- Lašva Valley
Infobox Settlement
official_name = Lašva Valley
nickname =
motto =
imagesize = 255px
image_caption = Lašva River in the city centre of Travnik
image_
mapsize = 175px
map_caption = Approximation of the Lašva Valley
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name =Bosnia and Herzegovina
subdivision_type1 = Entity
subdivision_name1 =Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
subdivision_type2 = Canton
subdivision_name2 =Central Bosnia Canton
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_party =
established_title =
established_date =
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 =
area_total_sq_mi =
population_as_of = 1991
population_note =
population_footnotes = cite web|publisher=Federal Office of Statistics, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|url=http://www.fzs.ba/Eng/gode.htm#POPULATION|title=Estimation total number of present population by age, sex and cantons and municipality, June 30, 2007|accessdate=2008-04-03]
population_total = 177,511
population_metro =
population_urban =
population_density_km2 =
timezone =Central European Time
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST =
elevation_m =
elevation_ft =
website =
area_code =
footnotes = A region used to characterize some parts of Central Bosnia, the Lašva Valley is understood to be defined geographical by the Lašva River’s route. It is a tributary of theBosna River which travels fromTravnik throughVitez but also touchesBusovača ,Kiseljak ,Novi Travnik andTravnik . [STATEMENT OF THE TRIAL CHAMBER AT THE JUDGEMENT HEARING. (2000). The Prosecutor v. Tihomir Blaskic. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/bla-sumj000303e.htm]History
Ancient Times
The favorable geographical position of the Lašva Valley enabled the beginning of civilization along the Lašva River. However, due to the unprotected and open area numerous occupiers chose the mountainous regions to protect themselves. The earliest known remnants of civilized people were the
Romans .Romans were adapt to the terrain and surrounding because of military might, which was of the utmost importance for survival.Due to the presence of the Lašva River many settlers began to exploit it for economic benefits. They began trading goods which traveled from
Travnik toVitez . In addition to the river, the mountainous regions offeredmineral deposits which in turn attracted even more settlers. Remnants have been found belonging to theRomans inTurbe andMosunj , where a settlement namedBistue is thought to have existed. [Vitez Web. Lasvanska Dolina i njena proslost. Retrieved August 8, 2008, from http://vitezweb.com/lasvanska%20dolina.htm ]Pre-Ottoman Period
The name "Lašva" was first used as a regional term in the 13th century.
Béla IV of Hungary first mentioned the area in his charter on April 20th,1244 , which he issued to gain political favor from Pope Innocent IV by launching and winning the war against the “heretics ,” as he called them. In the charter there is mention of threeRoman Catholic churches existing in the Lašva Valley, although only one can be confirmed by the gifting of theBosnian Ban Matej Ninoslav in1250 .The Lašva Valley is thought of having its own seat of power before the arrival of the
Franciscans in the 13th century. Their subsequent establishing ofVukarija in1340 was the first officially known seat of power in the valley. TheBosnian Vukarija had, according to thefriar Bartolomej Polanski (1385/1390),monasteries inKraljeva Sutjeska ,Visoko ,Lašva andOlovo . Therefore, the Lašva Valley was an occupied and developed region not unlike other parts ofBosnia ."Lašva" is only mentioned once in the 15th century by the
Hungarian King Sigismund on September 5th,1425 . On that date the king rewarded his son thePaku estate in the county ofVuku for his loyalty to the king which he earned through battles against theOttoman Empire .In the book “
Roots and Life ,” translated from “Korijeni I Život ,” the advent ofOttoman expansion is mentioned. “The coming of theOttomans and their military victories atJajce in1463 saw the putting out of fire in chimneys at age old houses and churches. With the arrival of the new oppressive and bloodthirsty masters from theEast , people began to flee over the borders to the south and north, while others sought refuge in mountains led by theFranciscans .”The last battle against
Ottoman expansion in the Lašva Valley was lost on May1463 , when thesultan Fatih Sultan Mehmet on his return fromJajce defeated the lastBosnian king Stjepan Tomašević atMiloradz in today’sBrestovsko ; located betweenKiseljak andBusovača . [Vitez Web. August 8, 2008]Ottoman Period
