BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA / BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
GRAČANICA
Small Town IN THE VALLEY OF THE SPREČA RIVER Author: Semra Hodžić
IN THE ENCHANTING ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING ZVIJEZDA (STAR) MOUNTAIN, JUST OUTSIDE OF VAREŠ, WHAT SEEMS LIKE AN ORDINARY BOSNIAN VILLAGE OF OĆEVIJA AT FIRST GLANCE IS SETTLED. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU SPOT “MEJDANI” OR BLACKSMITHS’ WORKSHOPS, IT TURNS OUT THAT THIS IS THE LAST PLACE IN EUROPE WHERE IRON IS MANUFACTURED USING THE IRON MANUFACTURE METHOD DATING BACK TO THE TIMES PRIOR TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, I.E. JUST LIKE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, IRON IS SMELTED AND THEN SMITHED USING WATER ENERGY. KOTROMANIĆ DYNASTY’S SEAT A small town nestled in the lower valley of the Spreča River is said to have originated in the Middle Ages at the time when the town of Soko was built on a steep rock above Sokoluša Brook in the southern foothills of Mount Trebava. The medieval town of Soko lies six kilometres away from the centre of present day Gračanica, in a village bearing the same name, which used to be the largest settlement in the county, while the whole area was known for an iron ore mine. Ruins of a medieval castle tell stories to the wind of what it was like to be the seat of the Kontomanić dynasty which would later become a mining village and then a town. The earliest known 86
historical reference to Soko dates from 19 June 1449—it was the town of Duke Radivoj, one of Kontromanić dynasty’s most influential figures in the Medieval Bosnian state, and the brother of the Bosnian King Stjepan Tomaš. Soko was designated as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Old Mosque in close proximity to Soko, which archaeologists believe was originally a feudal court, was also designated as a national monument.
ROYAL DECREE ISSUED BY SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT Gračanica was known as the place where diligent tradesmen and craftsmen had gathered since ancient times, which was confirmed by a
royal decree issued by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1548, during the Ottoman Empire, Gračanica had all the features of a basic urban, economic and cultural unit so it fulfilled the requirements to officially become a kasaba—a town neighbourhood. After receiving a document confirming this status, the town saw a rapid economic development in terms of service, craft and trade shops, and in 1572 it became the administrative seat of the kadiluk—a local administrative subdivision of the Ottoman empire, which was the territory of a kadi, or judge—comprising Gradačac, Sokol, Modriča, Orašje and Srebrenik counties. These historical facts speak of a continuous economic development and the entrepreneurial spirit of this municipality.
