Ilidža Илиџа | |
|---|---|
Town andmunicipality | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Ilidža within Bosnia and Herzegovina. | |
| Coordinates:43°49′N18°18′E / 43.817°N 18.300°E /43.817; 18.300 | |
| Country |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Entity | Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Canton |  Sarajevo Canton |
| Government | |
| • Municipal mayor | Nermin Muzur (NiP) |
| Area | |
• Town andmunicipality | 143.4 km2 (55.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2013) | |
• Town andmunicipality | 66,730 |
| • Density | 470/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 63,528 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Area code | +387 33 |
| Website | www |
Ilidža (Serbian Cyrillic:Илиџа,pronounced[i.lǐ.dʒa]) is aspa town and a municipality located inSarajevo Canton of theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity ofBosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and is a chiefsuburb ofSarajevo andde facto its neighborhood. It is best known for theVrelo Bosne spring, as well as the natural environment of its surroundings and historical tradition dating back toNeolithic times.[citation needed]Sarajevo International Airport is located nearby.
.jpg)
Ilidža is known to have a pleasant and attractive geography. The town itself is built on fairly level ground, although it is surrounded by mountains. The biggest is MountIgman, whose 1,502 m (4,928 ft) peak towers above the town. On the mountain grows the "Golden Lily" (Lilium bosniacum), a branch of theLily family of flowers that is ahistorical symbol of Bosnia. The area is rich inflint, especially in theButmir neighborhood.
TheŽeljeznica river, a tributary of theBosna, passes through the town's center. The Bosna itself passes through Ilidža's outskirts. Its spring,Vrelo Bosne, is found a few kilometers to the west of the town centre and is anational park. A number of smaller streams also pass through the town's area.
A number of horticulture projects have been undertaken in the history of Ilidža. The town is today very rich in trees. The total area of the town's parks is about 50% of that ofSarajevo, which has six times its population. In 1894, an article in aLondon newspaper called Ilidža "One of the most beautiful places in the world".[citation needed]
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. TheKöppen climate classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[1]
| Climate data for Ilidža | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2 (35) | 5 (41) | 10 (50) | 15 (59) | 20 (68) | 23 (73) | 26 (78) | 26 (78) | 23 (73) | 16 (60) | 8 (46) | 3 (37) | 14 (57) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5 (23) | −3 (26) | 0 (32) | 3 (37) | 7 (44) | 10 (50) | 11 (51) | 11 (51) | 8 (46) | 5 (41) | 0 (32) | −3 (26) | 3 (37) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 66 (2.6) | 61 (2.4) | 71 (2.8) | 66 (2.6) | 81 (3.2) | 86 (3.4) | 69 (2.7) | 69 (2.7) | 74 (2.9) | 91 (3.6) | 84 (3.3) | 79 (3.1) | 900 (35.3) |
| Source: Weatherbase[2] | |||||||||||||
Ilidža is one of the longest continuously inhabited regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the 19th century, numerousarcheological finds have been made in theButmir area, dating fromNeolithic times. The so-calledButmir culture, is one of the best documented Neolithic cultures in Europe of the26th and25th centuries BC.[3]
DuringRoman times, the Ilidža area was the location of the town known as Aquae Sulphurae. This was a Roman colony, and the largest settlement in the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time. Today numerous traces ofRoman civilisation have been found, such asmosaics,ceramics,jewellery,coins, and even structural remains.
During themedieval period, the Ilidža area was part of theBosnian province ofVrhbosna.Katera, one of the two original Bosnian towns mentioned byConstantine VII inDe Administrando Imperio, was found on the ground of today's Ilidža municipality. The disciples ofSaints Cyril and Methodius considered the area important enough to stop atVrelo Bosne and build achurch in the area.
The modern town of Ilidža as we know it was founded during theOttoman rule of Bosnia. Its name derives from theTurkish wordIlıca, meaning "warm thermal springs". (Ilıca is also the name of a district ofErzurum, a southeast city of Turkey. There are also Ilıca-named municipalities in the following provinces of Turkey: Samsun,Kahramanmaraş, Antalya, Malatya, Ordu.) Numerous elements ofTurkish culture found their way into Ilidža, such as a number oforiental homes from the 15th and 16th centuries that have survived to this day. Numerous mosques and bridges were also built at this time.
