Tuzla is an industrial city in the northeast of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. It is located in a side valley of the Spreča on the
Jala River. Tuzla is the capital of the canton named after her of
the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With around 110,000
inhabitants, the city is the third largest in the country. The area
of the actual urban area is 15 km², that of the municipality 303
km². With around 445,000 inhabitants, the canton of Tuzla is the
most populous canton in the country.
Tuzla is located in a
hilly area southeast of the Majevica Mountains.
The Modračko
jezero reservoir southwest of the city is the city's largest
recreational area. It was created in 1964 and is used as a water
reservoir for the surrounding industry. It has a water surface of
approximately 900 hectares, a maximum depth of 20 meters and an
average depth of 7 meters.
The climate in Tuzla is temperate,
but more of a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers.
The annual average temperature is 10 ° C; the average annual
rainfall is 895 mm.
The lowest temperature ever recorded was
−25.8 ° C on January 24, 1963, the highest at 39.5 ° C on July 6,
1988.
Early history
As archaeological excavations show, the history
of Tuzla goes back to the Neolithic. The earliest evidence of
settlement by Slavic tribes goes back to the 7th century AD. Due to
the salty springs that are often found in the area, the settlement
was initially called Soli (Slavic for salt).
In Gornja Tuzla,
around 10 km from the center of Tuzla, excavations uncovered a
settlement of the Starčevo culture, which is considered the oldest
evidence of this culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina and dates back to
3000–2000 BC. Is dated. The restored remains of a pile dwelling
settlement, the oldest of its kind in the area of former
Yugoslavia, can now be viewed on the site of the city's artificially
created salt lake.
Middle age
In early feudalism, i.e. at
the time of the medieval Bosnian state, the production of salt was
insignificant and obviously only served the use of the local
population. This can best be inferred from the document of the Ban
Kulin (Povelja Kulina bana) from 1189, with whose signature the Ban
effectively transferred the monopoly with salt to the Dubrovniks. In
doing so, he allowed them free trade in the areas under his control.
The Ban Kulin document is the oldest Bosnian-Herzegovinian state
document.
Ottoman Empire
In 1463 the city was captured by
the Ottomans and was given the name Tuzla, which is based on the
Turkish word for salt (tuz). Until then, Tuzla was called Soli or
Só.
With the arrival of the Turks, the production of salt
takes an organized form in terms of trade. The oldest information
about the annual production of salt in the upper and lower Tuzla
(Gornja i Donja Tuzla) comes from 1478. At that time a total of 13
tons of salt were produced. The highest amount of annual production
was recorded in 1991 at 205,005 tons.
The Turkish power
granted individuals the right to operate the salt production. Part
of this had to be given to the state. This was regulated in a
specially prepared law from 1548. Manufacturing in the Turkish era
progressed from 13 to 640 tons in 1875. This was just before the end
of the Ottoman administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Austria-Hungary
With the beginning of the Austro-Hungarian
administration in 1878, increased industrialization began. In 1880
the state monopoly on salt was proclaimed; four years later,
construction of the first factory in Simin Han began. The Solana
factory was opened in 1885, establishing the industrial production
of salt in Tuzla, which continues to this day. How important the
Solana was for the central power of that time is shown by the fact
that the Solana was named in an imperial decree of February 16, 1885
by Emperor Franz Joseph I.
At the beginning, the industrial
production of salt developed rapidly. The development of new salt
deposits made a significant contribution to this. After the
discovery of a warehouse on the Trnovac hill in the north of the
city, a new plant was opened in Kreka in 1891. This happened at the
site of the current factory. In 30 years of industrialization,
annual production rose from 640 tons in the pre-industrial era to a
good 20,000 tons of salt in 1905. In 1917, before the end of the
Austro-Hungarian period, the volume produced was 43,841 tons.
Meyer's Großes Konversations-Lexikon from 1909 described Tuzla
as a district town, which lies on both banks of the Jala and the
Doboj-T.-Siminhan railway line. It was the seat of an Orthodox
bishop, a mufti, a military squadron and a district court. The
dictionary states that there were three bridges, numerous mosques
(including the Behrambeg mosque), a nunnery and several barracks. At
that time (1895) Tuzla had 11,034 inhabitants, 5984 of whom were
Mohammedans (then the common name for Muslims). The trade was
"brisk", especially in cattle and horses. There was also an
elementary and trade school, a girls' school and a higher Islamic
school, a hospital, the Elisabeth Park, and in addition to the salt
springs mentioned, there were also rich coal stores. Tuzla's
surroundings are said to have been rich in Bogumilen graves.
