Maglaj (Serbian Cyrillic: Маглај) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, 25 km (16 mi) south of Doboj. It has a population of 6,438, with 34,980 inhabitants in the municipality.

Government of Maglaj
Маглај
Maglaj
Maglaj
Coat of arms of Government of Maglaj
Location of Maglaj within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Location of Maglaj within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Government of Maglaj is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Government of Maglaj
Government of Maglaj
Coordinates: 44°33′N 18°06′E / 44.550°N 18.100°E / 44.550; 18.100
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina
EntityFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canton Zenica-Doboj
Government
 • Municipal mayorMirsad Mahmutagić (SDP BiH)
Area
 • Town and municipality290 km2 (110 sq mi)
Population
 (2013 census)
 • Town and municipality34,980
 • Density120/km2 (310/sq mi)
 • Urban
6,438
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code+387 32
Websitewww.maglaj.ba

Population edit

Population of settlements – Maglaj municipality
Settlement 1961 1971 1981 1991 2013
Total 32,944 38,037 42,160 43,388 34,980
1 Bijela Ploča 1,004 616
2 Bradići Donji 664 462
3 Bradići Gornji 567 430
4 Čobe 654 635
5 Domislica 703 679
6 Donja Bočinja 821 214
7 Donji Ulišnjak 634 585
8 Jablanica 1,570 864
9 Kopice 1,231 1,227
10 Kosova 1,745 1,809
11 Liješnica 1,807 1,576
12 Maglaj 5,952 6,913 7,957 6,438
13 Misurići 1,937 1,556
14 Mladoševica 866 720
15 Moševac 1,270 1,490
16 Novi Šeher 1,802 1,495
17 Ravna 516 476
18 Strupina 749 536
19 Tujnica 480 370

Ethnic composition edit

Ethnic composition – Maglaj town
2013. 1991. 1981. 1971.
Total 6,438 (100,0%) 7,957 (100,0%) 6,913 (100,0%) 5,952 (100,0%)
Bosniaks 4,292 (53,94%) 3,422 (49,50%) 3,421 (57,48%)
Serbs 1,975 (24,82%) 1,585 (22,93%) 1,593 (26,76%)
Yugoslavs 1,026 (12,89%) 1,419 (20,53%) 197 (3,310%)
Croats 446 (5,605%) 416 (6,018%) 582 (9,778%)
Others 218 (2,740%) 30 (0,434%) 112 (1,882%)
Albanians 15 (0,217%) 10 (0,168%)
Montenegrins 14 (0,203%) 14 (0,235%)
Slovenes 11 (0,159%) 22 (0,370%)
Macedonians 1 (0,014%) 1 (0,017%)
Sastav stanovništva – općina Maglaj
2013. 1991. 1981. 1971. 1961.
Total 34,980 (100,0%) 43,388 (100,0%) 42,160 (100,0%) 38,037 (100,0%) 32,944 (100,0%)
Bosniaks 29,810 (85,59%) 19,569 (45,10%) 17,236 (40,88%) 15,628 (41,09%) 7,998 (24.28%)
Croats 2,041 (8,818%) 8,365 (19,28%) 8,341 (19,78%) 7,946 (20,89%) 7,313 (22.20%)
Serbs 810 (3,500%) 13,312 (30,68%) 13,662 (32,41%) 13,888 (36,51%) 13,870 (42.10%)
Others 485 (2,095%) 634 (1,461%) 164 (0,389%) 257 (0,676%) 215 (0.65%)
Yugoslavs 1,508 (3,476%) 2,682 (6,361%) 240 (0,631%) 3,548 (10.77%)
Montenegrins 40 (0,095%) 38 (0,100%)
Albanians 18 (0,043%) 15 (0,039%)
Slovenes 12 (0,028%) 22 (0,058%)
Macedonians 5 (0,012%) 2 (0,005%)
Roma 1 (0,003%)

Geography edit

The town is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated in territory where Bosniaks 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 Bosna flows through Maglaj on its way north to the Sava river on the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Before the Bosnian 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.

Demographics edit

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. Today, the municipality is overwhelmingly Bosnian Muslim.

The Orthodox population has largely settled in the municipalities of Doboj and Modriča in 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 the severe fighting around Maglaj throughout the Bosnian War, and the catastrophic conditions it was exposed to, numerous Bosniaks 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.

History edit

Maglaj originated in the 14th century. The river Bosna goes through this town.

From 1929 to 1941, Maglaj was part of the Vrbas Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

The city endured a long siege by Bosnian Serbs forces between 1993 and 1994 during the Bosnian War, when the area was the scene of heavy fighting and the population had to be supplied by airdrops.

The last flooding occurred on May 15 and 16, 2014.[1] Although little floods occur every year, the 2014 flood was major, people lost their homes and belongings.

Notable people edit

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Maglaj is twinned with:[2]

References edit

  1. ^ Osmic, Lejla. "In Pictures: Severe flooding in Bosnia". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  2. ^ "Maglaj dočekuje visoku delegaciju turskog grada Čubuk". maglaj.ba (in Bosnian). Maglaj. 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2020-12-29.

External links edit