Brčko (town)
| Brčko Брчко |
|
|---|---|
 Brčko
|
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| Coordinates: 44°52′N 18°49′E / 44.87°N 18.81°E | |
| Country |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| District | Brčko District |
| Government | |
| • Municipality president | Miroslav Gavrić (SNDS) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Total | 41,000 |
| Area code(s) | 76100 |
| Website | www.brcko.org |
Brčko (Serbian Cyrillic: Брчко) is a town in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, administrative seat of the Brčko District. It lies on the country's border along the Sava river across from Gunja, Croatia. Its name is very likely linked to the Breuci, an Illyrian tribe inhabiting the area in antiquity (see it:Breuci).
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[edit] Geography
Brčko is the seat of the Brčko District, an independent unit of local self-government created on the territory of Republika Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina following an arbitration process; the process is viewed by some as a violation of the Dayton Peace Accords because it created the district while it could only arbitrate the disputed portion of the Inter-Entity Boundary Line, also known as the Zone of Separation (ZOS). The local administration is aided by an international supervisory regime headed by Raffi Gregorian of the United States of America.
[edit] History
Brčko was a geographic point of contention in 1996 when the U.S.-led Implementation Forces (IFOR) built Camp McGovern on the outskirts of the city. Camp McGovern was built in the ZOS for the purpose of establishing peacekeeping operations, specifically between Muslims in Gornji Rahić near Brka and Serbs in Brčko.
The initial US Army unit to deploy into Brčko was Task Force 3-5 CAV, a Task Force composed of individual units of the 1st Armored Division. The commander of Task Force 3-5 was LTC Anthony Cucolo. The Task Force headquarters was located at Camp McGovern.
Although Brčko was a focal point for tension in the late 1990s, considerable progress in multi-ethnic integration in Brčko has since occurred including integration of secondary schooling. Reconstruction efforts and the Property Law Implementation Plan have improved the situation regarding property and return.
Brčko remains an important component of the Dayton Peace Accords, after the Brčko Arbitration ruled in May 1997 that Brčko would be a special district outside the jurisdiction of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, the two entities that comprise Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first international organization to open offices in Brčko was the Organization for Security and Cooperation In Europe (OSCE).
[edit] Demographics
According to 1991 census Brčko had 41,406 inhabitants, including:
- Muslims - 22,994 (55,54%)
- Serbs - 8,253 (19,93%)
- Yugoslavs - 5,211 (12,58%)
- Croats - 2,894 (6,99%)
- others - 2,054 (4,96%)
Since 1991, there has been no official census conducted.
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Ethnic structure of Brcko by settlements 1961.
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Ethnic structure of Brcko by settlements 1971.
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Ethnic structure of Brcko by settlements 1981.
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Ethnic structure of Brcko by settlements 1991.
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Ethnic structure of Brcko by settlements 2001.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Rail
A railway station is near the city centre with connections to Vinkovci and Tuzla. Even so, only 1 train crosses the border daily.
[edit] Sport
Brčko has three football clubs (FK Jedinstvo, FK Lokomotiva and the youngest club FK Ilicka 01 ). They all play in second league of Republic of Srpska.
[edit] Features
Brčko has the largest port in Bosnia, on the Sava river. It is also home to an economics faculty and to a rather important theater festival;
[edit] Famous residents
The city's most famous citizens are rapper Edo Maajka (Edin Osmić), Lepa Brena (real name Fahreta Jahić Živojinović), a popular Serbian folk music singer in the Balkans and Croatian international football player Mladen Petrić. Lawyer and diplomat Matthew Parish lived there when working for the Office of the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 44°52′N 18°49′E / 44.87°N 18.81°E
