Višegrad
Encyclopedia
Višegrad is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina
. It is part of the Republika Srpska
entity. It is on the river Drina
, located on the road from Goražde
and Ustiprača towards Užice
, Serbia
.
written by Ivo Andrić
, Nobel prize winning author
.
The well known Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge
in Višegrad was built by an Ottoman Grand Vizier of Christian origin, Mehmed Paša Sokolović in 1571. It still stands, and it is now a tourist attraction, after being inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Many travelers come to Višegrad simply to take a walk across the famous bridge.
River in close proximity to the Serbian border (then Yugoslavia
). The town was strategically important during the conflict. A nearby hydroelectric dam provided electricity and also controlled the level of the Drina River, preventing flooding in areas downstream. The town is situated on the main road connecting Belgrade
and Užice
in Serbia with Goražde
and Sarajevo
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
, a vital link for the Užice Corps of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) with the Uzamnica camp
as well as other strategic locations implicated in the conflict.
On 6 April 1992, JNA units began an artillery bombardment of the town, in particular Bosniak neighbourhoods and nearby Bosniak villages. A group of Bosniak men took several local Serbs hostage and seized control of the hydroelectric dam, threatening to blow it up. One of the men released water from the dam causing flooding to some houses and streets.
Eventually on 12 April 1992, JNA commandos seized the dam. The next day the JNA's Užice Corps took control of Višegrad, positioning tanks and heavy artillery around the town. The population that had fled the town during the crisis returned and the climate in the town remained relatively calm and stable during the later part of April and the first two weeks of May.
On 19 May 1992 the JNA Užice Corps officially withdrew from the town and local Serb leaders established the Serbian Municipality of Višegrad, taking control of all municipal government offices. Soon after, local Serbs, police and paramilitaries began one of the most notorious campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the conflict, designed to permanently rid the town of its Bosniak population.
Serb forces attacked and destroyed a number of Bosniak villages. A large number of Bosniak civilians in the town of Višegrad were killed. The Drina River was used to dump many of the bodies of the Bosniak men, women and children who were killed around the town and on the historic Turkish bridge crossing the Drina. Serb forces were implicated in the systematic looting and destruction of Bosniak homes and villages. Both of the town’s mosques were completely destroyed.
Serb soldiers raped many women and beat and terrorised non-Serb civilians. Widespread looting and destruction of non-Serb homes and property took place daily and the two Bosnian Muslim mosques in town were destroyed.
Many of the Bosniaks
who were not immediately killed were detained at various locations in the town, as well as the former JNA military barracks at Uzamnica, the Vilina Vlas
Hotel and other detention sites in the area. Bosniaks detained at the Uzamnica camp
were subjected to inhumane conditions, including regular beatings, torture by Bosnian Serbs and strenuous forced labour. Bosniak prisoners at Vilina Vlas
were beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted.
After the Bosnian war was over, and Bosnia was divided in two entities Višegrad is a part of the Republika Srpska
. Before the war, 60 percent of Višegrad's 20,000 residents were Bosniak. Today, only a handful of survivors have returned to what is now a predominantly Serb town.
Milan Lukić
, Sredoje Lukić
, Mitar Vasiljević
were charged with:
Charges of mass rapes of Bosniak women and girls in Višegrad were not approved against the accused because prosecutors failed to request these charges to be included in a timely manner. Cousins Milan Lukić
and Sredoje Lukić
were convicted on July 20, 2009 for a 1992 killing spree that included locking Muslims in two houses and burning them alive. At least 119 Muslims, from 2 days old to 75 years, were burned to death. Milan Lukić was sentenced to life in prison Sredoje Lukić to 30 years. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has processed the following for war crimes in Višegrad:
, FK Drina HE Višegrad
, plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska
.
