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Bosnia and Herzegovina is the name of a country located in the Balkans in South and Southeast Europe. Often informally referred to as just Bosnia, it is sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina.

See the fact file below for more information on Bosnia and Herzegovina or you can download our 27-page Bosnia and Herzegovina worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GENERAL FACTS

• Bosnia and Herzegovina is also known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and dubbed at times as just Bosnia.
• The official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian. 
• The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Republic.
• The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina is blue with a yellow right triangle and seven five-pointed white stars along the triangle’s hypotenuse.
• The flag was adopted on February 4, 1998, and was updated on August 10, 2001. It was designed by Mladen Kolobaric.

CAPITAL CITY

• Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Sarajevo is nicknamed “the Jerusalem of Europe/of the Balkans.”
• The city was founded in 1461.
• Sarajevo is divided into four municipalities: Centar, Novi Grad, Novo Sarajevo, and Stari Grad.
• The city of Sarajevo has a total area of 141.5 square kilometers.
• Sarajevo became the fastest-growing city in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period of post-war reconstruction.
• On October 19, Sarajevo officially became a UNESCO Creative City for highlighting culture in its development.

GEOGRAPHY

• Bosnia and Herzegovina has a total area of 51,129 square kilometers or 19,741 square miles.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina is 1.4% water. 
• Serbia borders it to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north and southwest. 
• To the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is narrowly bordered by the Adriatic Sea.

ETYMOLOGY

• The name Bosnia could have been derived from the Greek “Bosona,” which means “Small land.”
• It could also have been derived from the Bosna river, a river in the heartland of Bosnia. 
• The name Bosnia could have come from the Illyrian “bass-an-as” that was derived from the Proto-Indo-European root “bos’ or “bogh,” which means “the running water.”
• The name Herzegovina translates to “Herzog’s land,” with herzog meaning “duke” in German. 
• The Herzog in which the land was derived from Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, a Bosnian Magnate, and has the title “Herceg of Hum and the Coast.”

DEMOGRAPHICS

• The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are referred to as either Bosnians or Herzegovinians.
• In a 2019 estimate, the Bosnian populace was 3,301,000.
• There are three ethnic constituent peoples residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.

HISTORY

• The early medieval polity of Bosnia was established in the 7th century. 
• The Banate of Bosnia, a medieval state, was established in 1154.
• In 1377, the Banate of Bosnia was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bosnia. 
• The first attack by the Ottoman Empire on the Kingdom of Bosnia happened in 1386.
• In 1463, the Kingdom of Bosnia had fallen into the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
• In 1482, Herzegovina slowly fell under Ottoman rule as well.
• Bosnia Vilayet, a remaining part of the Ottoman Empire, was approved by the Congress of Berlin to be occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina was formally annexed in 1908, and the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established and governed by Austria and Hungary. 
• Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in the creation of Yugoslavia on December 1, 1918. 
• Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent from Yugoslavia on March 1, 1992.
• The Washington Agreement, a ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, was signed on March 18, 1994.
• The Dayton accord was signed on November 1, 1995, it ended the Bosnian War. 

CULTURE

• Arts
  • Part of the artistic heritage of the country is the original medieval tombstones known as stećci. Their remarkable traditional decorations and inscriptions feature decorative motifs depicting social and religious symbols that remain enigmatic.
  • Painting as an art prospered in Bosnia and Herzegovina upon the arrival of the Austro-Hungarian forces. 
  • Ars Aevi was opened in 2007, a museum in Sarajevo that features Bosnian contemporary art.

• Music and Dance
  • Bosnian and Herzegovinian music features ganga and rera. Traditional Slavic music is also part of the culture.
  • Bosnian music features bagpipes, wooden flutes, and sargija. 
  • A traditional genre of music that originated in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the sevdalinka, which is usually melancholic and centers around love, loss, and grief.

• Cinema 
  • Bosnia’s colorful and rich film heritage goes way back to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
  • Founded in 1995, the Sarajevo Film Festival is now regarded as the largest and one of the most prestigious film festivals in the Balkans and Southeast Europe.

• Sports 
  • The most popular sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina is association football, which became significantly more popular after World War I. 
  • The second most popular sport is tennis.
• Cuisine
  • The Bosnian and Herzegovinian people enjoy using several spices in their cuisine, but mainly in moderate amounts.
  • Most dishes are light and boiled, with sauces consisting of natural vegetable juices. 
  • Popular ingredients are tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, dried beans, fresh beans, plums, milk, and paprika.
  • They also use pavlakaor smetana, a sour cream dairy product.

SIGHTS AND LANDMARKS

• Daorson is a remnant of an ancient city in Herzegovina-Neretva, built between 16,000 and 12,000 BCE. 
• The Mogorjelo is a remnant of a Roman Villa built in the 4th Century CE, located in Herzegovina-Neretva.
• Lukomir is the most remote city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in Herzegovina-Neretva.
• Ostrozac Castle is a castle built in the 16th century, on top of a mountain in Una-Sana. 
• Visoki is a 14th-century castle town in Zenica-Doboj.
• The Boljini Necropolis is a site in Herzegovina-Neretva where 274 stećci are found.
• Vranduk in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a scenic town well-known as a historic site with a lovely view of Visoki, a medieval castle.
• The Mostar Bridge also dubbed the Stari Most, which means “old bridge,” is a reconstructed 16th-century Ottoman bridge, which remained intact for 427 years before being torn down during the Croat-Bosniak War in 1993.
• The Radimlja Necropolis is a medieval monument dating from the 1480s to the 16th century consisting of remarkable tombstones known as stećci. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Bosnia and Herzegovina across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a country located in the Balkans in South and Southeast Europe.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Bosnia and Herzegovina Facts
2. History in Sketches
3. The Jerusalem of Europe
4. Mapping Guide
5. What’s in a Name?
6. Cuisine Checklist
7. Fact or Bluff?
8. Notable Bosnians
9. Postcard Captions
10. Photo Gallery
11. Favorite Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Bosnia have two names?

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a combination of two distinct regions, Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, it took a lot of work to separate them due to an ambiguous border. As a result, they have become united in their name – Bosnia and Herzegovina. This linkage represents unity between these two formerly separate parts that can now be celebrated as one country with a single identity.

What is traditional Bosnian food?

Islamic dietary laws limit the types of meat consumed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with beef and lamb being two of the most common. However, Bosnian Croats and Serbs can consume pork under these regulations. Specific dishes from this region include ćevapi, burek, dolma, sarma, pilav gulaš, and ajvar – not forgetting all manner of Eastern delicacies!

What do Bosnians believe in?

In 2013, nearly half of Bosnians declared themselves Muslim (50.70%), with Orthodox Christianity claiming 30.75% and Roman Catholicism at 15.19%. An additional 2.25% identified with other beliefs or religions altogether.

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Link will appear as Bosnia and Herzegovina Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 30, 2022