Ključ ( sr-cyrl, Кључ, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana 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 ...

, an entity of

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 ...

. The name of the town and the municipality translates to "Key" in English.

Geography

It is located a short distance south from

Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northwes ...

. The Sana River runs through the municipality. The terrain is heavily forested.

History

Human settlements have existed in the area long before the

Roman Era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. The town itself is first mentioned in 1322 in the documents of ban Stjepan II Kotromanić. It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1463 as the last Royal Bosnian fortress. Ključ fortress was first mentioned in 1322. In 1463, during the Ottoman invasion of Bosnia, the last Bosnian king

Stjepan Tomašević Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen. Historically it was found among ijekavian South Slavs, and it was also used as a honorific. In Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Eu ...

, took refuge in the city. His surrender and execution marked the downfall of the medieval Bosnian state. The Charter from 1323 states that Vukoslav is the son of duke Hrvatin, and from this we conclude that the main stronghold of the lords of the Donji Kraji was in the town of Ključ, the center of the parish Banica. In one of his writings, the Ottoman traveler

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

mentions Ključ as being located in Donji Kraji and on the Sana river. From 1929 to 1941, Ključ was part of the

Vrbas Banovina The Vrbas Banovina or Vrbas Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Vrbaska banovina, Врбаска бановина), was a province (Banovinas of Yugoslavia, banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was named after the ...

of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As an area with a slight Serb majority, at the start of the war in Bosnia (1992–1995), the Ključ area was held by Bosnian Serb forces. In the summer of 1995, the Bosnian governmental forces took control over it. Most of the pre-war Serb population fled after the

Dayton Peace Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...

, the town belongs to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, it is estimated that about 97% of the population of Ključ are

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 ...

Settlements

In 1991, the municipality of Ključ contained 61 settlements: * Biljani Donji * Biljani Gornji * Budelj Gornji * Busije * Crkveno * Crljeni * Čađavica * Donja Previja * Donja Slatina * Donje Ratkovo * Donje Sokolovo * Donji Ramići * Donji Ribnik * Donji Vojići * Donji Vrbljani * Dragoraj * Dubočani * Gornja Previja * Gornja Slatina * Gornje Ratkovo * Gornje Sokolovo * Gornji Ramići * Gornji Ribnik * Gornji Vojići * Gornji Vrbljani *

Hadžići Hadžići 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 2013 population census in Bosni ...

* Hasići * Hripavci * Humići * Jarice * Kamičak * Ključ * Kopjenica * Korjenovo * Krasulje * Lanište * Ljubine * Međeđe Brdo * Mijačica * Peći * Pištanica * Plamenice * Prhovo * Prisjeka Donja * Prisjeka Gornja * Rastoka * Rudenice * Sanica * Sanica Donja * Sanica Gornja *

Sitnica The Sitnica (; sr-Cyrl, Ситница) is a river in Kosovo. It flows into the Ibar at Mitrovica, and it is the longest river that flows completely within Kosovo. History In the 14th century, during the reign of king Milutin, a canal con ...

* Sredice * Stražice * Treskavac * Velagići *

Velečevo Velečevo is a village in the municipalities of Ribnik, 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 Bo ...

* Velijašnica * Velije * Zableće * Zavolje * Zgon As a result of the war, the villages of Busije, Crkveno, Čađavica, Donja Previja, Donja Slatina, Donji Ribnik, Donji Vrbljani, Dragoraj, Gornja Previja, Gornja Slatina, Gornje Sokolovo, Gornji Ribnik, Gornji Vrbljani, Rastoka, Sitnica, Sredice, Stražice, Treskavac, Velijašnica, Velije et Zableće, as well as parts of Donje Ratkovo, Donje Sokolovo, Dubočani, Gornje Ratkovo, Jarice, Ljubine et Velečevo became a part of Ribnik municipality, Republika Srpska. Today the municipality of Ključ has 40 settlements: * Biljani Donji * Biljani Gornji * Budelj Gornji * Crljeni * Donje Ratkovo (part) * Donje Sokolovo (part) * Donji Ramići * Donji Vojići * Dubočani (part) * Gornje Ratkovo (part) * Gornji Ramići * Gornji Vojići *

* Hasići * Hripavci * Humići * Jarice (part) * Kamičak * Ključ * Kopjenica * Korjenovo * Krasulje * Lanište * Ljubine (part) * Međeđe Brdo * Mijačica * Peći * Pištanica * Plamenice * Prhovo * Prisjeka Donja * Prisjeka Gornja * Pudin Han * Rudenice * Sanica * Sanica Donja * Sanica Gornja * Velagići *

(part) * Zavolje * Zgon

Demographics

Population

Ethnic composition

Economy

The area is connected to other parts of Bosnia by the M-5 highway. Forestry, light industry and tourism are major components of the economy.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kljuc Cities and towns in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Populated places in Ključ Municipalities of the Una-Sana Canton