As of the 1991 census, the town of Visegrad had a population of 195,692 inhabitants:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. It is part of the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
entity. It is on the river Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
, located on the road from Goražde
Goražde
Goražde , is a city and municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river. It is located between Foča, Sokolac and Višegrad, and is administratively part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the center of the Bosnian Podrinje Canton.-Location:Goražde is situated on the...
and Ustiprača towards Užice
Užice
Užice is a city and municipality in western Serbia, located at the banks of the Đetinja river. It is the administrative center of the Zlatibor District...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
History
The town is widely known for the book Bridge on the DrinaThe Bridge on the Drina
The Bridge on the Drina , sometimes restyled as The Bridge Over the Drina, is a novel by Yugoslav writer Ivo Andrić. Andrić wrote the novel while living quietly in Belgrade during World War II, publishing it in 1945...
written by Ivo Andrić
Ivo Andric
Ivan "Ivo" Andrić was a Yugoslav novelist, short story writer, and the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under the Ottoman Empire...
, Nobel prize winning author
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
.
The well known Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge
Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge
The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge is a historic bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River in eastern Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was completed in 1577 AD by the Ottoman court architect Mimar Sinan on the order of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Paša Sokolović...
in Višegrad was built by an Ottoman Grand Vizier of Christian origin, Mehmed Paša Sokolović in 1571. It still stands, and it is now a tourist attraction, after being inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Many travelers come to Višegrad simply to take a walk across the famous bridge.
Bosnian War
Višegrad is one of several towns along the DrinaDrina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
River in close proximity to the Serbian border (then Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
). The town was strategically important during the conflict. A nearby hydroelectric dam provided electricity and also controlled the level of the Drina River, preventing flooding in areas downstream. The town is situated on the main road connecting Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and Užice
Užice
Užice is a city and municipality in western Serbia, located at the banks of the Đetinja river. It is the administrative center of the Zlatibor District...
in Serbia with Goražde
Goražde
Goražde , is a city and municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river. It is located between Foča, Sokolac and Višegrad, and is administratively part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the center of the Bosnian Podrinje Canton.-Location:Goražde is situated on the...
and Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, a vital link for the Užice Corps of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) with the Uzamnica camp
Uzamnica camp
Uzamnica camp was a concentration camp established in 1992 by JNA forces for the Bosniak civilian prisoners during the Bosnian war.Many of the Bosniaks who were not immediately killed in the Višegrad massacre were detained at various locations in the town, including the former JNA military...
as well as other strategic locations implicated in the conflict.
On 6 April 1992, JNA units began an artillery bombardment of the town, in particular Bosniak neighbourhoods and nearby Bosniak villages. A group of Bosniak men took several local Serbs hostage and seized control of the hydroelectric dam, threatening to blow it up. One of the men released water from the dam causing flooding to some houses and streets.
Eventually on 12 April 1992, JNA commandos seized the dam. The next day the JNA's Užice Corps took control of Višegrad, positioning tanks and heavy artillery around the town. The population that had fled the town during the crisis returned and the climate in the town remained relatively calm and stable during the later part of April and the first two weeks of May.
On 19 May 1992 the JNA Užice Corps officially withdrew from the town and local Serb leaders established the Serbian Municipality of Višegrad, taking control of all municipal government offices. Soon after, local Serbs, police and paramilitaries began one of the most notorious campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the conflict, designed to permanently rid the town of its Bosniak population.
Serb forces attacked and destroyed a number of Bosniak villages. A large number of Bosniak civilians in the town of Višegrad were killed. The Drina River was used to dump many of the bodies of the Bosniak men, women and children who were killed around the town and on the historic Turkish bridge crossing the Drina. Serb forces were implicated in the systematic looting and destruction of Bosniak homes and villages. Both of the town’s mosques were completely destroyed.
Serb soldiers raped many women and beat and terrorised non-Serb civilians. Widespread looting and destruction of non-Serb homes and property took place daily and the two Bosnian Muslim mosques in town were destroyed.
