Šamac, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Šamac (, ), formerly Bosanski Šamac (), is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Small uninhabited parts of the settlement are also located in the municipalities of Odžak and Domaljevac-Šamac in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,390 inhabitants, while the municipality has 17,273 inhabitants. It is situated on the right bank of the Sava river. Across the river is Slavonski Šamac in Croatia.

History The modern town was founded by Bosnian Muslim refugees expelled from the Sanjak of Smederevo in 1862, after the Principality of Serbia gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire and during the ethnic conflicts surrounding the Čukur Fountain incident. These refugees came mainly from Užice and Sokol. At the time, Šamac was initially called Gornja Azizija, meaning "Upper Azizija", after Sultan Abdulaziz. It was part of the Vilayet of Bosnia before the area was occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1878 and later annexed in 1908. After World War I, the town became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. From 1929 to 1939, it was part of the Drina Banovina, and from 1939 until 1941 it was part of the Banovina of Croatia. During World War II, Šamac, like the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was occupied by the Nazi-controlled Independent State of Croatia. After 1945, the town was reintegrated within the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tito's Yugoslavia.

In the early stages of the Bosnian War, the town was occupied by Bosnian Serb forces, who established a provisional municipal government. Most Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats were ethnically cleansed between April and November 1992. During the war, a semi-permanent front line was established against Croatian and Bosniak forces towards neighbouring Orašje. In 2003, three Bosnian Serb town leaders at the time of the Yugoslav Wars were sentenced by the ICTY for crimes against humanity.

The town lies in an important strategic position in Republika Srpska, near Brčko. As with most other places under Serb control, Republika Srpska authorities removed the "Bosnian" adjective from the town's official name and changed it to "Šamac". Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats continued to refer to it by its historical name, "Bosanski Šamac" (, ), causing tension among the inhabitants. A court order had the official name changed to simply Šamac, removing ethnic divisions in its previous names.

Settlements Aside from the town of Šamac, the municipality includes the following settlements:

Batkuša Brvnik Crkvina Donja Slatina Donji Hasić Gajevi Gornja Slatina Gornji Hasić Grebnice Kornica Kruškovo Polje Lugovi Novo Selo Obudovac Pisari Srednja Slatina Škarić Tišina Zasavica

Demographics

Population

Population of settlements – Šamac municipality No. Settlement 1948 1953 1961 1971 1981 1991 2013 Total 37,512 44,269

31,374 32,320 32,960 17,273 1 Batkuša

924 625 2 Brvnik

609 253 3 Crkvina

1,704 1,223 4 Donja Slatina

623 471 5 Donji Hasić

1,029 207 6 Gajevi

626 438 7 Gornja Slatina

1,361 903 8 Gornji Hasić

1,048 427 9 Grebnice

443 10 Kornica

830 302 11 Kruškovo Polje

706 588 12 Lugovi

422 13 Novo Selo

1,095 419 14 Obudovac

3,199 2,421 15 Pisari

608 436 16 Šamac

4,877 5,605 6,239 5,390 17 Škarić

298 273 18 Srednja Slatina

1,277 519 19 Tišina

2,032 890 20 Zasavica

558 339===Ethnic composition===

Ethnic composition – Šamac town Group 2013 1991 1981 1971 Total 5,390 (100%) 6,239 (100%) 5,605 (100%) 4,877 (100%) Serbs 3,449 (67.19%) 1,755 (28.13%) 1,342 (23.94%) 1,500 (30.76%) Bosniaks 1,253 (24.41%) 2,178 (34.91%) 1,697 (30.28%) 2,163 (44.35%) Croats 227 (4.42%) 827 (13.26%) 687 (12.26%) 726 (14.89%) Others 204 (3.97%) 284 (4.55%) 61 (1.08%) 38 (0.77%) Yugoslavs

1,195 (19.15%) 1,774 (31.65%) 429 (8.79%) Albanians

22 (0.393%) 3 (0.062%) Montenegrins

13 (0.232%) 8 (0.164%) Slovenes

5 (0.089%) 3 (0.062%) Hungarians

4 (0.071%) 4 (0.082%) Macedonians

3 (0.062%)Ethnic composition – Šamac municipality Group 2013 1991 1981 1971 Total 17,273 (100%) 32,960 (100%) 32,320 (100%) 31,374 (100%) Serbs 13,256 (76.74%) 13,628 (41.35%) 13,328 (41.24%) 14,230 (45.36%) Croats 2,426 (14.05%) 14,731 (44.69%) 14,327 (44.33%) 14,336 (45.69%) Bosniaks 1,265 (7.324%) 2,233 (6.775%) 1,725 (5.337%) 2,192 (6.987%) Others 326 (1.887%) 613 (1.860%) 262 (0.811%) 88 (0.28%) Yugoslavs

1,755 (5.32%) 2,601 (8.05%) 481 (1.53%) Montenegrins

33 (0.10%) 25 (0.08%) Albanians

27 (0.08%) 8 (0.02%) Hungarians

7 (0.022%) 4 (0.013%) Slovenes

6 (0.019%) 6 (0.019%) Macedonians

4 (0.012%) 4 (0.013%)

Economy

The following table gives a preview of the total number of registered employed people by core activity, as of 2016:

Professional field Total Agriculture, forestry and fishing 84 Mining and quarrying 40 Manufacturing 426 Distribution of power, gas, steam and air-conditioning 31 Distribution of water and water waste management 19 Construction 5 Wholesale and retail, repair 417 Transportation and storage 182 Hotels and restaurants 117 Information and communication 6 Finance and insurance 20 Real estate activities Professional, scientific and technical activities 57 Administrative and support services 7 Public administration and defence 176 Education 248 Healthcare and social work 122 Art, entertainment and recreation 8 Other service activities 7 Total 1,972

Sports The local football club, FK Borac Šamac, plays in the third tier, the Second League of the Republika Srpska.

Notable people

Milica Babić-Jovanović (1909–1968), costume designer at the Serbian National Theatre Ljubo Miloš (1919–1948), Croatian World War II official and concentration camp commander; executed for war crimes Alija Izetbegović (1925–2003), first President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sulejman Tihić (1951–2014), Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Đinđić (1952–2003), former Prime Minister of Serbia Srebrenko Repčić (born 1954), former footballer Predrag Nikolić (born 1960), chess grandmaster Stevo Nikolić (born 1984), footballer Mario Mandžukić (born 1986), former footballer

Šamac, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bron en licentie