The Vrbanja ( sr-cyrl, Врбања) is a river in

Central Bosnia Central Bosnia (, ) is a central subregion of Bosnia, which consists of a core mountainous area with several basins, valleys and mountains. It is bordered by Bosnian Krajina to the northwest, Tropolje ( Livno area) to the west, Herzegovina to t ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina; with

Ugar Ugar may refer to: * Ugar Khurd, town in the state of Karnataka, India * Ugar Budruk, village in the state of Karnataka, India * Ugar (river), Bosnia and Herzegovina * Ugar Island, census locality in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia **Step ...

, the largest right tributary of the Vrbas. Its basin covers an area of approximately 703.5 km². It has significant hydropower potential. There are many different estimations of the Vrbanja's length, from 70.5 km and 84 km to 95.4 km.

Name

Like many other sites in Bosnia, Vrbanja is named after the willows that grow along the river from Kruševo Brdo to

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

. Other examples are

Vrbanjci Vrbànjci ( sr-cyrl, Врбањци) is a village in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, in the Municipality of Kotor Varoš, as well as former Municipality in Kotor Varoš former County. Geography Vrbanjci lies along the Vrbanja ...

village and Vrbanja, near Banja Luka, as well as Vrbas and a bridge in the center of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

Geography

The Vrbanja source is on the slopes of Vlašić Mountain, upstream of Pilipovina village (at about 1,530 meters above sea level). The area around the source is called "Prelivode", with a radius of around 2-3 kilometers. Prelivode is on a ridge between the Vlašić (1933 m) and Meokrnje (1425 m) mountains. The Vrbanja flows through Kruševo Brdo,

Šiprage Šiprage ( sr-Cyrl, Шипраге) is a settlement municipality in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska entity, Kotor Varoš Municipality. The administrative status of this populated place was changed – from the local community has gr ...

Obodnik Obodnik is a village in the municipality of Kotor Varoš, Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosni ...

, Kotor Varoš, Zabrđe,

Čelinac Čelinac ( sr-cyr, Челинац) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 15,548 inhabitants, while the town of Čelinac has a population of 5,097 inhabitants. Geograph ...

and the settlement of Vrbanja. It joins the Vrbas river in Banja Luka. During the Austro-Hungarian administration of 1878-1914, a wide network of railway communications was built along the Vrbanja, with the support of the Bosnian Government. Exploitation of the natural resources (especially wood and mining) was the primary intended purpose of this investment. The railroad was built along the valley of the Vrbanja from Kotor Varoš to Šiprage, where it branched along a few tributaries of the river. It leads to the area of the Riječice, across the pass between Jasen and Šepirice.

Tributaries

The river is fed by numerous tributaries from Vlašić, Čemernica, Borja and

Uzlomac Uzlomac is a long mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia), east from line direction Maslovare – Vrbanjci – Kotor Varoš – Čelinac. It stretches from the southeast to the northwest through the mountainous area, from Kruševica River ...

mountains. The most significant right-side tributaries are the Bobovica, Lopača, Trnovac, Crkvenica, Kruševica, Jezerka, Bosanka, and Jošavka, and the most significant left-side tributaries, the Čudnić, Ćorkovac, Demićka, Sadika, Grabovička rijeka, Duboka river,

Vigošća Vigošća (also: ''Vigošta'') is a left tributary of the Vrbanja river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rises on the northern slopes of Ježica mountain by strong spring Vrelo (English: Spring, 1070 m above sea level), on the north slopes of Je ...

/Vigošta, Cvrcka and Jakotina.

Vrbanja valley in war in Bosnia

During the

War in Bosnia 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 ...

(1992 – 1995),

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n Police and Army forces destroyed many of the surrounding Bosniak and

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

villages along the Vrbanja valley, from Kruševo Brdo downstream to Banja Luka. The local civilian population was killed or displaced and their homes and properties were destroyed.Beč J. (1997): Pucanje duše. Samizdat B92, Beograd, {{ISBN, 86-7208-010-6.

References

Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Name

Geography

Tributaries

Vrbanja valley in war in Bosnia

See also

References