Doboj ( sr-Cyrl, Добој, ) is a city in

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

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 situated on the banks of the Bosna river, in the northern region of Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 inhabitants. Doboj is the largest national railway junction and the operational base of the Railways Corporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is one of the oldest cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, aside from

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

, the most important urban center in northern Republika Srpska.

Geography

Prior to the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina the municipality of the same name had a larger surface area. The larger part of the pre-war municipality is part of

, including the city itself. The southern rural areas are part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the

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 ...

, and the eastern rural part of the municipality is part of the Tuzla Canton, also in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The parts of the pre-war Doboj Municipality that are in the

are the municipalities of Doboj South (Doboj Jug), Doboj East (Doboj Istok) and the Municipality of Usora. The northern suburbs of Doboj extend into the Pannonian plains, and effectively mark the southern tip of this great Central European plain. The southern (Doboj South) and eastern suburbs (Doboj East) are spread on the gentle hills which extend to the larger Central Bosnian mountain areas (Mt. Ozren in the southeast, Mt. Krnjin in the west).

Climate

History

Ancient times

Doboj has been continuously inhabited ever since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times. Fragments of pottery and decorative art were found on several localities, with the most known site in Makljenovac, south from the city proper, at the confluence of the Usora and Bosna rivers. Archeological findings from the Paleolithic era were found in a cave in the Vila suburb. The Illyrian tribe of Daesitates settled in this region as early as the twelfth century BC. Daesitates were one of the largest and most important Illyrian tribes residing at the territory of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, sharing their northern borders with Breuci, another important tribe. Daesitates and Breuci started the Great Illyrian Revolt, or in Roman sources, the widespread rebellion known as Bellum Batonianum (6–9 AD). After the bloody rebellion was subdued, Roman legions permanently settled in the area and built a large military camp ( Castrum) and a civilian settlement (Canabea) in Makljenovac. These structures were most likely built in the early

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...

era, during

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

's rule. The military camp was large, in the shape of a near perfect rectangle with large towers at each corner and the main gate in the middle of the central wall, and served as the most important defense on the old Roman road from Brod to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, demarcating the very borders of the Roman provinces of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. It served its role for several centuries with the evidence of Belgian and Spanish cohorts stationed there in the second and third century AD. Canabea contained Roman settlers, with evidence of a large bathhouse with a hypocaust (central heating) and a concubine house for soldiers stationed at the nearby Castrum. A large Villa Rustica was located in the modern-day suburb of Doboj, appropriately named Vila. Very fine pieces of religious and practical artefacts were found at these sites, including an altar dedicated to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, figurines of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, and fragments of African made Terra sigillata pottery. When South Slavic tribes migrated into this area in the sixth and seventh century AD, they had settled initially on the ruins of the previous Roman settlement and lived there continuously until the early thirteenth century at which point they used stones and building material from the old Roman Castrum in order to build the stone foundation of the Gradina fortress, several kilometers north, in the modern-day old town of Doboj. Nowadays only the walls of the former camp and civilian settlement are still open to visitors.

Middle Ages

The first official mention of the city itself is from 1415, in a charter issued by

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

to the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, although there are numerous artefacts and objects that have been found (kept in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo and the Regional Museum in Doboj), which confirm that the area had been inhabited ever since the early

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, and that the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

had an army camp (''Castrum'') and a settlement (''Canabea'') in the vicinity of the town dating from the first century AD. Following the arrival of the

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

in the sixth century it became a part of the region/ Usora banate (in medieval documents sometimes collectively mentioned with the nearby province of Soli, hence, Usora and Soli). The Doboj fortress, a royal Kotromanić fortress, was first built in the early thirteenth century and then expanded in the early fifteenth century (1415). It was expanded again during Ottoman rule in 1490. This newer stone foundation of the fortress was built on previous layers of an older foundation (dating back to the ninth or tenth century) made of wood, mud and clay ( Motte-and-bailey type). It was a very important obstacle for invaders coming from the north,

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, and later on,

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

and

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. It was built in the Gotho- Roman style with Gothic towers and Romanesque windows. The area saw numerous battles in medieval times and the fortress often changed hands between Bosnian and Hungarian armies. Doboj was the site of a particularly major battle between the Hungarians and a Bosnian-Turkish coalition in early August 1415 in which the Hungarians were heavily defeated on the field where the modern city of Doboj lies today. As an important border fortress between the Bosnian Kingdom and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

it was also frequently attacked, officially recorded as 18 times, in the Austro-Ottoman Wars, and fell to the Austro-Hungarians in 1878.

