Gorazde

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Gorazde is situated on the banks of the River Drina in South East Bosnia (see maps). The town lies at the foot of the eastern slope of mountain Jahorina at a height of 345m above sea level. The settlement is situated on the aluvial terrace in a broad valley, formed by the erosion of the River Drina. The valley is bordered on the South-Last by Biserna (701 m), on the South by Samari (696 m), on the South-West by Misjak (618 m), on the West by Gubavica (410 m) and on the North by Povrsnica (420 m).

The River Drina flows between these and some other hills and thus with its valley gives Gorazde good communications. The valley of the Drina is the principal traffic artery in the south-eastern region of Bosnia. Since old times it has been part of the important route going from the sea inland, (Dubrovnik - Trebinje - Gacko - Foca - the Drina valley). This route was particularly significant in Roman times and in the Middle Ages when it was used by Dubrovnik people travelling to these parts of Bosnia and further on to Serbia. (The Dubrovnik Road). At Gorazde this road meets another coming from Sarajevo and central Bosnia via the Jabuka Mountain pass down to the Drina valley and preceding on to Plevlje.

The surrounding region of Gorazde is composed of paleozoic slate, sandstone, carbon and perm. The hills are for the most part rounded and with gentle slopes. The higher ones are composed of limestone. Gorazde with its surroundings has mainly equable and fresh mountainous climate. The average annual temperature of the air is 10.8 C and the rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The town is supplied with water from six springs. One part of the inhabitants gets drinking water from ordinary wells. The construction of a water supply system began in 1962. from the spring in Cajnice, 16,5 km from Gorazde.

The River Drina has great significance for the founding and the development of Gorazde. The greatest floods recorded since the 18th century occured in 1677, 1731, 1737 and in 1896. The main characteristic of the layout and the type of town is its elongated shape along the Ustipraca-Foca road. Form 1465 till 1878 Goralde was part of the Turkish Empire. In the 18th and 19th centuries Gorazde was inhabited by Muslem and Orthodox communities. Up to World War II there existed two separate parts: Muslem and Orthodox. Today this division is disappearing. After World War II the town began to expand and be modernized, New streets have been built, public and residential buildings have been built in the centre and in the outskirts as well. From 1945 to 1961, 1130 council flats and 680 private homes have been built. In 1961 there were 616 buildings altogether in the town.

With Gornje Podrinje Gorazde was part of the old Serbian State up to 1376, when it was attached to the Bosnian State under the reign of King Tvrtko. After Tvrtko's death the town was ruled by the Hum Dukes among whom the best known was Herzog Stjepan.

In 1379 Gorazde was first mentioned as a trading settlement and in 1444 as a fortress. The origin of the town's name seems to have come from the Slavonic word "gorazd"

The Gorazde market became well known in 1415 when merchants from Dubrovnik had intensive commercial relations with it.

The Turks took Gorazde over definitively in 1465 and the place assumed oriental features. In 1477 there were four mahals in town. From 1550-1557 Mustafa Sokolovic built a stone bridge across the Drina and a caravanserai.

During the Turkish rule Gorazde was a significant trading centre, being at the crossroads of the two important roads: the Bosnian and the Dubrovnik. The gross state income from land amounted in 1477 to 24,256 akchi. In 1711 Gorazde was mentioned as the Turkish zoimat of 26,000 akchi.

Two mosques built by the Sijercic begs date back to the 18th century. Near Gorazde there is an Orthodox church, built in 1446 by Herzog Stjepan. A printing press, attached to the church, worked there from 1521 till 1531. This was the first printing press to be established in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the second in the Balkans.

Photo: One of the first documents ever printed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in year 1521. Printing begun with materials used in Sopotnica church.

The decline of Gorazde in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century is attributed among other things to the plague. Up to the middle of the 19th century Gorazde was part of the Herzegovinian Sandzak, when it became part of the Sarajevo Sandzak

The period of the Austro-Hungarian occupation was marked by the decline of Gorazde, although there was at the same time a certain ascent. Due to its geographical position on the border Gorazde was during World War I one of the main strongholds of Austro-Hungaria used against Serbia and Montenegro.

In prewar Yugoslavia Gorazde, being no more a frontier town, had normal conditions under which to develop and prosper.

In 1941 German troops entered the town after an air-raid on April 17. Later on Italian troops were also stationed there.

The National Liberation Army took over the town for the first time on January 27, 1942, and remained there until May of the same year. During this period National Liberation Committees were formed for the town the district of Gorazde on the basis of the Foca Stipulations. At the same time Gorazde was the headquarters of the National Liberation Army for East Bosnia. Early in March, 1942 the Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Tito stayed in Gorazde. Gorazde was liberated twice more, in 1943 and 1944, and on March 6, 1945 it was finally liberated from the occupation.

The composition of the Gorazde population can be traced from the times of Austro-Hungarian occupation. The Orthodox inhabitants originate from Stari Vlah in Sandzak, Brda in Montenegro, Herzegovina and South Serbia The few ancestral inhabitants exempted, the Muslem. population began to come in great numbers to Gorazde and its surroundings in the 17th century.

From the end of the war till 1961 a considerable number of new groups of families came to live in Gorazde from the neighbouring villages and from some other far away places, having been attracted by the economic growth of Gorazde. According to the census of 1961 Gorazde had 8.812 inhabitants.

Before World War II the industry of Gorazde comprised mainly retail trade and in some measure wholesale trade, the catering industry, handicraft, transport. During the occupation, 1941-1945, industry was destroyed and about 45% of the existing houses as well.

Since then Gorazde's industry has been systematically developing, it's main branches being manufacturing, building, transport, trade and crafts.

After the II World War a new period, marked by a tremendous social and economic rise began. A number of new industrial enterprises have been founded, among which the most significant is the Nitrogen Factory. To be continued...