Goražde

Infobox Settlement
official_name = PAGENAME
settlement_type =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = BIH
timezone=CET
utc_offset=+1
map_caption =Location of PAGENAME within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
timezone_DST=

---

subdivision_type1 = Canton
subdivision_name1 = Bosnian Podrinje Canton
area_total_km2 = 252
population_total = 36496
population_as_of = 1999
population_density_km2 = 144.8
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Goražde
pushpin_mapsize =
latd = 43
latm = 40
longd = 18
longm = 59
area_code = +387 38
leader_title=Municipality president
leader_name = Mustafa Kurtović (SDA)
website = http://www.gorazde.ba
footnotes =

Goražde is a city and municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river. It is located between Foča, Sokolac and Višegrad, and is administratively part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the center of the Bosnian Podrinje Canton.

Location

Goražde is situated on the banks of the River Drina in South East Bosnia (see maps). The city lies at the foot of the eastern slope of mountain Jahorina at a height of 345m above sea level. The settlement is situated on the aluvial terrace in a broad valley, formed by the erosion of the River Drina. The valley is bordered on the South-Last by Biserna (701 m), on the South by Samari (696 m), on the South-West by Misjak (618 m), on the West by Gubavica (410 m) and on the North by Povrsnica (420 m).

The River Drina flows between these and some other hills and thus with its valley gives Goražde good communications. The valley of the Drina is the principal traffic artery in the south-eastern region of Bosnia. Since old times it has been part of the important route going from the sea inland (Dubrovnik - Trebinje - Gacko - Foča - the Drina valley). This route was particularly significant in Roman times and in the Middle Ages when it was used by Dubrovnik people travelling to these parts of Bosnia and further on to Serbia (the Dubrovnik road). At Goražde this road meets another coming from Sarajevo and central Bosnia via the Jabuka Mountain pass down to the Drina valley and preceding on to Plevlje. Goražde in Bosnia and Herzegovina was industrial city ranked 1 by year 1990.

Population / Demographics

In 2005, 91% of population of the municipality were ethnic Bosniaks.

The city of Goražde itself had 18,755* (total anglomeration 27,386) residents in 1991:
*11,743 Bosniaks
*5,888 Serbs
*65 Croats
*672 Yugoslavs
*384 others.

Environment

Natural environment

The surrounding region of Goražde is composed of Paleozoic slate, sandstone, carbon and perm. The hills are for the most part rounded and with gentle slopes. The higher ones are composed of limestone. Goražde with its surroundings has mainly equable and fresh mountainous climate. The average annual temperature of the air is 10.8 C and the rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The town is supplied with water from six springs. One part of the inhabitants gets drinking water from ordinary wells. The construction of a water supply system began in 1962. from the spring in Cajnice, convert|16.5|km|mi|abbr=on from Goražde.

The River Drina has great significance for the founding and the development of Goražde. The greatest floods recorded since the 18th century occurred in 1677, 1731, 1737 and in 1896.

Built environment

The main characteristic of the layout and the type of town is its elongated shape along the Ustipraca-Foča road. Form 1465 till 1878 Goražde was part of the Turkish Empire. In the 18th and 19th centuries Goražde was inhabited by Muslim and Orthodox communities. Up to World War II there existed two separate parts: Muslim and Orthodox. Today this division is disappearing. After World War II the town began to expand and be modernized, New streets have been built, public and residential buildings have been built in the centre and in the outskirts as well. From 1945 to 1961, 1130 council flats and 680 private homes have been built. In 1961 there were 616 buildings altogether in the town.

History

Medieval period

With Gornje Podrinje Goražde was part of the old Serbian State up to 1376, when it was attached to the Bosnian State under the reign of King Tvrtko. After Tvrtko's death the town was ruled by the Hum Dukes among whom the best known was Herzog Stjepan.

In 1379 Goražde was first mentioned as a trading settlement and in 1444 as a fortress. The origin of the town's name seems to have come from the Slavonic word "gorazd"

The Goražde market became well known in 1415 when merchants from Dubrovnik had intensive commercial relations with it.

