Kotor Varoš, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

🇧🇦 Kotor Varoš is a town and municipality located in north-western Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

History An early Roman (3rd–5th c.) basilica was discovered along with other Roman findings in the Šiprage area at the Crkvenica-Vrbanja river mouth. 12th-century stećci testify medieval settlement. The original location of stećci was the Crkvenica-Vrbanja, from where they were removed and built into walls of the surrounding buildings (possibly due to the beliefs of their miraculous properties). One of the best preserved stećak is submerged in Vrbanja.

It has been theorized that Kotor Varoš was mentioned in the De Administrando Imperio as "Katera" (Greek: Κατερα), a part of the "land of Bosnia".

The town was part of the Donji Kraji province of the Banate of Bosnia in the 13th century, and the Kingdom in the 14th and 15th century. The Kotor fortress and its podgrađe was the property of the Hrvatinić noble family.

Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina began in 1878 and ended with the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, later renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The town was part of the Vrbas Banovina (1929–41), while after World War II it became part of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a republic of Yugoslavia.

Settlements Aside from the town of Kotor Varoš, the municipality includes the following settlements: • Baština • Bilice • Boljanići • Borci Donji • Borci Gornji • Ćorkovići • Duratovci • Garići • Grabovica • Hadrovci • Hrvaćani • Hanifići • Jakotina • Kruševo Brdo • Liplje • Maljeva • Maslovare • Obodnik • Orahova • Palivuk • Plitska • Podbrđe • Podosoje • Postoje • Prisočka • Radohova • Ravne • Selačka • Sokoline • Stopan • Šibovi • Šiprage • Tovladić • Vagani • Varjače • Večići • Viševice • Vranić • Vrbanjci • Zabrđe • Zaselje.

Features The city also features a large monument to the local partisans who died for Yugoslavia during the fighting with the German and Ustaša forces during WW2.