Kneževo Кнежево | |
|---|---|
Town andmunicipality | |
 Kneževo | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location within Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
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| Coordinates:44°29′24″N17°22′45″E / 44.49000°N 17.37917°E /44.49000; 17.37917 | |
| Country |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Entity |  Republika Srpska |
| Government | |
| • Municipal mayor | Goran Borojević (SNSD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 332.9 km2 (128.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2013 census) | |
• Total | 9,793 |
| • Density | 29.42/km2 (76.19/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Area code | 51 |
| Website | Official Kneževo Municipality Website |
Kneževo (Serbian Cyrillic:Кнежево), formerlySkender Vakuf (Serbian Cyrillic:Скендер Вакуф), is a town and municipality located inRepublika Srpska,Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 9,793 inhabitants.
Up until the 1992–1995Bosnian War, the town was known as Skender Vakuf. During the war, the town was renamed Kneževo by theSerb authorities as part of their ethnic cleansing policies.[1] Accordingly, many media outlets in the region continue to refer to the area as Skender Vakuf-Kneževo.[2]
A Romanbasilica has been found inImljani andJavorani, and the remains of the Roman road from Servitium (Banja Luka) to Levsaba (Travnik) were also found in the vicinity. Tombstones of theStećak type date back to the 14th and 15th centuries, when the area was part of theKingdom of Bosnia. The town was founded during the reign of theOttoman Empire. It was first mentioned in the records of a Muslim judge fromJajce in 1693, while there is no record of it in the census of theBosnia Eyalet of 1604. Two generations of imams are mentioned in the records, which means it was most likely founded in the latter half of the 17th century. The architecture of the Old Mosque in Skender Vakuf also indicates it was built in the latter half of the 17th century. The charitable endowment (vakuf) that is reflected in the town's traditional name Skender Vakuf (after Ali-dedo Skender) contributed to its urbanization.[3] The Old Mosque was significant and one of the first in the region. It was destroyed, along with the New Mosque, in 1992 during theBosnian War. In theKorićani Cliffs massacre of 21 August 1992, some 200Bosniak andCroat detainees were massacred in the municipality by theBosnian Serb police andarmy forces from Prijedor. After the Bosnian War, a part of the municipality was split off to form theDobretići municipality of the entity of theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina .
Kneževo is located between the riversUgar,Vrbas andVrbanja and surrounded by the mountain chains ofČemernica andRanča to the west,Vlašić to the south andJežica to the northeast. The municipality has an official altitude of 864 metres (2,835 ft), but in reality it ranges from 600 to 1,493 metres (1,969 to 4,898 ft). Kneževo is 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Banja Luka by the M56 motorway.
Neighbouring municipalities areČelinac (far north),Kotor Varoš (east),Travnik,Dobretići,Jajce (south),Mrkonjić Grad (west) and the city ofBanja Luka (northwest). The southern border is defined by the border of theRepublika Srpska with theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country's other entity. The mountainous region in the south is forested and inpenetrable; itslimestone mountains reach a height of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft).[4][5][6][7]
Aside from the town of Kneževo, the municipality includes the following settlements:
Imamovići
Mušanovići
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| Population of settlements – Kneževo municipality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement | 1961. | 1971. | 1981. | 1991. | 2013. | |
| Total | 9,190 | 21,219 | 22,948 | 19,418 | 9,793 | |
| 1 | Bokani | 466 | 310 | |||
| 2 | Imljani | 1,565 | 823 | |||
| 3 | Javorani | 1,289 | 759 | |||
| 4 | Kneževo | 992 | 1,688 | 2,910 | 3,759 | 3,958 |
| 5 | Kostići | 517 | 342 | |||
| 6 | Rađići | 1,405 | 864 | |||
| 7 | Šolaji | 586 | 435 | |||
| 8 | Vlatkovići | 730 | 302 | |||
| 9 | Živinice | 1,223 | 607 | |||
| Ethnic composition – Kneževo town | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013. | 1991. | 1981. | 1971. | ||||
| Total | 3,958 (100,0%) | 3,759 (100,0%) | 2,910 (100,0%) | 1,688 (100,0%) | |||
| Serbs | 2,484 (66,08%) | 1,491 (51,24%) | 723 (42,83%) | ||||
| Bosniaks | 1,063 (28,28%) | 1,118 (38,42%) | 923 (54,68%) | ||||
| Yugoslavs | 111 (2,953%) | 205 (7,045%) | 5 (0,296%) | ||||
| Others | 59 (1,570%) | 7 (0,241%) | 4 (0,237%) | ||||
| Croats | 42 (1,117%) | 45 (1,546%) | 17 (1,007%) | ||||
| Montenegrins | 28 (0,962%) | 10 (0,592%) | |||||
| Albanians | 14 (0,481%) | 6 (0,355%) | |||||
| Macedonians | 1 (0,034%) | ||||||
| Hungarians | 1 (0,034%) | ||||||
| Ethnic composition – Kneževo municipality | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013. | 1991. | 1981. | 1971. | ||||
| Total | 9,793 (100,0%) | 19,418 (100,0%) | 22,948 (100,0%) | 21,419 (100,0%) | |||
| Serbs | 9,288 (94,84%) | 13,263 (68,30%) | 15,953 (69,52%) | 15,926 (74,35%) | |||
| Bosniaks | 429 (4,381%) | 1,071 (5,516%) | 1,141 (4,972%) | 947 (4,421%) | |||
| Others | 45 (0,460%) | 145 (0,747%) | 64 (0,279%) | 78 (0,364%) | |||
| Croats | 31 (0,317%) | 4,770 (24,56%) | 5,395 (23,51%) | 4,431 (20,69%) | |||
| Yugoslavs | 169 (0,870%) | 322 (1,403%) | 9 (0,042%) | ||||
| Montenegrins | 53 (0,231%) | 21 (0,098%) | |||||
| Albanians | 15 (0,065%) | 6 (0,028%) | |||||
| Slovenes | 2 (0,009%) | 1 (0,005%) | |||||
| Hungarians | 2 (0,009%) | ||||||
| Macedonians | 1 (0,004%) | ||||||
After the war, the majority of the old Skender Vakuf municipality became part of the new Kneževo municipality of the Republika Srpska entity. Four Croatian pre-war settlements became part of the newDobretići municipality of theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity.
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The municipality houses several cultural monuments, such as theOld Church of St. Nicholas from 1757, the 18th-century Church of Prophet Elijah.
In Imljani there is a monument dedicated to the 43 fallen soldiers of theArmy of Republika Srpska who fell on theVlašić battlefield on 20 March 1995.[8]
The mayor of Knezevo is Bore Škeljić, of theSerb Democratic Party (SDS).[9]
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According to the 1991 census, the municipality consisted of: Bastaji, Bokani, Borak, Bregovi, Brnjići, Bunar, Čarići, Ćukovac, Davidovići,Dobratići, Donji Orašac, Golo Brdo, Gornji Orašac,Imljani,Javorani, Kobilja, Kostići, Kričići - Jejići, Melina, Mijatovići, Milaševci, Mokri Lug, Paunovići, Pavlovići, Prisika, Rađići, Skender Vakuf, Slipčevići, Šolaji,Vitovlje Malo, Vlatkovići, Vukovići, Zapeće, Zasavica, Zubovići and Živinice.
In 1995, the municipality included Bastaji, Bokani, Borak, Bregovi, Čarići, Ćukovac, Golo Brdo, Imljani, Javorani, Kobilja, Kostići, Malići, Mokri Lug, Paunovići, Rađići, Kneževo, Šolaji, Vlatkovići and Živinice; the southwestern settlements of Davidovići, Dobretići, Kričići and Melina became part of the municipality ofDobretići in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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