Banja Luka

Landmarks and features:

Canoeing & Kayaking on the river Vrbas
Fly fishing
Laktaši
Banja Slatina
Monastery Gomionica
Monastery Krupa
National Park Kozara
Kastel

Banja Luka was first mentioned in 1494th by the Hungarian king Vladislav II Jagiellonian, although the town has existed before. Prehistoric archaeological objects found within the area of Banja Luka provided evidence of the existence of human communities in this region since the epoch of musteriena what is actually 35,000 years BC. In the ancient period Banja Luka has been inhabited by Illyrian tribes Mezeja Oserijata who have left behind numerous hill-fort settlements. Defeating Illyrian tribes in Baton War (6-9 AD) by Romans brought the construction of a stated area into Illyricum province which was represented by military and administrative authorities of the Roman Empire through a formation of military camps (castra) and civilian settlements (municipium).

After the fall of the Roman Empire, this area was inhabited by Slavs, who have left behind early slavenic ruins. Medieval life in Banja Luka and its surroundings has been described the best by many written documents dating from the twelfth to the fifteenth century.

With the fall of the medieval Bosnian state and the arrival of the Turks in this region (year 1528), Banja Luka has gained importance as a strategic stronghold of Hungarian and Turkish domination.

The special significance of BL was obtained during the reign of Ferhat-Pasha Sokolovic Bridge (1574-1588), when it has became the center of Turkey\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s administrative units (Bosnian pashaluk). After 350 years of Turkish occupation, has followed the occupation of the Austro-Hungarian powers (1878), which lasted for 40 years.

After the First World War this area became part of the Kingdom of SHS, and in 1929th, it went under the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, by which it has experienced its greatest success, and under which various today’s monuments have been constructed: Bans court administration, the National theater, Hotel Palace, Sokol home, City Park, the Ethnographic Museum, schools, hospitals and else.

Today, Banja Luka is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is known as business, academics, administrative and political center of the Serbian Republic (the entity in Bosnia).