Mrkonjić Grad

Mrkonjić Grad Мркоњић Град
Town and municipality
Mrkonjić Grad
Coat of arms
Location of Mrkonjić Grad within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates: 44°25′N 17°05′E
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Republika Srpska
Geographical region	Bosanska Krajina
Government
• Municipal mayor	Dragan Vođević (SNSD)
Area
• Total	677.43 km^2 (261.56 sq mi)
Population  (2013 census)
• Total	16,671
• Density	25/km^2 (64/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code	50

Mrkonjić Grad (Serbian Cyrillic: Мркоњић Град, pronounced [mr̩koɲit͡ɕ grad]) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Bosanska Krajina region, between Banja Luka and Jajce. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 16,671 inhabitants, while the town of Mrkonjić Grad has a population of 7,915 inhabitants.

Name

The town changed its name several times in history: Gornje Kloke, Novo Jajce, Varcarev Vakuf, Varcar Vakuf, and ultimately the present one. The last renaming took place in 1924 after King Peter I of Serbia, who had taken the nom de guerre "Mrkonjić" while fighting in the uprising (1875–78) against the Ottoman Empire.

History

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

In World War II, the town became renowned by the first meeting of ZAVNOBiH on 25 November 1943, when Bosnia and Herzegovina was proclaimed as a common republic of Serbs, Croats and Muslims.

During the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, the town was within the territory controlled by ethnic Serbs. The town is also known for the Mrkonjić Grad incident where the USAF lost one F-16 in June 1995.^[1] The pilot of the jet, Scott O'Grady, was stranded in the area for six days before being rescued by US Marines. From 8 to 12 October 1995, Mrkonjić Grad was in the hands of the Croatian Army (HV) and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).

After the Dayton Peace Agreement the town was assigned to the entity of Republika Srpska.^[2] As a consequence, the Croat population of the town had no choice but to leave, and there are very few Croats living in Mrkonjić today, most of them elderly. In 1996, a mass grave containing the bodies of 181 Serbs—mostly civilians—was uncovered in Mrkonjić Grad. Almost all were killed by Bosniak and Croat forces in late 1995.^[3] Bosnian Serbs committed a massacre of 28 Croat and Bosniak civilians, who were abducted from their homes in Mrkonjić Grad, and executed in Oborci, on 13 September 1995.^[4]

• 
  Bočac fortress
• 
  American pilot Scott O'Grady was shot down by the Bosnian Serb army in the Bosnian war
• 
  Plaque commemorating the victims thrown into a mass grave by Bosniak and Croat forces

Demographics

Population

Population of settlements – Mrkonjić Grad municipality
	Settlement	1910.	1921.	1931.	1948.	1953.	1961.	1971.[5]	1981.[6]	1991.[7]	2013.[8][9]
	Total	20,620		27,014	29,178	31,127	30,949	30,159	29,684	26,278	16,671
1	Baljvine									1,140	333
2	Bjelajce									980	693
3	Brdo									587	548
4	Donji Baraći									524	287
5	Donji Graci									358	206
6	Gerzovo									679	256
7	Gornji Graci									926	556
8	Gustovara									428	208
9	Kopljevići									489	296
10	Kotor									443	311
11	Majdan									946	408
12	Medna									791	221
13	Mrkonjić Grad				2,249		2,770	4,089	6,602	8,422	7,915
14	Oćune									447	215
15	Orahovljani									463	263
16	Podbrdo									991	731
17	Podorugla									849	921
18	Podrašnica									1,096	733
19	Šehovci									642	251
20	Stupari									435	288
21	Trijebovo									509	211
22	Jasenovi Potoci									284	98

Ethnic composition

Church of Saint Sava

City assembly building

Petar Kočić elementary school

Sports hall

Many of the damaged houses that had devastated the area were rebuilt after the war

Ethnic composition – Mrkonjić Grad town
	2013.[8][9]	1991.[7]	1981.[6]	1971.[5]
Total	7,915 (100,0%)	8,422 (100,0%)	6,602 (100,0%)	4,089 (100,0%)
Serbs	7,130 (96,7%)	5,945 (70,59%)	4,077 (61,75%)	2,156 (52,73%)
Bosniaks	115 (1,6%)	1,450 (17,22%)	1,414 (21,42%)	1,419 (34,70%)
Yugoslavs	52 (0,7%)	470 (5,581%)	618 (9,361%)	62 (1,516%)
Croats	74 (1,0%)	454 (5,391%)	427 (6,468%)	406 (9,929%)
Others		103 (1,223%)	19 (0,288%)	18 (0,440%)
Montenegrins			30 (0,454%)	21 (0,514%)
Albanians			11 (0,167%)	6 (0,147%)
Macedonians			6 (0,091%)	1 (0,024%)

Ethnic composition – Mrkonjić Grad municipality
	2013.[8]	1991.[7]	1981.[6]	1971.[5]
Total	16,671 (100,0%)	27,395 (100,0%)	29,684 (100,0%)	30,159 (100,0%)
Serbs	16,050 (96,27%)	21,057 (76,86%)	23,364 (78,71%)	24,990 (82,86%)
Bosniaks	375 (2,249%)	3,272 (11,94%)	3,009 (10,14%)	2,734 (9,065%)
Croats	159 (0,954%)	2,139 (7,808%)	2,290 (7,715%)	2,204 (7,308%)
Others	87 (0,522%)	334 (1,219%)	67 (0,226%)	82 (0,272%)
Yugoslavs		593 (2,165%)	883 (2,975%)	98 (0,325%)
Montenegrins			47 (0,158%)	38 (0,126%)
Albanians			15 (0,051%)	11 (0,036%)
Macedonians			8 (0,027%)	1 (0,003%)
Slovenes			1 (0,003%)	1 (0,003%)

Economy

Shoe factory

Balkana lake

Balkana lake

Bočac lake

Landscape from the area

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):^[10]

Professional field	Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	196
Mining and quarrying	22
Manufacturing	814
Distribution of power, gas, steam and air-conditioning	235
Distribution of water and water waste management	52
Construction	499
Wholesale and retail, repair	490
Transportation and storage	171
Hotels and restaurants	145
Information and communication	25
Finance and insurance	35
Real estate activities	1
Professional, scientific and technical activities	74
Administrative and support services	3
Public administration and defence	243
Education	328
Healthcare and social work	122
Art, entertainment and recreation	15
Other service activities	47
Total	3,517

Tourism

The Balkana Lake lies near the town and is a small, but beautiful tourist resort including the nearby Skakavac Waterfall.

See also

• Mrkonjić Grad incident

References

1. "AFSOUTH Fact sheets". AF South Nato. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
2. "Dayton Accords - international agreement". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
3. "Serbs unearth 181 bodies in mass grave". Independent. 6 April 1996. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
4. "Izvršen masakr u Oborcima kod Donjeg Vakufa".
5. "1971 Census" (PDF). stat.gov.rs.
6. "1981 Census" (PDF). stat.gov.rs.
7. "Bosnia & Herzegovina". pop-stat.mashke.org.
8. "2013 Census" (PDF). rzs.rs.ba.
9. "Popis 2013 u BiH". www.statistika.ba. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
10. "Cities and Municipalities of Republika Srpska 2017" (PDF). rzs.rs.ba (in Serbian). December 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2018.

External links

• Municipality of Mrkonjić Grad
• Mrkonjić Grad Guide
• Mrkonjić Grad - Internet - Live & Exclusive from MG
• Mrkonjić Grad Portal
• Zelenkovac Art gallery