Knešpolje ( sr-cyr, Кнешпоље) or Knežopolje (Кнежопоље) is a region in northwestern
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 the northwestern part of the
Potkozarje geographical region, and includes a region stretching from
Prijedor
Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it had a population of 80,916 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in the northwestern part of the Bosanska ...
,
Kozara
Kozara ( sr-cyrl, Козара) is a mountain in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the town of Kozarac and in the Bosanska Krajina region, bounded by the Sava River to the north, the Vrbas to the east, the Sana to the south, and the Una to t ...
mountains,
Kozarska Dubica
Kozarska Dubica/Bosanska Dubica is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 21,542 inhabitants, while the town of Kozarska Dubica has a population of 11,566 inhabitants.
Geography
I ...
, the
Una river and
Kostajnica. Its name is derived from ''knez'' (count, duke) and ''polje'' (field).
Geography
The region lies in northwestern
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 ...
, in the wider
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina ( sr-Cyrl, Босанска Крајина, , ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by several rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...
region. It is the northwestern part of the
Potkozarje geographical region, and includes a region stretching from
Prijedor
Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it had a population of 80,916 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in the northwestern part of the Bosanska ...
,
Kozara
Kozara ( sr-cyrl, Козара) is a mountain in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the town of Kozarac and in the Bosanska Krajina region, bounded by the Sava River to the north, the Vrbas to the east, the Sana to the south, and the Una to t ...
mountains,
Bosanska Dubica
Kozarska Dubica/Bosanska Dubica is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 21,542 inhabitants, while the town of Kozarska Dubica has a population of 11,566 inhabitants.
Geography
I ...
, the
Una river and
Bosanska Kostajnica.
History
The region is known for its rebellions against Ottoman rule. In 1858, an uprising broke out in the region, known as
Pecija's First Revolt
Pecija's First Revolt ( sr-cyr, прва Пецијина буна) or Doljani Revolt (Дољанска буна) was an uprising in Knešpolje led by Serb hajduk leader Petar Popović–Pecija (1826–1875) against the Ottoman government, that e ...
.
The region is known as a place where Serbs were persecuted by the
Ustashe in World War II; Bosnian Muslim poet
Skender Kulenović
Skender Kulenović (2 September 1910 – 25 January 1978) was a Bosnian poet, novelist and dramatist.
Biography
Skender Kulenović was born in 1910 in the Bosnian town of Bosanski Petrovac (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), to Bosnian ...
wrote about the Kozara tragedy.
In the prelude of 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 ...
, the Serb-organized
SAO Bosanska Krajina
The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Bosanska Krajina () was a self-proclaimed Serbian Autonomous Oblast within today's Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was sometimes called the Autonomous Oblast of Krajina, or the Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK). SAO ...
was proclaimed in the
Bosnian Frontier; it was then succeeded by the establishment of
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 ...
(1992).
Culture
The region is historically Serb-inhabited, and has specific folk traditions.
Ojkača
Ojkanje is a tradition of polyphonic folk singing in Croatia characteristic for the regions of the Dalmatian hinterland, Velebit, Lika, Kordun, and Karlovac. As described in ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'': "The ojkanje is a particular style ...
is sung with at least three singers and without instrumental music. The local ''
kolo
Kolo may refer to:
Places Poland
*Koło
*Koło, Łódź Voivodeship
* Koło, Lublin Voivodeship
*Koło, Lubusz Voivodeship
Other places
*Kamalanka, which was also known as ''Kolo'', an ancient kingdom in present-day Thailand
* Kolo, Bosnia and He ...
'' (dance) is the
Kozara kolo (Kozaračko kolo). The traditional instrument is
tamburica
Tamburica ( or ; sometimes written tamburrizza or tamburitza; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", tamburica, тамбурица, little tamboura) or tamboura (; ) refers to a family of long-necked lutes popular in Southeast Europe and southeastern ...
. The region's inhabitants call themselves ''Knežopoljci'', and regard themselves ''Krajišnici'' ("frontiersmen").
See also
*
Prijedor Field
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knespolje
Regions of Republika Srpska
Historical regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
History of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina