Doboj
Encyclopedia : D : DO : DOB : Doboj
 Coat of arms | |
| Latitude | 44.73°N |
| Longitude | 18.09°E |
| Mayor | Obren Petrovic (SDS) |
| Surface (km²) | 813.9 (Municipality) |
| Population (2006) | 60,000 (estimate) [link] |
| Time zone (UTC) | UTC+1 Central European Time |
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Doboj (Serbian Cyrillic: Добој) is a city and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated on the river Bosna. Doboj is administratively part of Republika Srpska entity and the most important railway junction in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The seats of the Railways Corporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska Railways are in Doboj.
Before the war in Bosnia the municipality of the same name had a bigger area surface. Presently, a larger part of the pre-war municipality is part of the Republika Srpska, including the city itself, (the Doboj Region). The southern rural areas are part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the eastern rural part of the municipality is part of the Tuzla Canton, also in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The parts of the pre-war Doboj Municipality that are in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the municipalities of Doboj South (Doboj Jug) and Doboj East (Doboj Istok) and the Municipality of Usora.
History
During the rule of Prince Časlav Klonomirović in the 10th century, the invading Hungarian Armies clashed with the defending Slavic forces in the Doboj area around 959.The first mention of the town dates from 1415,as it was written in the charter issued by Dubrovnik to Hungarian Emperor Sigismund, although there are signs that the area had been inhabited ever since the early stone age, and that the Roman Empire had an army camp (Castrum) and a settlement (Canabea) in the vicinity of the town dating from the 1st century AD. Following the arrival of the Slavs in the 6th century A.D. it became a part of the region/bannate Usora (in the medieval documents sometimes put together with the nearby province Soli, hence, Usora and Soli).
The Doboj fortress, first built in the early 13th century and expanded in the early 15th century (1415), fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1476, only to be expanded yet again in 1490. It was a very important obstacle for the invaders coming from North, Hungarians, and later on, Austrians and Germans. Doboj was the site of a major battle between Hungarians and Bosnian/Turkish coalition in early August of 1415 in which Hungarians were heavily defeated. As an important border fortress (between Bosnian Kingdom and Hungary), it was also frequently attacked (officially recorded some 18 times)in the Austrian-Ottoman wars, and finally fell to the Habsburgs in 1878.
During World War I, Doboj was the site of the largest Austro-Hungarian concentration camp for Serbs. According to its official figures, it held, between December 27, 1915 and July 5, 1917:
- 16,673 men from Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly of Serb ethnicity)
- 16,996 women and children from Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly of Serb ethnicity)
- 9,172 soldiers and civilians (men, women, children) from the Kingdom of Serbia
- 2,950 soldiers and civilians from the Kingdom of Montenegro
By February 1916, the authorities began redirecting the prisoners to other camps. The Serbs from Bosnia were mostly sent to Győr (Sopronyek, Šopronjek/Шопроњек).
Most of the interned from Bosnia were whole families from the border regions of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is said that 5,000 families alone were uprooted from the Sarajevo district in eastern Bosnia along the border with the Kingdoms of Serbia & Montenegro.
Nobel-laureate Ivo Andrić was also an inmate of the camp.
During World War II, Doboj was an important site for the partisan resistance movement. From their initial uprising in August 1941 up until the end of the war, the Ozren partisan squad carried out numerous diversions against the occupation forces, among the first successful operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town was liberated on April 17, 1945.
Bosnian War in Doboj and Peace Implementation Process
Prior to the Yugoslav wars, the Doboj municipality was inhabited by 102,519 people. At that time, there were 41,241 Bosniaks (40.2%), 40,020 Serbs (39%), 13,283 Croats (13%), 5,637 Yugoslavs (5.5%) and 2,338 others (2.3%). The majority of non-Serb population fled the Serb-held municipal area during the war in Bosnia, while the town saw a huge influx of Serb refugees from the surrounding Bosniak-held areas. This effectively changed the area's demographic creating ethinically monolitical areas dominated by Serbs in the Republika Srpska, and mainly Bosniaks in the neighboring Federation municipalities. During the Bosnian war the city was shelled heavily by Bosniak and Croat forces and suffered numerous civilian casualties as well as great material/infrastructural damage.Croat-populated parts of the pre-war Doboj municipality and the municipality of Tesanj, both of which have been in the Federation since 1992, were consolidated into the Municipality of Usora. Usora, a historic local toponym, is also a suburb of Doboj and the nearby river.
It is relevant to note that figures above pertain to the pre-war municipality of which parts are in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are predominantly Bosniak (namely the Federation municipalities of Doboj East and Doboj South which are over 95% Bosniak, and Usora, which is Croat), which reduces the figures pertaining to the number of Bosniaks and Croats in the territory of the municipality within the boundaries of the Republika Srpska (to around 25 thousand Bosniaks and around 9 thousand Croats).
Doboj saw the overwhelming Bosniak return (around 15,000 in 2001, according to the UNHCR figures) to the municipal area in the RS as well as the near perfect completion of the process of property reposessions. In addition, the numbers have increased further since 2001. These processes were implemented by the UNHCR, OSCE and the Office of the High Representative in cooperation with municipal authorities. Many Bosniaks returned to town, while many Serb displaced persons remained in it as well.
Town Features
- Doboj Fortress from the 13th Century, with a view of the town and its surroundings
- Roman military camp (Castrum) from 1st century AD (right above the confluence of the Usora and the Bosna rivers)
- Regional museum
- Monument dedicated to the Serb civilians died in the World War I (in the Austro-Hungarian detention camp in Doboj)
- Annual Doboj International TV Handball Tournament
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