Igman ( sr-cyrl, Игман, ) is a mountain
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
in central
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. Geologically, Igman is part of the
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...
and formed largely of secondary and tertiary sedimentary rock, mostly
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. It is located southwest of
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, bordering the Bjelašnica range in the south and west,
Hadžići
Hadžići ( sr-cyrl, Хаџићи) is a town and municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located south west of the city of Sarajevo. According to the 20 ...
and
Ilidža
Ilidža ( sr-cyrl, Илиџа, ) is a town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and is ...
in the north, and the river
Željeznica in the east. Igman's highest point, Crni vrh, west of the Malo Polje road, at an altitude of , the homonym highest elevation on the east side of this road reaches an elevation of . Most of Igman is covered with
mixed forest
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions.
These fo ...
with local
pastures
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
(f.i.: Veliko Polje: Large Field, Malo Polje: Small Field). Igman was the location of the lowest recorded temperature in the region, . Igman has been the site of extensive combat during the 1992-95
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav ...
and certain areas, in particular the surroundings of former
front lines
''Front Lines'' is a 1994 computer wargame for MS-DOS developed and published by Impressions Games.
Gameplay
''Front Lines'' is a wargame with a turn-based play system, using vehicles.
Reception
In ''PC Gamer US'', William R. Trotter calle ...
, feature a
high mine risk.
Sports
During the
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...
, Igman was, along with
Jahorina
Jahorina ( sr-Cyrl, Јахорина, ) is a mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located on the tripoint of the municipalities of Pale, Trnovo, Republika Srpska and Trnovo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Part of the Dinaric Alps, it borde ...
and
Bjelašnica
Bjelašnica ( sr-cyrl, Бјелашница, ) is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is to the southwest of Sarajevo, bordering Mount Igman. Bjelašnica's tallest peak, by which the mountain group got its name, rises to an elevation ...
, the location of the competition in the
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
and
Nordic sports disciplines. Igman hosted primarily the Nordic disciplines; the
Igman Olympic Jumps
Igman Olympic Jumps, also known as Malo Polje, is a defunct ski jumping hill on the mountain of Igman in Ilidža, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of a large hill with a construction point (K-point) of and a normal hill with a K-poi ...
in the Malo Polje area were the site of the
ski jumping
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
events and also the ski jumping part of the
Nordic combined
Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic ...
events. Meanwhile, the Veliko Polje hosted the
biathlon
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not tim ...
,
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
, and the cross-country skiing part of the Nordic combined event. In preparation of the Games a road was constructed across the Igman plateau connecting Sarajevo through
Hadžići
Hadžići ( sr-cyrl, Хаџићи) is a town and municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located south west of the city of Sarajevo. According to the 20 ...
to the Malo Polje, Veliko Polje and Babin Dol venues. There were numerous structures constructed on Igman at this time, although many stand destroyed or bear the scars of the 1992-1995 conflict. One of the most eye catching structures remains the Ski Jumping platform at Malo Polje.
Recent military history
World War II
Although the Igman area may probably have been the scene of military controversy in the earlier
history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes referred to simply as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It has had permanent settlement since the Neolithic Age. By the early historical period it was inhabited by Illyrians and Ce ...
, the most striking events took place in the course of the 20th century. The area became of substantial military significance during the struggle between
Tito
Tito may refer to:
People Mononyms
* Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman
* Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...
's
Partisans and the German occupational forces during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A renowned episode of this struggle took place on Igman during
Operation Südost Kroatien associated with what is known as the
Second Enemy Offensive
Operation Southeast Croatia (german: Unternehmen Südost Kroatien) was a large-scale German-led counter-insurgency operation conducted in the southeastern parts of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; modern-da ...
in January 1942. The Partisan 1st Proletarian Brigade, pursued by the German
342. Infanterie-Division, crossed Igman in what is known as the "Igman March". With temperatures reaching , 172 Partisans suffered severe hypothermic injury, 6 of whom died.
2When they approached the German–Italian demarcation line south of Sarajevo, the Partisans were able to infiltrate through the weak Italian cordon. A monument in memory of the Partisan struggle in this area is to be found on Veliko Polje.
Bosnian War
Mount Igman was usurped in the course of the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
, and suddenly became an area of major strategic importance as part of the
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav ...
