Kotor Varoš ( sr-cyrl, Котор Варош) is a town and municipality 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 ...

. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a population of 19,710 inhabitants, while the town of Kotor Varoš has a population of 7,330 inhabitants.

History

An early Roman (3rd–5th c.)

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

was discovered along with other Roman findings in the Šiprage area, at the Crkvenica- Vrbanja river mouth. 12th-century '' stećci'' testify a medieval settlement.Radimsky V. (1892): Ostanci rimskih naseobina u Šipragi i Podbrgju, za tim starobosanski stećci u Šipragi i uz Vrbanju u Bosni. Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Sarajevu, Godina IV, Knjiga I: 75–80. The original location of the stećci was at the Crkvenica-Vrbanja, from where they were removed and built into the walls of surrounding buildings (possibly due to the belief in their miraculous properties). One of the best preserved steći is submerged in the Vrbanja. It has been theorized that Kotor Varoš was mentioned in the ''

De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...

'' as "Katera" (), a part of the "land of Bosnia". The town was part of the Donji Kraji province of the

Banate of Bosnia The Banate of Bosnia ( / Бановина Босна), or Bosnian Banate (''Bosanska banovina'' / Босанска бановина), was a medieval state located in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although Hungarian kings viewed Bosnia as ...

in the 13th century, and the Kingdom in the 14th and 15th century. The Kotor fortress and its '' podgrađe'' was the property of the Hrvatinić noble family.

Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina fell under Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian rule in 1878, when the Congress of Berlin approved the occupation of the Bosnia Vilayet, which officially remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Three decades later, in 1908, Aus ...

began in 1878 and ended with the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, later renamed

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 ...

. The town was part of the Vrbas Banovina (1929–41), but after

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 ...

it became part of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a republic of

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 ...

Settlements

Aside from the town of Kotor Varoš, the municipality includes the following settlements: * Baština * Bilice * Boljanići * Borci Donji * Borci Gornji * Ćorkovići * Duratovci * Garići * Grabovica * Hadrovci * Hrvaćani * Hanifići * Jakotina * Kruševo Brdo * Liplje * Maljeva * Maslovare * Obodnik * Orahova * Palivuk * Plitska * Podbrđe * Podosoje * Postoje * Prisočka * Radohova * Ravne * Selačka * Sokoline * Stopan * Šibovi * Šiprage * Tovladić * Vagani * Varjače * Večići * Viševice * Vranić * Vrbanjci * Zabrđe * Zaselje

Demographics

Population

Ethnic composition

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):

Famous people

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 ...

n footballer Mateo Kovačić's parents are from Kotor Varoš

Features

The city also features a large

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

to the local partisans who died for

during the fighting with the German and Ustaša forces during WW2.

Sister cities

Kranj Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...

, Slovenia * Herceg Novi, Montenegro *

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...

, Serbia

Gallery

File:Kotorvarosbobas.JPG, Swimming dam on the Bobas, a popular attraction File:Kotorvaroscrvenikrst.JPG, Red Cross building in Kotor Varoš File:Kotorvaroskocke.JPG, "Kocke" apartment blocks in town File:Kotorvarossvetisava.JPG, Elementary school "Sveti Sava" (formerly " Bratstvo i jedinstvo") File:Kotorvarospcrkva.jpg, Orthodox church in Kotor Varoš File:Kotorvaroscrkva2.JPG, Catholic church in Kotor Varoš, rebuilt File:Kotorvaroscarsija.JPG, Old marketplace, ''čaršija'', shops on the left side

References

Sources

*Vojnogeografski institut, Izd. (1955): Prnjavor (List karte 1:100.000, Izohipse na 20 m). Vojnogeografski institut, Beograd. *Spahić M. et al. (2000): Bosna i Hercegovina (1:250.000). Izdavačko preduzeće "Sejtarija", Sarajevo. *Mučibabić B., Ur. (1998): Geografski atlas Bosne i Hercegovine. Geodetski zavod BiH, Sarajevo. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotor Varos Cities and towns in Republika Srpska Populated places in Kotor Varoš