Furthermore, Tuzla was the capital of the province of Soli in 1225.
In 1693 the imperial general Perčinlija triumphed over the Turks.
Austrian troops fought here 9-10. Aug. 1878 with the insurgents.
Franciscan monastery
In 1447 a monastery of St. Maria (Sv.
Marije) mentioned in the upper Tuzla or upper Soli (Gornja Tuzla,
Gornji Soli). The next mention comes from the Franciscan historian
Luke Wadding, who lists monasteries in the upper and lower Tuzla
(Gornjoj i Donjoj Tuzli) under the year 1506. Subsequently, the
monastery in upper Tuzla is mentioned in 1514. A church in Lower
Tuzla is mentioned in Turkish documents in 1533. In 1548 a monastery
and a church dedicated to St. Peter was mentioned.
In the
first decades of the 16th century, the Bosnian Franciscans were
subjected to severe expulsions. In 1538 the Franciscan monastery in
Zvornik was destroyed and the church was converted into a mosque.
They had to leave this monastery in 1541 and settled Gradovrh
together with the Franciscans from Gornja Tuzla. The monastery on
Gradovrh was claimed by the rich aristocratic Maglašević family
(this family is mentioned by several surnames: Sić, Soić, Suić,
Pavičević i Pavešević). The monastery on Gradovrh was located near
today's Tuzla.
First World War
After the Ottomans
withdrew, Tuzla became part of Austria-Hungary in 1878. With the end
of the First World War, Tuzla belonged to Yugoslavia.
The
Croats in Tuzla founded the Organizacija radnika Hrvata
(Organization of Croatian Workers) and the Hrvatsku narodnu
zajednicu (Croatian People's Community) in 1907, and in 1913 the
Hrvatski nogometni klub Zrinjski (Croatian Football Club Zrinjski)
as well as many other associations with Croatian signs.
The
Husino uprising broke out nearby in 1920.
Second World War
During the Second World War, the Ustaše marched into Tuzla on the
night of April 14-15, 1941; the city fell to the so-called
Independent State of Croatia. The Yugoslav partisan movement then
had a support in the population of Tuzla. On October 2, 1943, the
city was captured by partisans.
The communist regime of
Yugoslavia took a large part of the property from the Catholic
Church. The Franciscans lost the old monastery building from their
property. The Josipovac monastery was wrested from the nuns; their
expulsion followed. Afterwards, numerous Franciscans and civilians
were captured or murdered.
After the Second World War, Tuzla
developed into an important industrial city in socialist Yugoslavia.
A strong chemical and power plant industry developed based on the
salt and coal deposits in the area around the city. This also led to
the influx of many people from different parts of Yugoslavia,
thereby consolidating the city's pre-existing multi-ethnic
population.
Bosnian War
During the Bosnian War from 1992
to 1995, Tuzla belonged to the part of Bosnia and Herzegovina
dominated by the Bosnian government army. During and after the war
the city became a refuge for many refugees.
After the
founding of the Hrvatska zajednica Herceg Bosna, the Hrvatske
zajednice Usora i HZ Soli (Croatian community Usora and HZ Soli) was
founded, as in Sarajevo.
In the spring of 1992 the 115th
Zrinski Brigade of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) was
established; this was the first military association in Tuzla. The
brigade had 3,000 Croatian volunteers from Tuzla, Lukavac and
Živinice.
On May 14, 1993 in the Husinska buna barracks in
Tuzla, the commander of the HVO Brigade Zrinski, Zvonko Jurić and
Jusuf Šećerbegović, the commander of the first Tuzla Brigade, signed
a document in which fraternization, military and any other
cooperation was agreed. Great importance is attached to this
process, both in a political sense and for strengthening the city's
defense.
In contrast to most other cities, Tuzla was never
ruled by nationalist parties during this time and even during the
war, Bosniak, Croat and Serbian residents continued to work together
and defend the city together against attacks by Serbian units. In
the winter of 1993/1994, the city was temporarily completely
surrounded by Serbian troops, which led to a sometimes dramatic
supply situation. There were also repeated grenade strikes and the
associated destruction in the city.
The attack on the Tuzla
column on May 15, 1992 and the Tuzla massacre on May 25, 1995 are
particularly remembered. In these two attacks alone, at least 171
mostly young people died.
During the war, Selim Bešlagić gained some notoriety as mayor for
the successful management and defense of the city. The current
mayor, Jasmin Imamović, is heavily involved in the development of
the city. After the war ended with the Dayton Agreement of December
1995, the city is only slowly recovering and is still dependent on
international aid.
On July 24, 2014, Tuzla was officially
awarded city status (degree) by the parliament of the Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.