Many of the Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
who were not immediately killed were detained at various locations in the town, as well as the former JNA military barracks at Uzamnica, the Vilina Vlas
Vilina Vlas
Vilina Vlas is a health spa that served as one of the main detention facilities where Bosniak prisoners were beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted during the Bosnian War, it is located about seven kilometers south-east of Višegrad, on the way to Gorazde....
Hotel and other detention sites in the area. Bosniaks detained at the Uzamnica camp
Uzamnica camp
Uzamnica camp was a concentration camp established in 1992 by JNA forces for the Bosniak civilian prisoners during the Bosnian war.Many of the Bosniaks who were not immediately killed in the Višegrad massacre were detained at various locations in the town, including the former JNA military...
were subjected to inhumane conditions, including regular beatings, torture by Bosnian Serbs and strenuous forced labour. Bosniak prisoners at Vilina Vlas
Vilina Vlas
Vilina Vlas is a health spa that served as one of the main detention facilities where Bosniak prisoners were beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted during the Bosnian War, it is located about seven kilometers south-east of Višegrad, on the way to Gorazde....
were beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted.
After the Bosnian war was over, and Bosnia was divided in two entities Višegrad is a part of the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
. Before the war, 60 percent of Višegrad's 20,000 residents were Bosniak. Today, only a handful of survivors have returned to what is now a predominantly Serb town.
Višegrad massacres
Bosnian Serb Army and paramilitary forces affiliated with them burned Bosniak civilians alive in houses, slaughtered hundreds of men, women and children and threw them over the famous bridge. On August 5, 2001, survivors of the massacre returned to Visegrad for the burial of 180 bodies exhumed from mass graves. The exhumation lasted for two years and the bodies were found in 19 different mass graves.Milan Lukić
Milan Lukic
Milan Lukić is a former head of the paramilitary group known as White Eagles who was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in July 2009 of crimes against humanity and violations of war customs committed in the Višegrad municipality of Bosnia and...
, Sredoje Lukić
Sredoje Lukić
Sredoje Lukić is a Bosnian Serb war criminal, the cousin and associate of Milan Lukić....
, Mitar Vasiljević
Mitar Vasiljevic
Mitar Vasiljević is a Bosnian Serb war criminal convicted of crimes against humanity and violation of the customs of war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for his actions in the Višegrad region during the Bosnian War...
were charged with:
- The murder of hundreds of Bosniaks and other non-Serb civilians, including men, women, children and elderly persons.
- The cruel and inhumane treatment of Bosniaks and other non-Serb civilians including severe beatings over an extended period of time.
- The unlawful detention or confinement of Bosniaks and other non-Serb civilians under inhumane conditions.
- The harassment, humiliation, terrorisation and psychological abuse of Bosniaks and other non-Serb civilians.
- The theft and destruction of personal property of Bosniaks and other non-Serb civilians.
Charges of mass rapes of Bosniak women and girls in Višegrad were not approved against the accused because prosecutors failed to request these charges to be included in a timely manner. Cousins Milan Lukić
Milan Lukic
Milan Lukić is a former head of the paramilitary group known as White Eagles who was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in July 2009 of crimes against humanity and violations of war customs committed in the Višegrad municipality of Bosnia and...
and Sredoje Lukić
Sredoje Lukić
Sredoje Lukić is a Bosnian Serb war criminal, the cousin and associate of Milan Lukić....
were convicted on July 20, 2009 for a 1992 killing spree that included locking Muslims in two houses and burning them alive. At least 119 Muslims, from 2 days old to 75 years, were burned to death. Milan Lukić was sentenced to life in prison Sredoje Lukić to 30 years. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has processed the following for war crimes in Višegrad:
- Milan LukićMilan LukicMilan Lukić is a former head of the paramilitary group known as White Eagles who was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in July 2009 of crimes against humanity and violations of war customs committed in the Višegrad municipality of Bosnia and...
