazi Husrev-beg govina, participated in the 1875 - 1878 Herzegovina Uptook command of Jajce, Banja Luka and Klju, followed rising.
by Krbava and Lika in the spring of that year.
Turkish incursions expanded further to the north, and
Charles of Styria erected a new fortied city of Karlovac
in 1579. In 1580 the Turks responded by declaring the
Pashaluk of Bosnia which unied all the Sanjaks, including territory in modern-day Croatia. As a result of the
wars and border changes, the Catholic Croat population
moved north, and was replaced with Orthodox Serbs and
Vlachs.[5]
The Buim fort, under Ottoman control since 1576, was
successfully held by the Ottomans in numerous battles
(1685, 1686, 1688, 1737) and it was also upgraded
(1626, 1834) until their eventual surrender in the 19th
century. The building remains to this day as a monument
to the Ottoman conquest.[4]

2.4 World War II

During World War II, Bosanska Krajina was known for
its very strong resistance to the Fascist regime. The antifascist Partisan movement in the Bosanska Krajina region was more ethnically diverse than in any other part
of former Yugoslavia during WWII. In the winter of
1942/1943 the Partisans established the Republic of Biha in Bosanska Krajina. Soon afterwards, Bosanska
Krajina was also the place of historical agreements that
have taken place in Jajce and Mrkonji Grad in 1943,
ones that established the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its current borders, as well as the Federation of
Yugoslavia.

Biha held out longer than Buim, and even at one point During WWII the Ustasha Jasenovac concentration camp
served as the capital of Croatia. But, in 1592 the Turkish was established just across the river Sava from Bosanarmy of about 20,000 under Hasan-pasa Predojevi, an ska Krajina, and many of the regions inhabitants (mainly

3
Serbs, Gypsies and Jews but also some communist Bosni- a signicant ore industry developed around the Kozara
ans and Croats) were killed there. The number of Serbs Mountain.
killed by the Ustaa is between 500,000 and 900,000.

2.5

Yugoslavia

5 Transport and Aviation

During the 1992-95 Bosnian War, Bosanska Krajina

was divided between Republika Srpska, the Republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Autonomous Province
of Western Bosnia. The region was also a place of concentration camps, including Manjaa and Omarska where
predominantly Bosniaks were held, tortured, raped, and
killed.

Demographics

The population of the region numbered almost one million before the war in Bosnia. The ethnic composition
of Bosanska Krajina was in 1991 (per census data) 44%
Serbs, 40% Bosniaks, 7% Croats, 5% Yugoslavs and 3%
others (Romas, Ukrainians, Hungarians and Valachians).
The composition of the current population of Bosanska Krajina has dramatically changed since, because of
expulsions, forced relocation and emigration during the
Bosnian war in 1992-95. Various parts have become less
ethnically diverse, mainly Bosniak in the Northwest and
Serb in Republika Srpska and a few other municipalities
that border Croatia.

Economics

In the immediate aftermath of WWII Bosanska Krajina

was considered one of the poorest regions of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. This poverty was a contributing factor to
1950 Cazin Uprising against the communist government,
the only such uprising in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia.
The later economic boom and prosperity of Bosanska
Krajina was mostly due to planned urban development
programs that were created specically for this region in
early and mid-1970s by Urban Institute in Banja Luka.
The development was further stimulated by the simplication of the banking system that encouraged investments
in resource processing industry. As a result the region has
seen a boom in agricultural and industrial production.