Ilidža, like the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, experiencedindustrialisation andwesternization with the coming ofAustria-Hungary. Arailway station andtracks, hotels, and various other structures made Ilidža the most important town afterSarajevo in the region. This continued into the 1900s as Ilidža continued to grow and develop.
Before 1990, Ilidža was populated mainly bySerbs 47,21% andBosniaks 31,58%. When theBosnian War started in 1992, until the 1995Dayton Agreement, the municipality was divided between Bosnian Muslims (Hrasnica, Sokolović Kolonija, Butmir) and Serb (Ilidža,Kotorac,Vojkovići, Grlica) parts. When, under the terms of the Dayton Agreement, Ilidža was placed within the territory of theBosnian Federation, the vast majority of Serbs fled the town to live inRepublika Srpska, destroying some buildings as they did so.[4][5] In the process,NATO andEU observers reported about violence between those Serbs who decided to leave and ones who wanted to stay, as those who were leaving looted and set on fire not just their but also houses and property of those who were staying as well.[6] From 1996, Ilidža was home to the headquarters of the NATO peacekeeping forceIFOR (laterSFOR andEUFOR) before its move to nearby Butmir in the year 2000. During this period, the hotels Terme, Srbija (Serbia), Bosna (Bosnia) and Jadran were barricaded and the area was used as NATO HQ. Today Ilidža remains a bustling, largelyBosniak-dominated town. Vojkovići and Grlica formedEastern Ilidža Municipality which is dominated by Serbs.
.jpg)
According to the2013 census, the municipality had a population of 66,730 inhabitants, with 63,528 in Ilidža itself.[7]
The municipality consists of the following settlements with their respective populations:
| Ethnicity | Population (2013 census) | Population (1991 census) | Population (1971 census) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 66,730 (100%) | 67,937 (100%) | 39,452 (100%) |
| Bosniaks | 58,120 (87.1%) | 29,337 (43.2%) | 12,462 (31.58%) |
| Croats | 3,030 (4.5%) | 2 (0.4%) | 6,446 (16.33%) |
| Serbs | 1,600 (2.4%) | 25,029 (36.8%) | 18,627 (47.21%) |
| Yugoslavs | 0 (0%) | 5,181 (7.6%) | 954 (2.41%) |
| Others | 3,980 (6%) | 1,456 (2.1%) | 963 (2.47%) |
Although a fully incorporatedsuburb ofSarajevo, Ilidža is its ownmunicipality and thus has its own municipal government.
The current political parties are represented in the Municipal Assembly:[8]
The current municipal mayor is Nermin Muzur, elected in the2020 local elections and serving since 23 December 2020.[9]
Prior to thewar, Ilidža municipality was one of the five wealthiest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one of the ten wealthiest in the whole ofYugoslavia. The war had a devastating effect on the town's economy, but today it has returned to its pre-war wealth. Several important local companies are based in Ilidža. The town's economy is based on food processing,electronics, andmanufacturing.[10]
Sarajevo International Airport is located just a few kilometers from the town. The region's natural environment and historical sites are draws for tourists.[11]
Ilidža with its historicRomanarchaeological site consisting ofthermae and the village of Aquae Sulphurae, the 19th century hotel complex fromAustro-Hungarian period, and a modern bath andspa resort hotel,Banja Terme Ilidža, is aspa town.[12][13] This, along with a richnatural heritage, makes tourism the most important parts of Ilidža's economy. The natural environment of the area is used to the town's advantage, attractingtourists from both abroad and from neighboringSarajevo.[11] There are plans for future development to enhance tourism, including hotels and acable cars line to mountIgman as a destination forskiing andhiking.[14][15][16]
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Vrelo Bosne is one of the country's most popular protected areas.[11] TheRimski Most ("Roman Bridge") over theBosna river was built in the 16th century using actual Roman stones.[17]
Ilidža istwinned with:
 | ||
 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
.jpg)