. The predominantly
Bosniak
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
villages of
Hrasnica and
Butmir
Butmir ( sr-cyrl, Бутмир) is a neighborhood in Ilidža municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo International Airport, the main airport of Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in Butmir.
Horse races are held at Butmir.Archived aGhosta ...
held out as an
ARBiH
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...
stronghold between the
VRS-held villages of
Ilidža
Ilidža ( sr-cyrl, Илиџа, ) is a town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and is ...
and
Vojkovići, forming a corridor connecting the slopes of Mt Igman with the
UN-controlled airport of Sarajevo.
After the completion of the
Sarajevo Tunnel
The Sarajevo Tunnel ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Sarajevski tunel / Сарајевски тунел), also known as Tunel spasa (Тунел спаса, English: ''Tunnel of rescue'') and Tunnel of Hope, was a tunnel constructed between March ...
under the airport in July 1993, the small unpaved forest road passing over Mt Igman became the sole important supply road into the besieged city. The ARBiH-controlled central plateau of Igman came under increased VRS pressure when the suspicion became stronger that the area had become a major logistical artery of the besieged city. A major VRS offensive started July 1993 and on August 4, 1993 Serb forces captured part of the Igman supply road. The VRS advance was stopped under threat of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
airstrikes.
The area was declared a
Demilitarized Zone
A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...
(DMZ) by the UN after the VRS retreated and
UNPROFOR
The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...
units were stationed on Igman and nearby
Bjelašnica
Bjelašnica ( sr-cyrl, Бјелашница, ) is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is to the southwest of Sarajevo, bordering Mount Igman. Bjelašnica's tallest peak, by which the mountain group got its name, rises to an elevation ...
. The supply road into
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
was agreed to be used for humanitarian goods only, but ARBiH logistical activity on the road and through the tunnel continued nevertheless. Discussion about real or alleged reluctance to withdraw ARBiH forces from the DMZ was a growing issue between UNPROFOR Commander
General Rose and ARBiH Commander
General Delić, with VRS Commander
Mladić waiting for an opportunity to close the gap. Trucks on the Igman supply road's narrow last stretch descending the steep north-eastern slope became fully exposed to fire from VRS artillery positions in Ilidža and Vojkovici.
Meanwhile, the ARBiH units remaining on the plateau were formally restricted to
R&R activities, notably resulting in the building of the Igman Džamija, a wooden mosque in the forest, still much frequented today. The Igman supply road remained the almost exclusive supply route into Sarajevo until the end of the war. It was also the only entry and exit road for the Bosnian political leadership. Bosnian president
Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ...
and foreign secretary
Muhamed Sacirbey
Muhamed "Mo" Sacirbey (born 20 July 1956), born as Muhamed Šaćirbegović, is a Bosnian-American lawyer, businessman, and diplomat. He rose to prominence in the 1990s when Bosnia and Herzegovina appointed him to be their ambassador to the United ...
traveled through this road.
Foreign negotiators tended to avoid the road as it was "often described as the most dangerous road in Europe". Forced by a Serb blockade of the Sarajevo Airport, on August 19, 1995, a US
Peace Mission headed by
Richard Holbrooke
Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977 ...
took this road in order to reach Sarajevo for a meeting with the Bosnian presidency. Holbrooke decided to sit with
General Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...
in a
Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
, while the other members of the delegation travelled in a French UNPROFOR
Renault VAB
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of ...
Armored Personnel Carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
. At a particular exposed and narrow point -- now marked by a French memorial plaque -- the French APC went over the edge and rolled and tumbled down some 400 metres. US
Diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
s
Robert Frasure, Nelson Drew and Joe Kruzel as well as the French Corporal-driver perished in the incident. The battered APC is still to be seen where it ultimately came to a halt - next to a memorial site for the victims.
By mid-1995 the military situation became very tense again, and in August 1995 the VRS launched another offensive forcing UNPROFOR from the Bjelašnica ridge and advancing again towards Veliko Polje. After the
second Markale shelling, on August, 30 NATO started
Operation Deliberate Force
Operation Deliberate Force was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in concert with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the ...