World War I and World War II

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Doboj was the site of the largest Austro-Hungarian

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

. According to the official figures, it held in total 45,791 people between 27 December 1915 and 5 July 1917, of which: * 16,673 men from

* 16,996 women and children from Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly of Serb ethnicity) * 9,172 soldiers and civilians (men, women, children) from the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

* 2,950 soldiers and civilians from the Kingdom of Montenegro Tvrdjava Gradina Doboj 1

Some 12,000 people had died in this camp, largely due to malnutrition and poor sanitary conditions. By February 1916, the authorities began redirecting the prisoners to other camps. The Serbs from Bosnia were mostly sent to

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

(Sopronyek, Šopronjek/Шопроњек). Most of the prisoners from Bosnia were entire families from the border regions of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is said that 5,000 families alone were uprooted from the

district in eastern Bosnia along the border with the Kingdoms of Serbia & Montenegro. From 1929 to 1941, Doboj was part of the Vrbas Banovina of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Doboj was an important site for the partisan resistance movement. From their initial uprising in August 1941 up until the end of the war, the Ozren partisan squad carried out numerous diversions against the occupation forces, among the first successful operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city was an important stronghold for permanently stationed

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

and Domobran garrisons with smaller German units serving as liaison and in defense of important roads and railroads. The Waffen SS "Handschar" division was partly mobilized from the local Muslim population and participated in battles around Doboj in the summer and fall of 1944. During this time, the Croatian

fascist regime, a

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, purged primarily ethnic

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 ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and Roma, as well as pro- Partisan civilians to concentration and labor camps. According to public records 291 civilians from Doboj, of various ethnic backgrounds, perished in the Jasenovac concentration camp. In 2010, the remains of 23 people killed by Yugoslav Partisans were found in two pits near the Doboj settlement of Majevac. The

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

which discovered the remains alleges that nearby pits contain the remains of hundreds more also killed by the Partisans. Doboj with its surrounding area, the Ozren and Trebava mountains, was also a particularly important site for the local Chetnik armed forces. They participated in battles against the Ustaše, Domobrans, and Germans, initially allied with local Partisan units and then alone, after breaking ties with the Partisans in April 1942. In November 1944, the elements of the Ozren Chetnik Corps and the Trebava Chetnik Corps partook in the Operation Halyard, the largest US rescue mission behind enemy lines. They built an airstrip in the village of Boljanić from which rescued US Airmen flew to safety to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The town was eventually liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans on 17 April 1945. The units involved were the 14th Central Bosnian Brigade and the 53rd Division.

SFR Yugoslavia

The city was flooded in May 1965. During this period, the city experienced mass industrialization, becoming one of the most important industrial hubs in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Bosnian War

Doboj was strategically important during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. In May 1992, the control of Doboj was held by Bosnian Serb forces and the Serb Democratic Party governed the city. What followed was mass disarming and subsequently mass arrests of all non-Serb civilians (mainly

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 ...

and

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 ...