B&H Airlines ATR 72 at Banja Luka airport preparing for the

ight to Zurich, August 2010

The expressway E-661 (locally known as M-16) leads

north to Croatia, existing as an expressway from Banja
Luka to Laktasi and as a two-lane road from Laktasi to
the Bosnian/Croatian border. This second section of the
road is currently being upgraded to an expressway.
Under planning is two new expressways. One from Prijedor to Bosanska Dubica to short down the travelling time
to Zagreb. The other one is to the east heading towards
Doboj and connecting Bosanska Krajina to the important
Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Banja Luka International Airport is located 23 km from
Banja Luka. There are two airlines currently, B&H Airlines and Adria Airways, with regular ights to Ljubljana (four times weekly) and Zurich (three times weekly).
Charter ights also operate from the airport, and the airport can be used as a back-up to Sarajevo Airport. Zagreb
Airport, due to weather conditions in winter often preferable to Sarajevo, is approximately two hours away from
Banja Luka by car.
eljava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina under Pljeevica Mountain,
near the town of Biha in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was
the largest underground airport and military airbase in the
former Yugoslavia and one of the largest in Europe.
Prijedor also has an aireld in the north-eastern part of
the city in the area of Urije. The aireld has a eet of
light aircraft and sailplanes. The aireld was used by the
Yugoslav partisans and was the rst operative partisan aireld during World War II. The aireld also serves as the
home of the citys renovated Parachuting club.

Agrokomerc, a food manufacturing industry located in

northwest region was the largest food manufacturer in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Yugoslavia. Other
industries included chemical industry Saniteks in Velika Kladua, electronics industry Rudi Cajevec in Banja
Luka, Textile industry Sana in Bosanski Novi as well as a Bosanska Krajina is the hub of the railway services in
range of wood and food processing companies that stim- Bosnia and Herzegovina, comprising more than one-half
ulated an economic boom in this region. There was also of the railway network of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

10

Services operate to the northern and western Bosnian

towns Banja Luka, Prijedor, Bosanski Novi and Biha.
The rail network also operates to Zagreb (twice daily),
and Belgrade.

REFERENCES

9 See also
History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Biha
Bosanska Krupa

Culture

The brutal history of Bosanska Krajina may be a reason

for a specic nature of its people that pride themselves
on toughness and rebelliousness towards other parts of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The cultural center of Bosanska Krajina is located in
Banja Luka. Institutions such as Museum of Bosanska
Krajina and National Theatre of Bosanska Krajina located in Banja Luka held evidence of long history and
culture of this region.

Gallery
Banski dvor in Banja Luka
Prijedor
Biha
Jajce
Sanski Most
Klju
Bosanska Krupa
Bosanska Dubica
Bosanska Gradika
Ostroac Castle
Velika Kladua Castle
Drvar
Kulen Vakuf

Historical gallery
Banja Luka at the turn of 20th century
Biha fortied place in 1590
Bosanska Krupa from Middle Age
An old drawing of Bosanska Dubica

Cazin
Prijedor
Velika Kladua
Banja Luka
Klju
SAO Bosanska Krajina

10 References
[1] Maga, Branka; ani, Ivo (2001). The War in Croatia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina 1991-1995. Taylor & Francis.
p. 11. ISBN 0-7146-8201-2.
[2] Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica. LoveToKnow. Retrieved 2010-06-18. Donji Kraj,
the later Krajina, Kraina or Turkish Croatia, in the northwest
[3] Borna Fuerst-Bjeli, Ivan Zupanc (2007). Images of the
Croatian Borderlands: Selected Examples of Early Modern Cartography. Hrvatski geografski glasnik (69/1): 16.
Retrieved 2010-06-25. Schimeks Map of the Turkish Croatia, 1788. (Facsimile from Markovi 1998).
Turkisch Croatien""
[4] Commission to Preserve National Monuments, Sarajevo
(2007-11-28). Old Fort - Buzim - Bosnia and Herzegovina. Council of Europe. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
[5] Noel Malcolm (1994). The Vlachs in Bosnia. Bosnia:
A Short History. New York University Press. Archived
from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
[6] Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias: StateBuilding and Legitimation, 19182004. Indiana University Press. p. 430. ISBN 0-271-01629-9.
[7] ""Ethnic Cleansing Continues in Northern Bosnia. Human Rights Watch. November 1994.

11
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