Kupres (town)
Encyclopedia
Kupres 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.
, 127km from Mostar
,143 km from Sarajevo, 123 km from Banja Luka
and 127 km from Split
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
.
, 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
.
tombstones. There is one large group of stećak tombstones called Ravanjska vrata and one in Rastičevo.
Kupres is also famous for tumuli-burial mounds. In one of those archeologists found a grave and a skeleton. It is believed to be more than 3000 years old and it is now kept in Gorica museum in Livno.
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...
, 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...
. The town is located in the Canton 10
Canton 10
Canton 10 or County 10 is the tenth canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The capital of County and its president is in Kupres...
, also known as the Hercegbosanski Kanton or Hercegbosanska županija and is the north-western most town in Hercegovina.
Position
Kupres is 43 km distanced from LivnoLivno
Livno is a town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Tomislavgrad, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo, Kupres and the Croatian border.- Position :...
, 127km from Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
,143 km from Sarajevo, 123 km from Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
and 127 km from Split
About Kupres
Kupres was first mentioned in documents from the Kingdom of CroatiaKingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...
which was based in nearby Duvno (now called Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...
). It was part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
(as was the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina), and in more recent times, in both the Banovina of Croatia
Banovina of Croatia
The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1943 . Its capital was at Zagreb and it included most of present-day Croatia along with portions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia...
(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
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
infrastructure.
Kupres is located high above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
(1120-1150 m) and averages 55 days a year of snowfall due to its advantageous location in the Dinaric Alps
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in Southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro....
. 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
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....
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
Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...
and Livno
Livno
Livno is a town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Tomislavgrad, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo, Kupres and the Croatian border.- Position :...
, and is connected to the nearby town of Bugojno
Bugojno
Bugojno is a town and municipality of the same name in central Bosnia and Herzegovina on the river Vrbas. It is located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. The town is to the northwest from Sarajevo, with an estimated population of 50,000 .To the west...
in Bosnia Proper
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
via a tunnel.
The town has a monument to the Croatian defenders of Vukovar
Vukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
.
Division of Kupres
Following the Dayton AgreementDayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
, which split Bosnia and Herzegovina following the 1990s conflict according to ethnic lines, the town has evolved into a Croat
Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina form one of the three constitutive nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.There is no precise data regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's population since the last war. Ethnic cleansing within Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s saw the vast majority of Croats move and take...
-dominated town. The ethnic Serb
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina are people of Serb ethnicity inhabiting the Balkan regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or, since the establishment of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state in the 1990s, the Serbs who have its citizenship. The Serbs are one of the three constitutive nations of this...
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
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
.
1971
11,496 total- Serbs - 6,252 (54,38)
- Croats - 4,425 (38,49)
- Bosniaks - 763 (6,63)
- Yugoslavs - 18 (0,15)
- Others - 38 (0,35)
1991
10,098 total- Serbs - 5,169
- Croats - 3,947
- Bosniaks - 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. There is around 4000 Croatians living in Kupres. Independent figures exist for the population of Kupres in Srpska.Culture
Kupres is very famous for stećakStecak
The Stećci , are monumental medieval tombstones that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of 10,000 are found in Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro...
tombstones. There is one large group of stećak tombstones called Ravanjska vrata and one in Rastičevo.
Kupres is also famous for tumuli-burial mounds. In one of those archeologists found a grave and a skeleton. It is believed to be more than 3000 years old and it is now kept in Gorica museum in Livno.
Tourism
Kupres is a famous skiing resort in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are two main ski centers - Čajuša and Stožer.External links
- http://www.kupreskiradio.com
- http://www.kupresportal.com
- http://www.kupresonline.com
- http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/Federation_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/Kupres-360404/TravelGuide-Kupres.html