Bileća

Bileća
Bileća ; Билећа
	Town and municipality
	Bileća lake
	Flag Seal
	Location of Bileća within Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Coordinates: 42°52′N 18°26′E
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Republika Srpska
Settlements	61 (2013.)
Government
• Municipality president	Veselin Vujović (SDS)
• Municipality	632.33 km2 (244.14 sq mi)
Population (2013 census)
• Town	8,220
• Municipality	10,807
• Municipality density	17/km2 (44/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code(s)	59
Website	opstinabileca.ba

Bileća (Serbian Cyrillic: Билећа) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants.

Architecture in the city centre

Serbian Orthodox Vidovdanska church

Catholic church

Bileća lake

History

The first traces of civilization in Bileća date from the Neolithic period, although archaeological sites are insufficiently explored. The first written documentation of Bileća as an inhabited place can be found in Ragusan documents dating from 1286, when it is mentioned under the name Bilechia. Bileća is mentioned in the 14th and 15th century as an important cross road town in caravan routes. A document dated 8 September 1388, mentions that the army of duke Vlatko Vuković defeated the Turkish army at the Battle of Bileća. In the period from 13th to 16th century in the history of this area is a large number of the "stećci" monolith markers which weigh up to 5 tons. Bileća was held by the Turks from 1466, although this was a rebellious area difficult to control. Nearby lies the town of Vučji Do, in which the Battle of Vučji Do took place in 1876. The Berlin's Congress included Bileća in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which brought economic development to the region. The first primary school in Bileća was opened in 1880.

Necropolis of stećak tombstones in Bileća
Old fotification Drakuljica
A pit in which Ustaše threw killed Serb civilians from Bileća, a part of the wider Genocide of Serbs
Yugoslav Partisans from Bileća
Park of People's Hero

Settlements

Aside from the town of Bileća, the municipality includes the following settlements:

Demographics

Population

Population of settlements – Bileća municipality
	Settlement	1948.	1953.	1961.	1971.	1981.	1991.	2013.
	Total	13,531	14.026	14,125	13,444	13,199	13,284	10,807
1	Baljci						417	293
2	Bileća	1,270	1,563	2,491	4,033	5,763	7,568	7,476
3	Podosoje						971	1,055

Ethnic composition

According to the 1910 census, the absolute majority in the Bileća municipality were Orthodox Christians (82.27%). According to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1931 population census, the majority was held by Orthodox Christians 81.27%.

Ethnic composition – Bileća town
	2013.	1991.	1981.	1971.
Total	7,476 (100,0%)	7,568 (100,0%)	5,763 (100,0%)	4,033 (100,0%)
Serbs		5,619 (74,25%)	3,882 (67,36%)	2,810 (69,68%)
Bosniaks		1,290 (17,05%)	841 (14,59%)	828 (20,53%)
Others		411 (5,431%)	26 (0,451%)	36 (0,893%)
Yugoslavs		209 (2,762%)	651 (11,30%)	64 (1,587%)
Croats		39 (0,515%)	42 (0,729%)	82 (2,033%)
Montenegrins			286 (4,963%)	190 (4,711%)
Macedonians			23 (0,399%)	14 (0,347%)
Albanians			7 (0,121%)	1 (0,025%)
Slovenes			5 (0,087%)	8 (0,198%)

Ethnic composition – Bileća municipality
	2013.	1991.	1981.	1971.
Total	10 807 (100,0%)	13,284 (100,0%)	13,199 (100,0%)	13,444 (100,0%)
Serbs	10,646 (98,51%)	10,628 (80,01%)	10 190 (77,20%)	10,880 (80,93%)
Others	114 (1,055%)	448 (3,372%)	34 (0,258%)	50 (0,372%)
Bosniaks	26 (0,241%)	1,947 (14,66%)	1,803 (13,66%)	2,079 (15,46%)
Croats	21 (0,194%)	39 (0,294%)	44 (0,333%)	82 (0,610%)
Yugoslavs		222 (1,671%)	773 (5,857%)	69 (0,513%)
Montenegrins			317 (2,402%)	261 (1,941%)
Macedonians			24 (0,182%)	14 (0,104%)
Albanians			8 (0,061%)	1 (0,007%)
Slovenes			6 (0,045%)	8 (0,060%)

Economy

Dam on Klinje Lake

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[1]

Activity	Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2
Mining and quarrying	1
Manufacturing	377
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	78
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	107
Construction	195
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	267
Transportation and storage	86
Accommodation and food services	81
Information and communication	25
Financial and insurance activities	18
Real estate activities	-
Professional, scientific and technical activities	22
Administrative and support service activities	4
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security	225
Education	193
Human health and social work activities	80
Arts, entertainment and recreation	42
Other service activities	31
Total	1,834

Features

The Diocese of Zahumlje-Herzegovina and Littoral (official site in Serbian), Serbian Orthodox Church (official site in English)
Hydroelectric power plants on the Trebisnjica River (near Bileća)
Lake Bileća (Bilećko jezero) is located south of the town.

Notable people

Tijana Bošković, world and European champion

Director Dušan Vukotić won Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1961

Safet Isović, singer
Beba Selimović, singer
Fadil Hadžić, movie director and writer
Dušan Vukotić, Oscar for best animated short in 1961 for Surogat
Jevto Dedijer, writer
Nenad Mišanović, basketball player
Prokopije Čokorilo, priest
Ervin Eleskovic, Swedish tennis player
Tijana Bošković, Serbian volleyball player, World and European champion, silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics

References

"Cities and Municipalities of Republika Srpska" (PDF). rzs.rs.ba. Republika Srspka Institute of Statistics. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.

External links

Official website

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[stats2018-1] "Cities and Municipalities of Republika Srpska" (PDF). rzs.rs.ba. Republika Srspka Institute of Statistics. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.