Terrain

Much of Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory is mountainous. The country's highest peak is Mount Maglic (2,387 m). Extensions of the Dinaric Alps traverse mainly the western part of the country. Owing to the limestone, which is highly soluble, a large part of the terrain has developed to karst. Many areas are not drained on the surface, but the water seeps away and flows on through a system of underground caverns. There are only few rivers that contain water all year round. The longest among these are the Sava, which flows along the northern border with Croatia, and its tributaries, the Una, Drina, and Vrbas. The longest of the rivers flowing into the Adriatic Sea is the Neretva. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a small strip of coastline on the Adriatic Sea.

Climate

A continental climate prevails in the major part of the country. Summers are generally very hot and winters are cold. Areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long winters which are very cold at times. Along the coast a Mediterranean influence is noticeable. Temperatures are higher there than in the country's interior, winters are rainy. Sarajevo's average temperature is 1°C in January and 21°C in July.

Fauna/Flora

Bosnia, which is situated in the northern part of the republic, is heavily forested, whereas Herzegovina, in the country's south, has a flatter terrain with fertile soils, which are mainly used for cultivation. Lower-lying areas in Bosnia are primarily covered with deciduous forest and mixed woodland, which merge into coniferous forests at higher elevations. In the Perucica primeval forest beeches, firs, and spruces reach heights of more than 60 m. Wildlife in the woods of Bosnia and Herzegovina includes foxes, deer, and martens. Higher altitudes also provide a suitable habitat for brown bears and wolves. Ibex, chamois, and numerous reptiles such as the poisonous otter are common in areas which have developed to karst and are not forested.

History/ Politics

After the fall of Rome, the area of Bosnia was contested between Byzantium and Rome's successors in the West. By the 7th century AD, Bosnia was settled by Slavs, who formed a number of counties and duchies. In the 11th-12th centuries, Bosnia was governed by local nobles under the authority of the Kings of Hungary. Around 1200 AD, the independent medieval Kingdom of Bosnia was established. By 1463, the Turks had conquered the major part of Bosnia, by 1483, Herzegovina as well. Both territories remained part of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. During the 19th century there were several uprisings against Ottoman rule, all of which, however, remained unsuccessful.

In 1878, the Congress of Berlin decided that Austria-Hungary should occupy and administer Bosnia, and in 1908, Austria-Hungary formally annexed Bosnia. In 1914, a nationalist Bosnian Serb shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Habsburg heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife, thus igniting World War I (1914-1918). The Serbs, who were involved in that war, hoped to establish a kingdom which was to unite all South Slav peoples.

In 1918, following the end of the Habsburg monarchy at the close of the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina were unified. From 1921 to 1934, the country was a part of the "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes" under the Serb monarch King Alexander. When the conflicts between Croats and Serbs led to national tensions, Alexander consolidated his control over the country.

In 1929, the kingdom was renamed Yugoslavia (meaning "Land of the South Slavs"). During World War II (1939-1945), the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia and divided it into German and Italian occupation zones. Until the end of the war, Serbs and Croats kept fighting each other. The Partisan units of Communist Josip Broz Tito fought the Croatian Army. After the end of the war, Tito unified the different parts of Yugoslavia and established a Yugoslav federation, Bosnia and Herzegovina being one of the federal republics. By granting Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina equal status in the sixties, Tito also gave them the status of individual ethnic groups.

Tensions between the ethnic groups continued, however, and became more serious after Tito's death in 1980. When in June 1991 both Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence, many Serbs in the different republics demanded the cohesion of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav state. In Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Croatia they formed Serb Autonomous Regions. Rejection of these regions by the Bosnian government led to armed conflict between Serbs and non-Serbs. These conflicts escalated when in September 1991, Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia, too.

The Yugoslav People's Army was sent in to prevent the secession of the three federal republics. The Yugoslav troops occupied Mostar in the southwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the old Adriatic town of Dubrovnik. The Serbs expelled the Muslim population from the north and the east of Bosnia. In 1995, American president Bill Clinton suggested a peace plan, which resulted in the Dayton peace accord being signed in Paris in December of the same year. More than 80 political parties registered for the 1997 elections.

Economy

Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with Macedonia, used to be among the poorest federal republics of the former Yugoslavia. Even after the declaration of independence the country has had a largely agrarian character. The war, however, left vast areas of arable land ravaged or lying fallow. Food production decreased rapidly. According to estimates approx. 80% of the country's industrial plants were destroyed during the civil war. Bosnia's economy nearly collapsed at times, and many people depended on foreign relief goods. Inflation and unemployment soared dramatically. Furthermore blockades, both by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and by Croatia, worsened the economic situation. Unemployment amounted to 35% - 40% in 1999.

Culture

The capital city hosts the annual Sarajevo Film Festival in August, while the Winter Festival in February and March features theatre and music performances. Further, Islamic arts, like calligraphy, weavings (handwoven carpets), and metalworking have contributed to Bosnia's rich cultural tradition. The Sarajevo Haggadah, a medieval manuscript written in Sephardic, has become part of the European cultural heritage.