- Maglaj
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Maglaj
Maglaj
Coat of armsLocation of Maglaj within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Location of Maglaj
MaglajCoordinates: 44°33′N 18°06′E / 44.55°N 18.1°E Country 
Bosnia and HerzegovinaGovernment - Municipality president Mehmed Mustabašić (SDA) Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Area code(s) +387 32 Website http://www.maglaj.net Maglaj is a town and municipality in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the Zenica-Doboj canton. The city lies 25 km (16 mi) south of the city of Doboj, the regional trade, education, culture, entertainment, and business centre. The municipality of Maglaj is one of 12 municiplaties in the Zenica-Doboj canton. The city has a population of 25,000. The whole municipality has a population of 43,000.
Contents
Population
1910
According to the 1910 census, the majority in the Maglaj municipality were Orthodox Christians (53.55%).
1961 - 1991
Ethnic Composition Year Serb % Muslims % Croats % Yugoslavs % Others % Total 1961 13,870 42.10% 7,998 24.28% 7,313 22.20% 3,548 10.77% 215 10.77% 32,944 1971 13,888 36.51% 15,628 41.09% 7,946 20.89% 240 0.63% 335 0.88% 38,037 1981 13,662 32.41% 17,236 40.88% 8,341 19.78% 2,682 6.36% 239 0.57% 42,160 1991 13,298 30.72% 19,637 45.36% 8,366 19.32% 1,492 3.45% 501 1.16% 43,294 2005
In 2005, 91% of population of the municipality were ethnic Bosniaks and another 6% were Croats.
Geography
The town is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated in territory where bosniaks, or Muslims, presently form a large majority. The old Maglaj, like numerous other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has an old town with mosques, traditional houses dating back from the Ottoman Empire, and a fortress that stands as a symbol of Maglaj. The new part of Maglaj, situated on the West side of the river Bosna, is made up of modern architecture that was started in the 1950s, and became massively developed until 1991.
The River Bosna flows through Maglaj on its way north to the Sava river on the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Before the war, the Bosna river was heavily polluted due to heavy industrial activity at the nearby Natron paper and pulp factory, as well as steel and wood industry factories in the southern cities of Zenica and Zavidovići respectively. Nowadays, the river has become cleaner due to decreased industrial activity at those plants and higher environmental standards, but ultimately will become exposed to environmental hazard yet again as these heavy industry factories reach their maximum capacity yet again.
Demographics
The city, as well as the entire Maglaj municipality, have been subject to a large demographic population shift. Close to all of its pre-war Christian inhabitants, i.e. Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, who made up the majority of the pre-war municipality population, no longer reside in the Maglaj municipality. The Orthodox population has largely settled in the Doboj and Modriča regions of the Republika Srpska, while the Catholic population has settled in the nearby municipality of Žepče, an enclave inhabited largely by Croats. A significant number of former Croat inhabitants have also settled in Croatia's capital Zagreb. Due to severe fighting around Maglaj throughout the Bosnian War, and the catasrophic conditions it was exposed to, numerous Bosniak Muslims have departed the region as well.
Pre-war Maglaj was unique because over one third of its married couples were made up of mixed ethnic groups. As a result of this, a great number of these Maglaj inhabitants felt welcome by none of the three warring ethnic groups, and tried to settle abroad. Consequentially, Maglaj residents have dispersed throughout the world, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries, Italy, the Czech Republic, Canada, the United States, and Australia among others. All former residents of Maglaj are likely never to return as they have adapted to their new surroundings, and those settled in the West enjoy remarkably high standards of living.
History
Maglaj was originated in the 14th century (Year 1408). The river Bosna goes through this town. From the three mosques that this city has the most famous is Kuršumlija or Jusuf pašina Mosque. The city endured a long siege by Bosnian Serbs forces between 1993 and 1994 during the Bosnian War, when the area was the scenario of heavy fighting and the population had to be supplied by airdrops.
Famous people
- Salim Obralić
- Edhem Mulabdić
- Alma Čardžić
- Šemsa Suljaković
External links
- http://www.maglaj.co.ba/
- http://www.maglaj.net/
- Tragovima bosanskog kraljevstva - Tourist route for medieval Bosnia (english)
- Trail of the Bosnian Kingdom - Cultural Tourism in Tesanj
Categories:- Maglaj
- Populated places in Maglaj
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