Vitez ( sr-cyrl, Витез) is a town and municipality located in

Central Bosnia Canton The Central Bosnia Canton ( bs, Srednjobosanski kanton/Средњобосански кантон, hr, Županija Središnja Bosna) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most populous se ...

of the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...

, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 6,329 inhabitants, with 25,836 inhabitants in the municipality.

Etymology

The wor
vitez
means knight in Bosnian and Croatian and

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

History

Vitez was part of Bosnia until the decay of Bosnia when Ottoman Empire occupied this region. This was the period in Vitez got its name. It is known that the first settlement in nowadays urban area was formed around the mosque, built in 1590. Knowing that mosques are being erected in urban areas, it is logical to say that this settlement existed even before. Vitez is mentioned once again during an uprising against Turks led by Husein Gradaščević, when he defeated Turkish Army at Kosovo, after which he was named for Bosnian de facto ruler (Vezir). According to the Austrian officer ''Božića'' (1785), Vitez had 18 houses, mosque and Motel (Han). After many centuries under the Ottoman rule, 1878 Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Vitez got occupied by Austro-Hungary Monarchy, and later 1908 annexed. During this time there were many changes in Bosnian society, both political and economical. For a short period they built many roads, railroads, mines,... But, unluckily only with goal to exploit Bosnian natural resources. At the place of old Turkish wood plant, Austrian entrepreneur ''Guido Rütgers'' built the enterprise for mechanical wood processing which was a milestone in a development of urban area. In 1879, Vitez had 510 inhabitants. Other companies existed as well, but were all owned by foreigners. It this period many people from parts of Monarchy came to work in Vitez, especially from Slovenia, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Switzerland.

Demographics

Sport

The town is home to the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club NK Vitez, basketball club HKK Vitez Paladij,

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

club R.K. Vitez, table tennis clubs STK Vitez and STK CM Vitez, and rugby league club Vitez RLC.

Notable people

* Davor Badrov, singer *

Sasha Skenderija Sasha Skenderija (born 4 July 1968) is a Bosnian-American poet currently residing in Prague. Biography Skenderija began publishing poetry, prose and criticism in Bosnian (Serbo-Croatian) in the late 1980s, graduating from the University of Sar ...

, poet *

Zlatan Bajramović Zlatan Bajramović (; born 12 August 1979) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Bajramović spent all of his playing career in the country of his birth, Germany. After starting his career ...

, footballer *

Vejsil Varupa Vejsil Varupa (born 25 January 1971) is a Bosnian former footballer. A big talent, he played alongside future stars like Zlatko Zahović and Mario Stanić Mario Stanić (born 10 April 1972) is a former Croatian footballer. Being a versatile ...

, footballer * Ante Rajković, footballer * Roberto Soldić, MMA fighter

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Municipalities of the Central Bosnia Canton