Šamac, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Šamac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шамац, pronounced [ʃâmat͡s]),[1] formerly Bosanski Šamac (Serbian Cyrillic: Босански Шамац) is a town and municipality located in the northeastern part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are also small, uninhabited, parts located in Odžak municipality[2] and in Domaljevac-Šamac municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[3]

Šamac
Шамац
Town and municipality
Šamac
Šamac
Location of Šamac within Republika Srpska
Location of Šamac within Republika Srpska
Location of Šamac
Šamac is located in Republika Srpska
Šamac
Šamac
Location of Šamac within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Šamac is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Šamac
Šamac
Šamac (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Coordinates: 45°03′38″N 18°28′3″E
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity Republika Srpska
Geographical regionPosavina
Government
 • Municipal mayorĐorđe Milićević
 • Municipality177.54 km2 (68.55 sq mi)
Population
 (2013 census)
 • Town
5,390
 • Municipality
17,273
 • Municipality density97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code54
Websitewww.opstinasamac.org
Šamac municipality by population proportional to the settlement with the highest and lowest population

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 city was founded by Bosnian settlers from Ottoman province of Smederevo in 1862. It was part of the Ottoman province of Bosnia by the time it was annexed by Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1887. After World War I, the city became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. From 1929 to 1939, it was part of Drina Banovina; and from 1939 until 1941 it was part of the Banovina of Croatia. During World War II, Šamac, as all the rest of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was included into Nazi-controlled Independent State of Croatia. After 1945, the city 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 Serbs who established the provisional municipal government. Most Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats were ethnically cleansed between April and November 1992.[4][5] During the war, a semi-permanent front line was established against Croatian and Bosniak forces towards the neighboring Orašje. In 2003, three Bosnian Serb town leaders at the time of the Yugoslav Wars were sentenced in ICTY for crimes against humanity.[6]

The town lies on an important strategic position in Republika Srpska, near Brčko. As with most other places under Serb control, 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 of "Bosanski Šamac" (Serbian Cyrillic: Босански Шамац, pronounced [bǒsanskiː ʃâmat͡s]).[1] causing tension among the inhabitants. A court order had the official name changed to simply Šamac, removing any ethnic divisions in its previous names.[7]

Settlements

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

Demographics

Population
Population of settlements – Šamac municipality
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
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
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%)
Montenegrins 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
Main square
Monument to Serb casualties of the Bosnian War
Serbian Orthodox church in Obudovac

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):[8]

Activity Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing84
Mining and quarrying40
Manufacturing426
Distribution of power, gas, steam and air-conditioning31
Distribution of water and water waste management19
Construction5
Wholesale and retail, repair417
Transportation and storage182
Hotels and restaurants117
Information and communication6
Finance and insurance20
Real estate activities-
Professional, scientific and technical activities57
Administrative and support services7
Public administration and defence176
Education248
Healthcare and social work122
Art, entertainment and recreation8
Other service activities7
Total1,972

Sport

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

Notable people
Serbian PM Zoran Đinđić
Alija Izetbegović

See also

Notes
  1. Mangold (2005:212)
  2. "Naseljena Mjesta 1991/2013" (in Bosnian). Statistical Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  3. "Naseljena Mjesta 1991/2013" (in Bosnian). Statistical Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  4. https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/bosnia/ War Crimes in Bosnia-Hercegovina: Bosanski Samac — Six War Criminals Named by Victims of “Ethnic Cleansing”, Human Rights Watch, April 1994
  5. Time (magazine) FACE TO FACE WITH EVIL, Time magazine, May 13, 1996
  6. http://www.asil.org/ilib/ilib0622.htm#j3 International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (Trial Chamber II): Prosecutor v. Blagoje Simic, Mirolsav Tadic and Simo Zadic (October 17, 2003) Archived February 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. RS bez "bosanskih" gradova
  8. "Cities and Municipalities of Republika Srpska 2017" (PDF). rzs.rs.ba (in Serbian). December 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2018.

References
  • Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by municipalities and settlements, 1991. census, Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine - Bilten no.234, Sarajevo 1991.
  • Mangold, Max (2005), Das Aussprachewörterbuch, Duden, ISBN 9783411040667
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