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This text is written before 1991, and has nothing to do with todays Banja Luka.

Banja Luka

Panoramic view 1 and 2
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Altitude:535 ft/163 m. - Population 1991 - 195.139

Banja Luka, a verdant town of tree-lined avenues, parks and gardens lying astride the River Vrbas, was devastated by an earthquake on October 26, 1969; but the town, sorely tired in the past by natural catastrophes and wars, has recovered from this latest disaster. Although neither a spa nor a port, as its name might suggest (banja=bathroom; luka=port), Banja Luka is a convenient staging point for tourists and a good base from which to explore the attractive surrounding area.

Surroundings

Canoeists will enjoy a trip down the River Vrbas from Jajce to Banja Luka, passing through numerous gorges and stretches of wild water. At a number of points the river is dammed, forming long lakes which supply power stations. There is good fishing to be had in the rivers Vrbas, Pliva and Ugar.

An excellent road, narrow in places, follows the River Vrbas to Jajce, passing between high rock walls and through tunnels and affording magnificent views. On the banks of the Vrbas stands the Castle named Kastel, with its extensive medieval fortifications. It now houses an Ethnographic Museum, and a Museum of the Revolution. Near Banja Luka are the spas of Laktasi, Slatina and Gornji Seher. 19 miles/30 km North is the little town of Gradiska, where a Bronze and Iron Age settlement of wooden pile dwellings was discovered some years ago.

History

In the wars of earlier centuries Banja Luka occupied an important strategic position at the point where the River Vrbas emerged from the mountains and pursued its course over the Pannonian plain to join the Sava 50 km North. In Roman times, Banja Luka formed a castra on the road from Salona to Servitium. The Romans discovered the value of the mineral springs in the neighborhood, but the baths erected by them are now in ruins; the best-preserved remains are at Gornji Seher, about 2 miles upstream from Banja Luka. The importance of these alkaline springs is reflected in the name Banja Luka, which means the spas of St. Luke. In the 14th. c. a fortress was built on the site of the Roman station, and this still survives, though in a dilapidated condition. When Jajce fell to Turks in the sixteenth century, Banja Luka increased in strategic importance. For a time, the residence of the Turkish governor (vali) of Bosnia was moved from VrhBosna (Sarajevo) to Banja Luka, and subsequently to Travnik. The town was the scene of many encounters between Austrians and Turks, especially in 1527, 1688 and 1737. In 1528 the Turks took Banja Luka and thereafter developed it into an important town - an outpost and a base for their further advance northward over the Pannonian plain. In the second half of the 17th. c. Banja Luka enjoyed a period of considerable prosperity, with 3700 houses, 300 shops, etc. In 1688 the Austrians briefly occupied the town. Subsequently six major fires, four outbreaks of plague and two floods cost the lives of thousands of its inhabitants. In 1831, Hussein Aga, the dragon of Bosnia, set forth from Banja Luka to preach his Holy War against Mahmud II and the Ottoman authorities. In 1878 Banja Luka was assigned to Austria by the Congress of Berlin. During the Second World War the town was a focal point of the Yugoslav Resistance, and the partisans established their first airfield near the town in 1943. A huge monument on Mt. Sehitluci commemorates the fierce fighting of these years.

Banja Luka in the pre World War Two period

Population - 22,165

Banja Luka is situated on the river Vrbas at the head of a narrow gorge where the river valley broadens into the lowland of the river Sava. The town is built on level ground at an altitude of 550 ft., but it is shut in, except on the north and north-east, by the hills of Vrhovina. The Vrbas is here joined by the Crkvina Potok from the north-west, and about three miles further downstream, by the Vrbanja. The river is bridged at three points: one near the center of the city, another to the south-west and a third, north-north-east of the city.
The main part of the city lies within a triangle formed by the left (west) bank of the Vrbas, the Crkvina and Carski(Kraljev) Drum(road). It contains the citadel, the sixteenth-century mosque of Ferhadija Dzamija (now destroyed by the Serbs), the modern market-place, a barracks, and the municipal and provincial administrative buildings. The old part lies farther to the south-west and contains the Carsija (Bazaar). The chief traffic route of the town is the Carski Drum, which is a segment of the Lipik-Jajce road. The secondary streets form a roughly rectangular pattern. The modern and industrial area lies to the north of the Carski Drum, and the railway station and sidings are situated here.
Banja Luka, the 'capital' of western Bosnia, is the chief town of the Vrbaska banovina and the administrative centre of a srez. A Roman Catholic and an Orthodox bishop both have their sees in the city. There are numerous elementary and secondary schools, including a technical schools and a military academy. The provincial institute of hygiene is situated at Banja Luka and it controls several clinics. There is also a state hospital.

Economic Importance

Banja Luka is an important marketing centre for cattle and agricultural products, and it has a famous annual stock and produce fair. There is a large saw-mill with an annual production of 5 million cu. ft. Tobacco is grown in the neighborhood and processed in the state factory. The town has several flour mills, breweries and distilleries. There are one clothing factory and four brick and tile works. Lignite and silver are mined in the vicinity.

Communications

Banja Luka is the terminus of a single-track railway line from Prijedor and Bos. Novi, which enters the city along the left bank of the Vrbas. The line branches from the main Zagreb-Belgrade route at Sunja. The main station is in the northern part of the city. The construction of lines from Okucani in the north and from Pribinic to the east is also being planned.
Five main roads coverge on the city:(1) from Lipik on the north; (2) from Doboj on the east; (3) from Jajce on the south; (4) from Han Gadjavica on the south-west; (5) from Bos. Novi on the north-west.

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