Banovići ( sr-cyrl, Бановићи) is a town and municipality located in the

Tuzla Canton The Tuzla Canton
Official name of canton is Tuzla Canton (; ; ) is one of 10

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: ''Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / ''Федерација Босне и Херцеговине'') is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities composing Bo ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. It is located in northeastern

. The intensive development of Banovići began with the construction of the Brčko-Banovići railway in the year 1946. Due to its quality,

brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

from Banovići is well-known all over Europe.

Geography

Banovići Municipality is situated on the foothills of the Konjuh mountain. The urban settlement of Banovići was built on the embankments of the Litva river. Its average altitude is 332 meters. The municipality encompasses 185 km² and it includes the following settlements: Borovac, Banovići Selo, Ćatići, Milići, Mrgan, Repnik, Podgorje, Grivice, Treštenica Donja, Treštenica Gornja, Tulovići, Oskova, Željova, Omazići, Lozna, Seona, Pribitkovići, Stražbenica, and Gornji Bučik. According to the 1991 census, there were 26,507 inhabitants, of which 72% were

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

, 17%

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, 2%

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and 9% others. According to some estimates in 2000, the population of Banovići was about 29,000, and a considerable number of them were refugees.

History

The oldest settlement known is located on the Gradina hill at Tulovići village, dating back to prehistoric times, according to remaining artefacts. There is a system of caves in the village of Pribitkovići, rich in cave adornments. The origin of the central settlement's name is revealed by a

stećak Stećak (plural stećci; Cyrillic стећак, стећци) is the name for monumental medieval tombstones, that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found w ...

in Banović selo, which, besides the ornaments and the lily flower carved into the stone, also has an inscription written in the

Bosnian Cyrillic Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica, is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in medieval Bosnia. The term was coined at the end of the 19th century by Ćiro Truhelka. It was widely used in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

script. There were several necropolises of stećaks found, besides Banovići, that used to belong to the Dramešin county: Stražba, Draganja, and Treštenica. The county and the settlements are also mentioned by their respective names in Turkish sources. The name of the county was sustained until the 19th century. The intensive development of Banovići began with the construction of the Brčko-Banovići railway in 1946. There were only a few houses in the Banovići settlement, but by 1961 there were already 4,611 inhabitants. The settlement acquired all the features of a modern urban town environment. This is due to the exploitation of quality brown coal and the construction of a large number of industrial facilities in the metal and non-metal industry, as well as the construction of a modern road between

Živinice Živinice is a city located in Tuzla Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, south of Tuzla. As of 2013, it has a population of 57,765 inhabitan ...

and

Zavidovići Zavidovići ( sr-cyrl, Завидовићи) is a city and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located be ...

. Due to its quality, brown coal from Banovići is well-known all over Europe. The exploitation of brown coal is the basis of the further development of Banovići, as well as of the

Tuzla Canton The Tuzla Canton
Official name of canton is Tuzla Canton (; ; ) is one of 10

Tourism

The Municipality of Banovići has good preconditions for the development of tourism based on hunting on the slopes of Konjuh, as well as for the development of tourism based on fishing in several mountain rivers: the Oskova, the Krabanja, the Zlaća and the Studešnica. The „Zlaća“ mountain motel is one of the best mountain recreation facilities in the Tuzla Canton. The „Zobik“ mountain house is well known to all those in Bosnia and Herzegovina who like nature. In the village of Pribitkovići there is Borovac, an interesting series of caves rich with cave ornaments. The Konjuh Mountain is a habitat of the following animals:

brown bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

, capercaillies and

squirrels Squirrels are members of the family (biology), family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and ...

Economy

"RMU Banovići" is a Bosnian and Herzegovinan company principally engaged in the mining industry. The company’s main activities are: underground exploitation, surface exploitation, separation and distribution of brown coal. The company operates the Banovići mines and the coal separation facility in Oskova. "RMU Banovići" has about 2.600 employees. It is one of the most successful

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

companies in Bosnia and ex-Yugoslavia. RMU sells 60% of its output to the Tuzla Power Plant (coal-fired) located nearby and also supplies coal to Bosnian households and exports to Croatia and Serbia. "RMU Banovići" has invested 40 million KM in modernising its equipment over the last few years, helping it generate combined profits of 20 million KM ( convertible marks). Other important companies are: "Helios" stove factory, "FGO" construction material factory, "Borac" clothing factory etc.

