Republic of Srpska is located in southeastern Europe on the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. Republic of Srpska was declared on 9.January 1992.and as an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina it was verified in Dayton Peace Treaty and by singing peace treaty in Paris on 14.December 1995. It Borders vith Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and entity of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The largest city is Banja Luka and represents administrative, economic and university center of the Republic of Srpska.
Republic of Srpska offers various contents for all touriststhat come to visit us. Fans of active holiday, neture and all those places that keep the spirit of history and tradition, vill find place for themselves here.
Mediterranean and alpine influences meet and create different types of climate in a relatively small area. In the south weather is warm, sunny and dry, with very mild winters. In the more continental areas summers are generally warm, occasionally hot, cool springs and autumns, and cold winters with considerable snowfall. The alpine climate rules the mountain terrains of the high Dinaric Alps above 1700meters.
The average temperature in January is -1 ° C and in July is 20 ° C
Facts
Location: Republic of Srpska
Area: 25 053 km², or 49% territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Population: around 1.400.000
Official languages: lenguage of Serbian peopel, lenguage of Croatian people and leguage of Bosniak people
National parks: two
The highest peak: Maglić, 2386 m
Time zone : GMT+1hour
Currency : Convertible Mark – 1 EUR=1.95KM
*UNESCO heritage
Višegrad bridge
Višegrad bridge, bridge that entered the legend, endowment of grand vizier Mehmed- Pasha Sokolović, who was as a boy, in name of tradition called “danak u krvi” (Turkish tradition of unwillingly taking young Balkan boys to Istanbul to become Ottoman soldiers, transl. note) taken to Istanbul, and became a vizier. Bridge was built in period from 1571 to 1577 by the most famous Turkish architect at the time, Kodža Mimar Sinan. It was built in oriental style and represents masterpiece of construction of that period. In 2007 bridge was enlisted in UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. It was taken to legend directly because of our famous novelist Ivo Andrić, rewarded with Nobel Prize for literature in 1961 for his novel “The Bridge on the Drina” also known as “Višegrad Chronicles”.
Zmijanje embroidery, cultural heritage of the Republic of Srpska, BiH
It is considered the oldest hand embroidery in the Balkans, specific for the cross-technique and it is always in blue color; since 2014, it has been found on UNESCO representative list of intangible cultural heritage. Even today, it is kept from oblivion by the skilful hand of the Krajina’s embroiderers, all with an end to preserving and cherishing the tradition and culture of their region. That same embroidery embellishes women and men shirts, dresses, wedding dresses and shawls.
“A woman shirt embellished by the embroidery from Zmijanje was proclaimed the most beautiful at the Folk Costumes Fair in Paris back in 1936′.
The folk costumes and games from Zmijanje are kept and publicly represented by the Cultural-Artistic Society ‘Ribnik’ from Donja Previja, as well as other similar associations of the Banja Luka region.
*Kozara National Park
Adorned by the rivers Una, Sana and Sava, and Vrbas Mount Kozara is correctly called “green beauty” Mount Kozara of Krajina. At the heart of the mountain is the national park, which is added to the list of national parks in 1967 and is a member of the Federation of National Parks-EUROPARC.
Kozara National Park has the area of 3494 hectares. The park includes a separate hunting ground.
The central part of the mountain, the flat plateau is dominated by the Mrakovica area, representing the Memorial zone built in 1972 in memory of the fighters and the people of Potkozarje who lost their lives in the Second World War.
The Memorial zone consists of museums, monuments and a memorial wall with engraved names of the victims. At this point, impressive history lessons are given in addition to the accounts of the events on Mount Kozara in, her great epic of freedom.
The beautiful setting of Kozara forest offers the possibilities for hiking, paragliding, cannoning, climbing and skiing. Mountain turns last from 45 minutes to 6 hours.
The ski track in Mrakovica is 800-metre long, with the possibility of night skiing. Ski lifts are also available, and there is a children track as well.
* Sutjeska National Park
The park covers an area of 17,250 ha, more than half of which is covered by forests, while the other part consists of pastures, barren land and mountain lakes.
From the east, it is surrounded by Mount Pivska (1,775 m) and the River Piva down to Šćepan field, and further from the Drina River to the mouth of the Sutjeska River, to the west is Mount Zelengora (2,014 m) connected with Mount Lelija (2,032 m), in the southeast there are Mount Maglić (2,386 m), Mount Volujak (2,337 m) and Mount Bioč (2.397m) in Montenegro. The River Sutjeska flows through this area together with several tributaries. The most attractive park area is Perućica primeval forest (1.291 ha), unique in Europe.
It was proclaimed a national park in 1962. Particularly interesting are beautiful mountain lakes of glacial origin, also known as “mountain eyes”, which because of its beauty and attractiveness are the outstanding tourist site of the region. .
Sutjeska National Park manages a rich hunting ground of 53 240 ha in area.
In this exceptional area, besides natural beauties, there are numerous material and historical evidences presenting the history, lifestyle and traditions of the region in a specific way.
