BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA / BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
BRČKO
A Charming Town
on the Banks of the River Sava
THE CHARMING TOWN OF BRČKO SITS AT THE END OF THE FERTILE SEMBERIJA PLAIN, WHERE THE MOUNTAIN RIVER BRKA FLOWS INTO THE MIGHTY RIVER SAVA. LOCATED AT A JUNCTION OF WATER AND LAND ROUTES LINKING B&H WITH WESTERN EUROPE, BRČKO IS A GUARDIAN OF THE NATURAL BORDERS OF B&H. Written by: Semra Hodžić
A TOWN OF BRIDGE BUILDERS, FERRY OPERATORS AND DERBENDŽIJE Brčko was first mentioned as a settlement and fortress in 1526, i.e. in 1533 in Ottoman documents. The town began to develop at the site of an old passenger ferry terminal, at the confluence of two rivers. It was inhabited by bridge builders, ferry operators and derbendžije or people who were in charge of protecting road communication in gorges. Brčko began to develop at a fast pace after 1548, when a road from Tuzla to Brčko was built. Back then, Brčko was part of the Tuzla district. After that, it developed more intensively thanks to the export of prunes and raw plums. Before long, the town became a trading centre exporting 92
25-30,000 tonnes of dried prunes to Austria, Germany, England, and the USA. Even today, it is a well-known fruit-growing area.
TOWN PROMENADE When you come visit their town, the people of Brčko will tell you to go for a walk along the town promenade. There, in the old town quarters called Kolobara, you can take a walking tour of the most important sites in Brčko, the symbols of this town—the Brčko City Hall and the “Grand Hotel Posavina”. Built in the typical Austro-Hungarian style, the “Grand Hotel Posavina” was the first town hotel. Alijaga Kučukalić, a Brčko merchant, had it constructed with his own funds in 1891. His house near the White Mosque is also of architectural value, which is why it is protected as a national monument of B&H.
THE BRČKO TOWN HALL OLDER THAN THE SARAJEVO CITY HALL In addition to “Posavina”, another symbol of this town is the building of the Brčko Town Hall, which is irresistibly reminiscent of the Sarajevo City Hall. It is even older than the Sarajevo City Hall. They share the same architects and style of construction—the Brčko Town Hall was built in the neo-Moorish architectural style in 1892 according to the conceptual design of architect Aleksandar Wittek and the detailed design of architect Ćiril Iveković. Since it was constructed, it was home to the Brčko Municipality, the post office, the telegraph office, the River Sava Port Authority, and the Town Library. It is now home to an art gallery. The Brčko Town Hall was designated as a national monument in 2004.
