Kupres (town)

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

---

leader_name = Stjepan Herceg (HDZ)|area_total_km2 =
population_total = 10098|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=1991 census
population_density_km2 =
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Kupres (town)
pushpin_mapsize =
latd = 43
latm=59
longd= 17
longm=16
area_code = +387 34
parts =
website = http://www.kupresonline.com

Kupres (Cyrillic: "Купрес") is a town and municipality in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town is located in the Canton 10, also known as the "Hercegbosanski Kanton" or "Hercegbosanska županija" and is the north-western most town in Hercegovina.

About Kupres

Kupres was first mentioned in documents from the Kingdom of Croatia which was based in nearby Duvno (now called Tomislavgrad). It was part of the Ottoman Empire (as was the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina), and in more recent times, in both the Banovina of Croatia (until 1939) and later Yugoslavia until the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992.

The town is situated in the middle of the "Kupres Plain" (Kupreško Polje) and was the scene of fierce fighting in the recent War in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, leaving the town extensively damaged and the local economy in ruins. Both are being rebuilt and restored to the benefit of the community and the region, especially where related to tourism infrastructure.

Kupres is located high above sea level (1120-1150 m) and averages 55 days a year of snowfall due to its advantageous location in the Dinaric Alps. There is a ski resort popular especially with Croatians who visit due to its proximity to the Croatian border and affordable prices. The town also has a large natural lake. Croatian Kuna is often accepted as currency in many of the town's businesses due to high levels of Croatian visitors.

There is an annual cultural and agricultural fair held in Kupres each July. The town has good road and bus access heading towards Tomislavgrad and Livno, and is connected to the nearby town of Bugojno in Bosnia Proper via a tunnel.

The town has a monument to the Croatian defenders of Vukovar. [ [http://www.hrv.hr/newportal/vijesti/vijest.php?clanak=13771 Monument to defenders of Vukovar unveiled in Kupres] ]

Division of Kupres

Following the Dayton Agreement, which split Bosnia and Herzegovina following the 1990s conflict according to ethnic lines, the town has evolved into a Croat-dominated town. The ethnic Serb population have mostly left and separated from the main part of the town, forming their own town (also confusingly called "Kupres", though commonly referred to as Srpski Kupres) within the Republika Srpska.

Demographics

1971

11,496 total
* Serbs - 6,252 (54,38)
* Croats - 4,425 (38,49)
* Muslims - 763 (6,63)
* Yugoslavs - 18 (0,15)
* Others - 38 (0,35)

1991

10,098 total
* Serbs - 5,169
* Croats - 3,947
* Muslims - 745
* Yugoslavs - 213
* others - 4

Today

There are no accurate figures of the population of Kupres (due to displacement after the war), though the city is at least 90% ethnic Croatian. Independent figures exist for the population of Kupres in Srpska.

External links

* http://www.kupresonline.com
* [http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/Federation_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/Kupres-360404/TravelGuide-Kupres.html]