(Life) - Sredoje LukićSredoje LukićSredoje Lukić is a Bosnian Serb war criminal, the cousin and associate of Milan Lukić....
(30 years) - Mitar VasiljevićMitar VasiljevicMitar Vasiljević is a Bosnian Serb war criminal convicted of crimes against humanity and violation of the customs of war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for his actions in the Višegrad region during the Bosnian War...
(15 years) - Boban Šimšić (14 years)
- Željko LelekŽeljko LelekŽeljko Lelek was the first individual indicted for the mass rape crimes that were a feature of the expulsion of the Bosniak population of the town of Višegrad as part of the strategic campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out in the Drina Valley in the early days of the Bosnian War.Željko...
(13 years) - Momir SavićMomir SavicMomir Savić is a Bosnian Serb paramilitary commander convicted for war crimes committed during the ethnic cleansing of the Višegrad region of eastern Bosnia during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.-Crimes:...
(18 years) - Nenad Tanasković (12 years, 8 years upon appeal)
- Novo Rajak (14 years)
Sport
The local football clubFootball team
A football team is the collective name given to a group of players selected together in the various team sports known as football.Such teams could be selected to play in an against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-star team or even selected as a...
, FK Drina HE Višegrad
FK Drina HE Višegrad
FK Drina HE is a football club from the town of Višegrad, in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club competes in the First League of the Republika Srpska.-External sources:* at Transfermarkt....
, plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska
First League of the Republika Srpska
First League of the Republika Srpska is a second level football competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since there were three different football championships in country, organized on ethnic principles, the "First League of the Republika Srpska" was the top flight in Republika Srpska before 2002....
.
Culture
Višegrad has the so called "Home of Culture" where film projections and all other cultural activities are. In addition, Višegrad has two folklore ensembles, KUD "Bikavac" and SSD "Soko".Population
As of the 1991 census, the municipality of Visegrad had a population of 195,692 inhabitants:| Census in the municipality of Višegrad | |||||||
| style="background: bgcolor="#F5DEB3" > godina popisa | style="background: bgcolor="#C2B280" > 1991. | style="background: bgcolor="#C2B280" > 1981. | style="background: bgcolor="#C2B280" > 1971. |- |
Muslims(now Bosniaks) | 13,471 (63.54%) | 14,397 (62.05%) | 15,752 (62.04%) |
| Serbs | 6,743 (31.80%) | 7,648 (32.96%) | 9,225 (36.33%) | ||||
| Croats | 32 (0.15%) | 60 (0.25%) | 68 (0.26%) | ||||
| Yugoslavs | 319 (1.50%) | 758 (3.26%) | 141 (0.55%) | ||||
| Others | 634 (3.37%) | 338 (1.45%) | 203 (0.79%) | ||||
| style="background: bgcolor="#F5DEB3" >Total | 21,199 | 23,201 | 25,389 | ||||
As of the 1991 census, the town of Visegrad had a population of 195,692 inhabitants:
| Višegrad | |||||||
| style="background: bgcolor="#F5DEB3" > year of census | style="background: bgcolor="#C2B280" > 1991. | style="background: bgcolor="#C2B280" > 1981. | style="background: bgcolor="#C2B280" > 1971. |- |
Muslims (now Bosniaks) | 3,463 (50.17%) | 2,854 (47.66%) | 2,429 (49.91%) |
| Serbs | 2,619 (37.94%) | 2,446 (40.84%) | 2,141 (43.99%) | ||||
| Croats | 23 (0.33%) | 52 (0.86%) | 53 (1.08%) | ||||
| Yugoslavs | 270 (3.91%) | 518 (8.65%) | 107 (2.19%) | ||||
| others | 527 (7.63%) | 118 (1.97%) | 136 (2.79%) | ||||
| style="background: bgcolor="#F5DEB3" >total | 6,902 | 5,988 | 4,866 | ||||