Culture

The "Radnički Dom" (Workers Dome/Centre) is a centre for cultural events. The building includes a radio station, a city library, a theatre and a central restaurant. Radnički Dom is also the "home" of a mural with motifs from the Husinska buna (miners' rebellion in Husino), painted in the early 1960s by one of the greatest Bosnian and ex-Yugoslavian painters, Ismet Mujezinović. Spomen obiljezje banovickih sehida

The city cinema hall has been renovated and bears a different name (BKC = Bosanski kulturni centar/Bosnian cultural centre). A youth centre "Pinkland" was created in 1995 to fill some of the social, cultural, and recreational gaps (those gaps resulted from the War in Bosnia). The centre offers classes in computer science, music, painting, carpentry and dance, as well as sports, summer camps, and picnics to more than 1,600 members. Pinkland also cooperates with local schools, social authorities, the police and other non-governmental organizations. The most important international partners are the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is an office-level agency in the federal administration of Switzerland, and a part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Together with other federal offices, SDC is responsible for ...

(SDC), Finnish University Humak and Finnish NGO Etnokult.

Sports

FK Budućnost Banovići is the oldest sports club in the municipality of Banovići. In Bosnian "Budućnost" means "Future", which symbolizes the hope the people had for the times to come when the club was founded in 1947. The club plays at the Gradski Stadion (eng. City Stadium), which has a capacity of 5,000. Their primary colours are dark green and black. This club has entered the Republic league of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1978–79 season, which was their biggest success at that time. Today, FK Budućnost Banovići is a member of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. FK Budućnost were promoted to the

Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; sr-Cyrl, Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), officially known as the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for sponsorship purposes, is the top tier football leagu ...

in the 1998–99 season. Later, in the 2000–01 season, Budućnost played against FK Drnovice from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Budućnost now plays in the First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Scouting and mountaineering

The scouting community "Plamen" was formed on 1 September 1956. Since then the community has worked on the progress of non-formal life education, information and entertainment for young people through the promotion of scouting activities, the organization of scout competitions, picnics, summer camps and education about ecology. The community has 150 active members. Mountaineering club "Varda" has existed for long time as well. Their member, Miralem Husanović - Muri, has participated in several expeditions:

Manaslu Manaslu (; , also known as Kutang) is the List of highest mountains#List, eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the ...

(

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

(

Mount McKinley Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helma ...

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

Gran Paradiso The Gran Paradiso () or Grand Paradis ( ) is a mountain in the Graian Alps in Italy, located between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. It is located in Gran Paradiso National Park. Etymology The Italian toponym ''Gran Paradiso'' deriv ...

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

, etc.

Demographics

Twin towns – sister cities

Banovići is twinned with: *

Bečej Bečej (, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 19,492, while the municipality has 30,681 inhabitants. History Bečej was mentioned f ...

, Serbia *

Labin Labin (Italian language, Italian/Istriot language, Istriot: Albona) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, with a town population of 5,806 (2021) and 10,424 in the greater municipality (which also includes the small towns of Rabac, Rabac-Porto Albona a ...

, Croatia

Gallery

Nova dzamija.JPG, The construction of the Downtown Mosque Helios fabrika.JPG, The "Helios" stove factory Dijabaz.JPG, The diabase exploitation site Dijabaz 2011.jpg, The diabase exploitation site Mackovac.jpg, The "Mačkovac" picnic area Banovici iz zraka.jpg, Banovići from above banovici-from-air-360 by BAXON media a.jpg, Banovici from the above — 360° by BAXON media

References

* Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by municipalities and settlements, 1991. census, Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine - Bilten no.234, Sarajevo 1991. * Script about Tuzla Canton, 2001

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banovici Cities and towns in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Populated places in Banovići Municipalities of the Tuzla Canton