). Doboj was heavily shelled throughout the entire war by local Bosniak and Croatian forces. More than 5,500 shells, mortar rounds, and other projectiles were fired into the city proper and some 100 civilians were killed and more than 400 were wounded and maimed during the indiscriminate shelling. A number of instances of war crimes and ethnic cleansing were committed by Bosnian Serb forces. Biljana Plavšić, Radovan Karadžić, Momčilo Krajišnik and others planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted the planning, preparation or execution of the destruction of the

and Bosnian Croats. Plavšić was charged with crimes against humanity that include but are not limited to the killings in Doboj. Her indictment was related to genocide charges in Doboj specifically. Bosnian Serb forces were implicated in the systematic looting and destruction of

Bosniak 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 ...

and

Croat 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 ...

properties during the

. A number of women were raped and civilians tortured or killed. All the mosques in the town were destroyed. A number of mass executions took place in Spreča Prison, on the banks of the river Bosna and in the "July 4th" military barrack in the village of Miljkovac, all in 1992. Many of the non-Serbs were detained at various locations in the town, subjected to inhumane conditions, including regular beatings, torture and forced labour. A school in Grapska and the factory used by the Bosanka company that produced jams and juices in Doboj was used as a rape camp. Four different armies of soldiers were present at the rape camps, including the local Serbian militia, the Yugoslav army (JNA), police forces based in the Serbian-occupied town of Knin and members of the White Eagles paramilitary group. The man who oversaw the women's detention in the school was Nikola Jorgić, a former police officer in Doboj, who had been convicted of

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

in Germany but died during the serving of his life sentence. After the Dayton Agreement and the peace following in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city served as a major HQ/base for IFOR (later SFOR) units. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is processing several cases for other war crimes in Doboj.

2014 floods

In May 2014, Doboj was the city in Bosnia and Herzegovina that accounted for the most damage and casualties during and following the historic rainfall that caused massive flooding and landslides, taking the lives of at least 20 people in Doboj alone. Throughout the two weeks after the beginning of the natural disaster, the corpses of victims were still being found on the streets, in homes and automobiles. On 26 May 2014, it was announced that the floods and landslides had uncovered mass graves with the skeletal remains of

victims of the

of the 1990s. The mass graves are located in the Usora Municipality and the exact number of victims is as of yet unknown.

Demographics

Population

Ethnic composition

;

Urban area by settlements (1991)

*Bare: 732 (62%) Serbs; 153 (13%) Yugoslavs; 135 (11%) Croats; 112 (9%) Bosniaks; 53 (4%) others, 1,185 total *Centar: 3,720 (35%) Serbs; 3,365 (31%) Bosniaks; 1,982 (18%) Yugoslavs; 1,236 (12%) Croats; 432 (4%) others, 10,735 total *Čaršija: 3,561 (72%) Bosniaks; 594 (12%) Yugoslavs; 303 (6%) Serbs; 195 (4%) Croats; 273 (6%) others, 4,926 total *Doboj Novi: 358 (48%) Bosniaks; 237 (32%) Serbs; 39 (5%) Yugoslavs; 7 (1%) Croats; 108 (14%) others, 749 total *Donji Grad: 1,879 (37%) Serbs; 1,547 (31%) Bosniaks; 844 (17%) Yugoslavs; 569 (11%) Croats; 196 (4%) others, 5,035 total *Orašje: 1,411 (66%) Bosniaks; 293 (14%) Serbs; 231 (11%) Yugoslavs; 111 (5%) Croats, 90 (4%) others, 2,136 total *Usora: 924 (33%) Serbs; 779 (28%) Bosniaks; 502 (18%) Croats; 491 (17%) Yugoslavs; 117 (4%) others, 2,813 total

Economy

As a railway hub, before the

, Doboj focused much of its industrial activities around it. Moreover, as a regional center, it was home to several factories, now mostly bankrupt from mismanagement or privatization, including "Bosanka Doboj", a fruit and vegetable produce factory; "Trudbenik", a maker of air compressors and equipment, etc. Nowadays, most of the economy, similar to the rest of the country and typical for the poorly executed transition from state-controlled to a market economy, is based around the service industry. High unemployment warrants a vibrant coffee shop and bar scene, crowded throughout most of the day and night (it is commonly believed that Doboj is one of the top three cities having the largest number of cafes and bars/pubs within city limits in Bosnia & Herzegovina). In 1981, Doboj's GDP per capita was 53% of the Yugoslav average. ;Economic preview The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in professional fields per their core activity (as of 2018):

Transportation

The city is the region's primary railroad junction, going south to Ploče on the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, west to

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, north to

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, and east to

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

, Bijeljina and Zvornik. A highway toward western RS and

has been completed and opened since 2018.