Turkish rule

The Turks took Goražde over definitively in 1465 and the place assumed oriental features. In 1477 there were four mahals in town. From 1550-1557 Mustafa Sokolovic built a stone bridge across the Drina and a caravanserai.

During the Turkish rule Goražde was a significant trading centre, being at the crossroads of the two important roads: the Bosnian and the Dubrovnik. The gross state income from land amounted in 1477 to 24,256 akchi. In 1711 Goražde was mentioned as the Turkish zoimat of 26,000 akchi.

Two mosques built by the Sijercic begs date back to the 18th century. Near Goražde there is an Orthodox church, built in 1446 by Herzog Stjepan. A printing press, attached to the church, worked there from 1521 till 1531. This was the first printing press to be established in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the second in the Balkans. Photo: One of the first documents ever printed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in year 1521. Printing begun with materials used in Sopotnica church. The decline of Goražde in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century is attributed among other things to the plague. Up to the middle of the 19th century Goražde was part of the Herzegovinian Sandzak, when it became part of the Sarajevo Sandzak

The period of the Austro-Hungarian occupation was marked by the decline of Goražde, although there was at the same time a certain ascent. Due to its geographical position on the border Goražde was during World War I one of the main strongholds of Austro-Hungaria used against Serbia and Montenegro.

Yugoslavia

In pre-war Yugoslavia Goražde, being no more a frontier town, had normal conditions under which to develop and prosper.

In 1941 German troops entered the town after an air-raid on April 17. Later on Italian troops were also stationed there.

The National Liberation Army took over the town for the first time on January 27, 1942, and remained there until May of the same year. During this period National Liberation Committees were formed for the town the district of Goražde on the basis of the Foča Stipulations. At the same time Goražde was the headquarters of the National Liberation Army for East Bosnia. Early in March, 1942 the Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Tito stayed in Goražde. Goražde was liberated twice more, in 1943 and 1944, and on March 6, 1945 it was finally liberated from the occupation.

The composition of the Goražde population can be traced from the times of Austro-Hungarian occupation. The Orthodox inhabitants originate from Stari Vlah in Sandzak, Brda in Montenegro, Herzegovina and South Serbia The few ancestral inhabitants exempted, the Muslim. population began to come in great numbers to Goražde and its surroundings in the 17th century.

From the end of the war till 1961 a considerable number of new groups of families came to live in Goražde from the neighbouring villages and from some other far away places, having been attracted by the economic growth of Goražde. According to the census of 1961 Goražde had 8.812 inhabitants.

Before World War II the industry of Goražde comprised mainly retail trade and in some measure wholesale trade, the catering industry, handicraft, transport. During the occupation, 1941-1945, industry was destroyed and about 45% of the existing houses as well.

Since then Goražde's industry has been systematically developing, its main branches being manufacturing, building, transport, trade and crafts.

After the II World War a new period, marked by a tremendous social and economic rise began. A number of new industrial enterprises have been founded, among which the most significant is the Nitrogen Factory.

After breakup of Yugoslavia

From 1992 to 1995 during the Bosnian war, Goražde was one of six Bosniak enclaves, along with Srebrenica and Žepa, surrounded and besieged by the Bosnian Serb Army. In April 1993 it was made into a 'safe area' in which the UN was supposed to protect the civilian population from attack. Between March 30 and April 23, 1994, the Serbs launched a major offensive against the town. The peacekeepers were ordered to retreat by the UN and as a result of this 694 soldiers and civilians were killed and another 1,917 were wounded before the offensive was stopped. The majority of the casualties were civilians. The city held out until the end of the war and in the end it was to become the only town in eastern Bosnia not to be ethnically cleansed by the Serbs. After the Dayton accords were negotiated a land corridor was established between Goražde and the Federation.

ee also

Safe Area Goražde

External links

* [http://www.gorazde.ba Official Website] bs icon
* [http://gorazde.info/ Goražde Info website] bs icon en icon
* [http://www.gorazde-x.com Goražde Informational portal] bs icon