Product Code Database
Višegrad (Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav river. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 10,668 inhabitants, while the town of Višegrad has a population of 5,869 inhabitants.
The town includes the Ottoman Empire-era Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, a UNESCO world heritage site which was popularized by Ivo Andrić in his novel The Bridge on the Drina. A tourist site called Andrićgrad (Andrić Town), dedicated to Andrić, is located near the bridge.
The settlement of Višegrad was mentioned in 1407, but started to be mentioned more often after 1427. In the period of 1433–37, a relatively short period, caravans crossed the settlement many times. Many people from Višegrad worked for the Republic of Ragusa. Srebrenica, Višegrad and their surroundings were again in Serbian hands in 1448 after the despot Đurađ Branković defeated the Bosnian forces.
In 1875, the Serbs from the area between Višegrad and Novi Pazar revolted and formed a volunteer military corps, which fought in the valley of the River Ibar in 1876. In 1882, a Jewish cemetery was established in Višegrad while in 1905, the first Jewish synagogue was built in the town. (2025). 9789004471047, Koninklijke Brill. ISBN 9789004471047 Višegrad remained under Ottoman rule until the Berlin Congress (1878), when Austria-Hungary took control of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In November 1941, with the help of the Italians, the Serbian royalist Chetniks established a civil and military government in the area of Višegrad, and engaged in genocidal killing of local Bosniaks. Thousands of civilians were massacred in Višegrad in December. In March 1942, 42 Bosniak villagers were burned to death in the village of Drakan.
During the Battle for Višegrad in October 1943, the Chetniks attacked a German garrison and captured the town whose Axis garrison had 350 dead and 400 wounded soldiers. 2,000 Bosniak civilians were killed after the capture of Višegrad. The Yugoslav Partisans took control of Višegrad on 14 February 1945.
On 6 April 1992, JNA artillery bombarded the town, in particular Bosniak-inhabited neighbourhoods and nearby villages. Murat Šabanović and a group of Bosniak men took several local Serbs hostage and seized control of the hydroelectric dam, threatening to blow it up. Water was released from the dam causing flooding to some houses and streets. Eventually on 12 April, 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 Užice Corps officially withdrew from the town and local Serb leaders established control over Višegrad and all municipal government offices. Soon after, local Serbs, police and paramilitaries began one of the most notorious campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the conflict.
There were widespread looting and destruction of houses, and terrorizing of Bosniak civilians, with instances of rape, with a large number of Bosniaks killed in the town, with many bodies being dumped in the River Drina. Men were detained at the Uzamnica camp, the Vilina Vlas Hotel and other sites in the area. Vilina Vlas also served as a rape camp, in which Bosniak women and girls (some not yet 14 years old at the time), were brought to by police officers and paramilitary members (White Eagles and Arkan's Tigers). According to victims' reports some 3,000 Bosniaks were murdered in Višegrad and its surroundings, including some 600 women and 119 children. Bosniaks detained at Uzamnica were subjected to inhumane conditions, including regular beatings, torture and strenuous forced labour. Both of the town's mosques were razed. According to the Research and Documentation Center, at least 1,661 Bosniaks were killed/missing in Višegrad.
With the Dayton Agreement, which put an end to the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, the latter which Višegrad became part of.
Before the war, 63% of the town residents were Bosniak. In 2009, only a handful of survivors had returned to what is now a predominantly Serb town. On 5 August 2001, survivors of the massacre returned to Višegrad 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. The charges of mass rape were unapproved as the prosecutors failed to request them in time. Investigation: Visegrad rape victims say their cries go unheard The cousins Milan Lukić and Sredoje Lukić were convicted on 20 July 2009, to life in prison and 30 years, respectively, for a 1992 killing spree of Muslims.
| Settlement | 1879. | 1885. | 1895. | 1910. | 1921. | 1931. | 1948. | 1953. | 1961. | 1971. | 1981. | 1991. | 2013. | |
| Total | 12,118 | 14,561 | 18,171 | 24,350 | 21,333 | 28,425 | 29,897 | 36,742 | 25,389 | 23,201 | 21,199 | 10,668 | ||
| 1 | Donja Crnča | 907 | 491 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Dušče | 841 | 323 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Kosovo Polje | 167 | 546 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Šeganje | 308 | 283 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Višegrad | 4,866 | 5,988 | 6,902 | 5,869 | |||||||||
| 6 | Vučine | 151 | 257 |
| 2013. | 1991. | 1981. | 1971. | |
| Total | 5,869 (100,0%) | 6,902 (100,0%) | 5,988 (100,0%) | 4,866 (100,0%) |
| Bosniaks | 3,463 (50,17%) | 2,854 (47,66%) | 2,429 (49,92%) | |
| Serbs | 2,619 (37,95%) | 2,446 (40,85%) | 2,141 (44,00%) | |
| Others | 527 (7,635%) | 23 (0,384%) | 31 (0,637%) | |
| Yugoslavs | 270 (3,912%) | 518 (8,651%) | 107 (2,199%) | |
| Croats | 23 (0,333%) | 52 (0,868%) | 53 (1,089%) | |
| Montenegrins | 76 (1,269%) | 94 (1,932%) | ||
| Albanians | 10 (0,167%) | 7 (0,144%) | ||
| Macedonians | 6 (0,100%) | 2 (0,041%) | ||
| Slovenes | 3 (0,050%) | 2 (0,041%) |
| 2013. | 1991. | 1981. | 1971. | |
| Total | 10,668 (100,0%) | 21,199 (100,0%) | 23,201 (100,0%) | 25,389 (100,0%) |
| Serbs | 9,338 (87,53%) | 6,743 (31,81%) | 7,648 (32,96%) | 9,225 (36,33%) |
| Bosniaks | 1,043 (9,777%) | 13,471 (63,55%) | 14,397 (62,05%) | 15,752 (62,04%) |
| Others | 254 (2,381%) | 634 (2,991%) | 127 (0,547%) | 77 (0,303%) |
| Croats | 33 (0,309%) | 32 (0,151%) | 60 (0,259%) | 68 (0,268%) |
| Yugoslavs | 319 (1,505%) | 858 (3,698%) | 141 (0,555%) | |
| Montenegrins | 86 (0,371%) | 106 (0,418%) | ||
| Albanians | 15 (0,065%) | 15 (0,059%) | ||
| Macedonians | 6 (0,026%) | 3 (0,012%) | ||
| Slovenes | 4 (0,017%) | 2 (0,008%) |
| 138 |
| 259 |
| 377 |
| 77 |
| 7 |
| 199 |
| 64 |
| 210 |
| 28 |
| 23 |
| 28 |
| 284 |
| 142 |
| 165 |
| 20 |
| 29 |
| 2,050 |
KK Varda is a basketball club from Višegrad, currently playing in the 1st League of Republika Srpska, having also had good seasons in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Only womens club in the city is OK HE na Drini, a volleyball club, also with a long history, having played in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 1st League of Republika Srpska and the 2nd League of Republika Srpska, Winning the title in 2023/2024 in the 2nd League of Republika Srpska, From 2024/2025 season, they will be back to the 1st League of Republika Srpska.
Other sports clubs are Handball Club Višegrad, founded in 2002, currently playing in the 1st League of Republika Srpska, a futsal club founded in 2023, playing in the 2nd League of Reoublika Srpska and karate and judo clubs.
|
|