Society

Education

Doboj hosts the private Slobomir P University, with several colleges like the Faculty of information technology; the Faculty of economics and management; the Faculty of philology; the Faculty of law; a Fiscal Academy and the Academy of Arts. Doboj also seats the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technical School, as well as several specialized high schools. Doboj also hosts the public Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, a branch of the University of East Sarajevo with several departments:

Road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

& Urban Transport;

Rail Transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

; Postal Transport;

Telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

and

Logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

. Since the 2015/2016 academic year, it has opened new departments: Air Transport; Roads; IT Transport and Motor Vehicles.

Sport

The local

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

, Sloga Doboj, plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska. The town's favourite sport, however, is

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor 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 thr ...

. The local handball club is Sloga Doboj. Sloga Doboj ranks among the country's top teams and consistently qualifies for international competitions. Very importantly, Doboj traditionally hosts "The Annual Doboj International Champions' Handball Tournament" every year during the last days of August. Its 55th tournament was in 2023 and once again. The prestige of this EHF-listed tournament was consistently strong enough to attract the most important names in the European team handball over the past five decades such as:

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Grasshopper, Gummersbach, Ademar León, CSKA, Steaua, Dinamo București, Atlético Madrid,

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

, Metaloplastika, Partizan, Pelister, Nordhorn, Pick Szeged, Veszprém,

Göppingen Göppingen (; or ) is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the Goeppingen (district), district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the birthplace ...

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, d'Ivry and Chekhovski Medvedi.

Symbol

The four squares represent the four mountains which mark the outer borders of the Doboj valley in which the City of Doboj lies in: Ozren, Trebava, Vučjak, and Krnjin. The

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

represent the medieval origins of the city in the royal fortress ''Gradina'' built by the kings from the medieval Bosnian dynasty of Kotromanić.

Notable places

* The Doboj Fortress from the early thirteenth century, looking over the town. * A Roman military camp (Castrum) from the first century AD (right above the confluence of the Usora and the Bosna rivers) * Goransko Jezero, lake and recreation park in the vicinity of town.

Notable people

* Aleksandar Đurić, Singapore footballer * Bojan Šarčević, basketball player * Borislav Paravac, politician * Danijel Pranjić, Croatian footballer * Danijel Šarić, Bosnian-Qatari handball player * Dina Bajraktarević, singer * Dino Djulbic, Australian footballer * Dragan Mikerević, politician * Fahrudin Omerović, footballer * Igor Vukojević, singer * Indira Radić, singer * Izet Sarajlić, historian * Jasmin Džeko, footballer * Krešimir Zubak, politician *

Mirsada Bajraktarević Mirsada or Mersada is a Bosnian feminine given name that may refer to the following notable people: *Mirsada Bajraktarević (1951–1976), Bosnian singer and songwriter *Mersada Bećirspahić (born 1957), Bosnian basketball player * Mirsada Burić ( ...

, singer * Nenad Marković, basketball player * Ognjen Kuzmić, Serbian basketball player * Pero Bukejlović, politician * Sejad Halilović, former footballer * Silvana Armenulić, singer * Spomenko Gostić, soldier * Vladimir Tica, Serbian basketball player * Vlastimir Jovanović, footballer * Zoran Kvržić, footballer * Aidin Mahmutović, footballer * Zdenko Križić, Croatian Roman Catholic prelate * Benjamin Burić, handball goalkeeper * Senjamin Burić, handballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Doboj is twinned with: * Celje, Slovenia (1965) * Ćuprija, Serbia

References

External links

City homepage
{{Authority control Populated places in Doboj Municipalities of Republika Srpska