, in which NATO aircraft engaged VRS
Command & Control facilities and other targets. In conjunction with these attacks a
Rapid Reaction Force
A rapid reaction force is a military or police unit designed to respond in very short time frames to emergencies. When used in reference to police forces such as SWAT teams, the time frame is minutes, while in military applications, such as with t ...
consisting of units of the British
19th Reg. Royal Artillery, the French
2nd Legion Etranger d'Infanterie and the Dutch 1e Mortiercompagnie of the
NL Marine Corps, was deployed on Igman with (
RNLA)
search radars and heavy artillery, engaging any actively firing VRS artillery installation around Sarajevo until 14 September 1995, when the NATO air strikes were suspended to allow the implementation of the withdrawal of VRS heavy weapons from the Sarajevo exclusion zone, effectively ending the Siege of Sarajevo. A number of memorials and war cemetery sites is found throughout the Igman plateau.
Gallery
File:Igman – Olimpijske skakaonice 5.jpg, Ski jumping hills on Igman in spring
File:Sarajevo seen from Igman.JPG, Sarajevo seen from Igman
File:Igman The former wartime supply road.JPG, Igman The former wartime supply road
File:Mt Igman French APC in which members of 1995 US Peace Mission perished..JPG, Mt Igman French APC in which members of 1995 US Peace Mission perished.
File:Igman Hrasnicki Stan.JPG, Igman Hrasnicki Stan
File:Mount Igman.JPG, view of Mt. Igman from Sarajevo
File:Hotel Igman 01.jpg, Ruins of Hotel Igman on the mountain
Skiing and hiking
Igman is nowadays a popular destination for
mountain-biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
,
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
and
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
. Skiers will find -apart from 2 baby lifts- a single major skilift at Malo Polje that will bring them to with a single descent
piste
A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports.
This European term is French of red/bleu with a black split-off of . Mountain bikers will find a vast network of forest roads on Igman. The steep north-eastern slope of Igman is especially popular with the mountain bikers, who use the former wartime supply road to climb from Hrasnica up to an altitude of , and then descend with some bravura via a hiking trail. This hiking trail connects the village with the main mountain hut in the area: Hrasnički Stan. Another trail leads from Hrasnica to the Memorial for the deceased American diplomats and the memorial plaque for the French military fallen on this road and ends also at Hrasnički Stan. From there other trails lead to the mountain hut at Malo Polje proceeding further east towards the Javornik mountain hut.
Other
At the very foot of the mountain, close to
Ilidža
Ilidža ( sr-cyrl, Илиџа, ) is a town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and is ...
, are the sources of the river
Bosna:
Vrelo Bosne. This beautiful area is one of the most popular recreational areas of Sarajevo, and one its most important drinking water sources. Nearby lies one of the famous residential villas of Marshal Tito: Stojcevac, now fully destroyed. The area further up above Vrelo Bosne is the location of the former frontline and inaccessible because of heavy contamination with
land mines
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
and
UXO.
Demining
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...
activities on former frontlines have taken place and are still taking place around recreational areas and the main roads.
One of the primeval forests of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Ravna Vala is also located on mountain Igman.
Igman Initiative
The Igman mountain, with its wartime legacy, has lend its name to a non-governmental/political initiative that is aimed at bringing the former belligerents in the region together. The mission of the Igman Initiative is to encourage normalization of the overall relations among the countries of the
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
Quadrangles. The initiative was named after Mt. Igman in remembrance of the intellectual activists, who traveled from all over former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
via the Igman Mountain Road to Sarajevo in April 1995 in solidarity with the besieged population. In November 2000, in Zagreb, a conference, “Prospects of Relations between Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the FRY
[At that time the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) still consisted of Serbia and Montenegro.]” was convened. The conference gathered more than a hundred
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s from the nations ratifying the
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски мир ...
. The participating organizations agreed to formally join their efforts to stimulate the normalization of relations among the three countries. At the second session of the conference, held in Novi Sad, 2001, the Igman Initiative was established and a Council was appointed. The new institution would speed up the process of normalizing the relations. The Igman Initiative is now governed by four co-Presidents from Croatia, BiH, Serbia and Montenegro and its Council is currently composed of twenty members, five per country. The Igman Initiative efforts are essentially still aimed at establishing good neighbourly relations, building mutual trust and tolerance and overcoming all types of discrimination in the countries of the region.
References and footnotes
External links
* http://www.igman-initiative.org
{{Authority control
Venues of the 1984 Winter Olympics
Olympic biathlon venues
Olympic cross-country skiing venues
Olympic Nordic combined venues
Mountains of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ilidža