Foča

Early history

The town was known as Hotča during medieval times. It was then known as a trading centre on route between Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) and Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). With Gornje Podrinje Foča 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. Foča was the seat of the Ottoman Sanjak of Herzegovina established in 1483, until 1572, when it was moved to Pljevlja.

World War II

In 1941, the Ustaše killed the leading Serbs in Foča. Between December 1941 and January 1942 over two thousand Bosnian Muslims were killed in Foča by the Chetniks. Additional Chetnik massacres in Foča took place in August 1942.

On 13 February 1943, Pavle Đurišić reported to Draža Mihailović the actions undertaken by the Chetniks in the Foča, Pljevlja, and Čajniče districts: "All Muslim villages in the three mentioned districts were totally burned so that not a single home remained in one piece. All property was destroyed except cattle, corn, and senna."

Furthermore, "During the operation the total destruction of the Muslim inhabitants was carried out regardless of sex and age." In the operation Chetnik losses "were 22 dead, of which 2 through accidents, and 32 wounded. Among the Muslims, around 1,200 fighters and up to 8,000 other victims: women, old people, and children." Đurišić said what remained of the Muslim population fled and that actions were taken to prevent their return. The municipality is also the site of the legendary Battle of Sutjeska between the Tito's Yugoslav Partisans and the German army. A monument to the Partisans killed in the battle was erected in the village of Tjentište.

Bosnian War and after

In 1992, the city came under the control of Serbian paramilitaries. Most of the Bosniaks were expelled from the area. Foča was also the site of a rape camp in the Partizan hall which was set up by the Republika Srpska authorities in which hundreds of Bosniak women were raped.

Once the Serb forces cleared Eastern Bosnia of much of its Bosniak civilian population, the towns and villages were securely in their hands. All of the Serb forces (i.e. the military, police, paramilitaries and sometimes, villagers too) applied the same pattern: houses and apartments of the expelled population were systematically ransacked or burnt down; remaining members of the Bosniak civilian population were rounded up or captured, and sometimes beaten or killed in the process. 13 mosques including the Aladža Mosque were destroyed and the 22,500 Muslims who made up the majority of inhabitants fled. Only about 10 Muslims remained at the end of the conflict. The Tribunal Judges determined beyond a reasonable doubt that the purpose of the Serb campaign in Foča was, among others, "to cleanse the Foča area of Muslims" and concluded that "to that end the campaign was successful.

Men and women were separated, with many of the men detained in the camps. The women were kept in various detention centres where they had to live in intolerably unhygienic conditions, and where they were mistreated in many ways including being raped repeatedly. Serb soldiers or policemen would come to these detention centres, select one or more women, take them out and rape them. Years later at the ICTY, the former Bosnian Serb leader and Republika Srpska president Biljana Plavšić confirmed under a plea bargain the occurrence of these mass rapes in Foča during the war. In the judgement of Serb soldier Novislav Đajić the Bavarian Appeals Chamber found that acts of genocide were committed in June 1992 within the administrative district of Foča.

In 1995 the Dayton Agreement created a territorial corridor linking the once-besieged Bosnian city of Goražde to the Muslim-Croat Federation; as a consequence, the northern part of Foča was separated to create the city of Foča-Ustikolina.

The city was renamed Srbinje , "place of the Serbs" (from Srbi Serbs and -nje which is a Slavic locative suffix). In 2004, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the name change unconstitutional, and reverted it to Foča, until the National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina passes an appropriate law.

In October 2004 members of the Association of Women Victims of War (Udruzenje Žene-Žrtve Rata) attempted to lay a plaque in front of the Partizan sports hall to commemorate the terrible crimes that occurred there. Hundreds of Bosnian Serb protestors prevented them from doing so.

Since the war around 4,000 Muslims have returned to their homes and several mosques have been re-built. This has taken place largely due to the administration of Zdravko Krsmanović, who was mayor from 2004 to 2012 and took a pointed stance of opposition to much of the Serbian nationalist establishment within the Republika Srpska. In the 2012 elections, however, Krsmanović was defeated and a new mayor, Radisava Mašić, was elected with support of the nationalist parties SDS and SNSD.

1971

48,741 total

1991

According to the 1991 census Foča municipality had a total population of 40,513. The ethnic distribution was:

The town of Foča itself had a total population of 16,628, including:

Settlements

• Anđelije • Bastasi • Bavčići • Beleni • Bešlići • Biokovo • Birotići • Bogavići • Borje • Borovinići • Brajići • Brajkovići, Foča • Brod • Brusna • Budanj • Bujakovina • Bunčići • Bunovi • Cerova Ravan • Crnetići • Cvilin • Čelebići • Čelikovo Polje • Ćurevo • Daničići • Derolovi • Donje Žešće • Drače • Dragočava • Dragojevići • Đeđevo • Fališi • Filipovići • Foča • Glušca • Godijeno • Gostičaj • Govza • Gradac • Grandići • Grdijevići • Hum • Huseinovići • Igoče • Izbišno • Jasenovo • Ječmišta • Jeleč • Jošanica • Kolakovići • Kolun • Kosman • Kozarevina • Kozja Luka • Kratine • Krna Jela • Kruševo • Kunduci • Kunovo • Kuta • Lokve • Ljubina • Marevo • Mazlina • Mazoče • Meštrevac • Miljevina • Mirjanovići • Mješaji • Mravljača • Njuhe • Orahovo • Papratno • Patkovina • Paunci • Petojevići • Podgrađe • Poljice • Popov Most • Potpeće • Previla • Prevrać • Prijeđel • Prisoje • Puriši • Račići • Radojevići • Rijeka • Rodijelj • Slatina • Slavičići • Stojkovići • Sorlaci • Susješno • Škobalji • Štović • Šuljci • Tečići • Tjentište • Tođevac • Toholji • Trbušće • Trtoševo • Tvrdaci • Ustikolina • Velenići • Vikoč • Vitine • Vojnovići • Vranjevići • Vrbnica • Vučevo • Vukušići • Zabor • Zakmur • Zavait • Zebina Šuma • Zubovići • Željevo

Features

Foča is the capital of the municipality of Foča and of the Foča Region. It houses some faculties (including the Medical and Orthodox Theological Faculty of Saint Basil of Ostrog.) from the Istočno Sarajevo University.

It is also home to one of seven seminaries in the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Seminary of Saint Peter of Sarajevo and Dabar-Bosna. Foča was also, until 1992, the home of one of Bosnia's most important Islamic high schools, the Madrassa of Mehmed-paša.

Sutjeska which is the oldest National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in the municipality.

Twin towns - sister cities

Foča is twinned with:

Notable people