Upon the new conquest, the plaintiff of the
Franciscans Anđeo Zvizdović advised theSultan to stop forcing the people ofBosnia to flee because ofreligious persecution . Which, if continued, would lead to the eventual downfall of properties and infrastructures. TheSultan agreed and issued anAhdname in1463 decreeing freedom of religion for theRoman Catholic population.Due to the sheer size of the
Ottoman Empire jurisdictional andgovernment overseeing was not a possibility, since the capitolIstanbul was long ways away.Bosnia was used as a launching state for other wars, which consequently transformed the land into a military occupying region. Most of the peoples along with theFranciscans sought to distance themselves from theOttoman settlements, many times living in impoverished conditions. Newmonasteries were not allowed to built on the foundation of old ones and consequently only three remained at;Fojnica ,Kreševo andKraljeva Sutjeska .At the dawn of
Ottoman rule, the Lašva Valley began to be called “nahija Lašva,” which was centered atTravnik . As a result,Travnik began to grow and emerge as an integral part of theOttoman Empire ’s jurisdiction over the Lašva Valley andBosnia . [Vitez Web. August 8, 2008]Post-Ottoman Period
The Lašva Valley, as well as
Bosnia , was emancipated fromOttoman control in1878 and entered a new phase in its history underAustro-Hungarian rule. The area saw a reemerging ofCatholic populations with overall improvements in infrastructures. The modernization of theAustro-Hungarian rule transformed the Lašva Valley into a capable area worthy of competing against larger and more established regions. The 19th century also saw the materialization ofSouth Slavic nationalism along with the idea of aunified South Slavic state . [Wikipedia. History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918). Retrieved August 8, 2008, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina_(1878%E2%80%931918)]Modern Day
During the last century the Lašva Valley was highlighted by the
breakup of Yugoslavia . According to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY ), Lašva Valley was one of the first locations of ethnic cleansing conducted by Croats on Bosniak civilian population known as theLašva Valley ethnic cleansing . The ICTY has ruled that these crimes amounted tocrimes against humanity in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders and soldiers, most notablyDario Kordić . cite web|url=http://www.un.org/icty/kordic/trialc/judgement/index.htm|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict|] Based on the evidence of numerous Croat forces (HVO) attacks at that time, the ICTY Trial Chamber concluded in the "Kordić and Čerkez case" that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and of this plan. cite web|url=http://www.un.org/icty/kordic/trialc/judgement/kor-tj010226e-5.htm#IVC3|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - C. The April 1993 Conflagration in Vitez and the Lašva Valley - 3. The Attack on Ahmići (Paragraph 642)|] Further concluding that theCroatian Army was involved in the campaign, the ICTY defined the events as an international conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina andCroatia .cite web|url=http://hrw.org/reports/2004/ij/icty/2.htm#_Toc62882594|title=HRW: Conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia|]Today the region is recovering form
post-war depression and has emerged as an economic powerhouse inBosnia and Herzegovina , with cities such asVitez leading the way. Lašva Valley has been somewhathomogenized by theCroats who constitute most of the population, althoughBosniak populations have begun to return to their homes.Demographics
Last Official Census 1991
* Lašva Valley (five municipalities:
Vitez ,Busovača ,Kiseljak ,Novi Travnik andTravnik )total: 177,511 [BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA - USTAVNA REGIJA - CENTRALNA BOSNA. BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA -Demografska struktura prema popisnim mjestima - naseljima. Retrieved August 8, 2008, from http://www.hdmagazine.com/bosnia/census/cens-c.html ]Ethnic Composition by Municipalities, 1991 census
References
ee also
*
History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Bosnian War
*Croat-Bosniak War
*Bosnian architecture
*Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Bosnia and Herzegovina
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