The great wealth that dates back to 700 years ago are the stećak tombstones, which will tell you their own story with symbols carved on them.
The people of this area were involved in livestock breeding, as evidenced by katuni – summer herders’ settlements. Even today, herders of the region, according to the centuries-old tradition, take their livestock to pastures during summer.
From the recent history, there is a distinctive monument from the World War II, which tells the story of Battle of Sutjeska and witness the suffering of the people of this region. The monument is located in the Tjentište memorial complex, where visitors can visit the “Battle of Sutjeska” (1943) memorial room, whose interior is decorated with wall frescoes.
* Jahorina
Olympic tradition and smile is kept by ‘Olympic Centre Jahorina’ and the international skiing” FIS “race in the alpine disciplines is held in Mount Jahorina every January. More than 25 km of trails prepared for alpine skiing is nowadays available to skiers in the Olympic beauty, Mt. Jahorina (1529-1916 m above sea level).
Cable cars and ski lifts transporting 7500 skiers per hour are at the disposal of professional skiers, amateurs and the youngest. For lovers of cross-country skiing, the perfect track is ‘Dvorišta’ in Jahorina (1300-1450 m above sea level) with 17 km of tracks available to athletes, but also amateurs.
A modern biathlon shooting range create conditions for top-level European competitions such as Balkan Championship, which was held in March 2004. For recreational skiers, we recommend the ski track in Stambulčić, 10 km away from Pale. In the beautiful surroundings at 1050 m above sea level, a 1200-metre track, with an altitude difference of 275 m, will provide you with all the amenities, and available is also a1100 m long ski lift.
* Rafting on Drina
Rafting on Drina makes you ask yourself when was the last time you enjoyed the delights of nature, without any noise, air pollution or concrete around you. If you want to take a break from all this and enjoy unspoiled nature, listen to the sound of the river, breathe fresh air, eat naturally processed foods and forget about all your commitments, we suggest that, during your visit to Visegrad, you also plan for time for a full day boat trip through the canyon of Drina, the second largest canyon in Europe.
Today, in Visegrad, visitors have two registered tourist boats available for organizing rides through the canyon of Drina. These boats are “Zelenika”, “Lotika” and “Sonja”, that organise trips for groups, but for individual visits transport by small vessels can be organized.
* Adventure
The best way to get to know the nature of Banja Luka is through adventure. Here you can go camping, to try rafting, kayaking and canoeing, free climbing, canyoning, cycling, hiking, flying, but also other ways of living with nature.
Experienced rafting skippers and the Vrbas River, which, according to assessment of the World Rafting Federation, meets all the conditions for organizing competitions in all rafting disciplines, will provide you with an unforgettable adventure. Hiking routes that lead to many attractions are an excellent opportunity to get to know the surrounding area of Banja Luka, but also to stay in good psychophysical condition.
*The Visegrad Bridge on Drina
The Visegrad Bridge on Drina is the endowment of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic (Turkish Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, 1505 or 1506 – 1579). He is one of the greatest Ottoman military commanders of Bosnian origin. He was born in the village Sokolovici near Rudo in 1505 or 1506 as a child of Orthodox parents. At that time, there was a practice known as the devshirme system, or “Tribute in blood”. Serbian children were forcibly taken to Turkey where they would be converted to Islam and trained in military schools to become Janissaries, the elite troops of the Ottoman Empire. So, from the area around Visegrad, a child, Bajica Sokolovic, was taken and was named Mehmed. He would later become an officer of the Ottoman army thanks to his ability, and at the height of his power he became the Grand Vizier i.e. the Prime Minister, by today’s standards. At the height of his power, he ordered a bridge to be built like no other in Visegrad on the Drina River.
The bridge was built in the period from 1571 to 1577 and was built by, at the time, the most famous Ottoman architect Koca Mimar Sinan. It was built in the oriental style and it represents a masterpiece of civil engineering of that era.
It has 11 arches with a slight incline towards the middle and it has a descending ramp on the left bank. Above the arches, along the entire length of the bridge spans a molded cornice above which the stands the bridge guard rail. The total length is 179.5 m, height above the normal water level of the river is 15.40 m and the width of the bridge is 6.30 metres. The bridge is built from tufa stone which was brought from the Visegrad Spa. There are expansions above the sixth pillar on both sides of the bridge. There are three openings made with pointed arches on the access ramp of the left bank. In the middle of the bridge a sofa was built and it was designed for passengers to rest and across from the sofa a stone portal was built.
In the middle of the bridge, there was once a small house with a wooden gate and bridge guards, so this part of the bridge was called the gate. There are two slabs made of white marble with verses of the poet Nihadi in Arabic script, talking about the builder and the year of construction.
* Jungić Winery
At only 15 km from Banja Luka (Čelinac county), you can have an unforgettable experience in wonderful vineyards of Jungić Winery. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Frankovka, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Rhine Riesling are grapes grown on these beautiful sunny hillocks and transfused into supreme wines Šikar, Balatin and Madame Rose.
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