Stopan ( sr-Cyrl, Стопан) is a village in the

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Kotor Varoš Kotor Varoš ( sr-cyrl, Котор Варош) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a population of 19,710 inhabitants, while the town of Kotor Varoš has a population o ...

Municipality,

Šiprage Šiprage ( sr-Cyrl, Шипраге) is a settlement municipality in Kotor Varoš Municipality, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The administrative status of this populated place was changed – from the local community has grown a munici ...

local community. At the census in 1991, Stopan had a population of 346. According to preliminary results of the census 2013 there were 119 citizens.

Geography

Stopan is located on the pass (altitude about 680 m) sandwiched between

Crkvenica The Crkvenica ( sr-cyrl, Црквеница) is a Bosnian river. It is a right bank tributary of the Vrbanja River. The Crkvenica rises between the northwestern slopes of Očauš and Šipraška brda mountains, flowing southeast at around abov ...

and Stopanski river, right tributaries of

Vrbanja river The Vrbanja ( sr-Cyrl, Врбања) is a river in Central Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina; with Ugar (river), Ugar, the largest right tributary of the Vrbas (river), Vrbas. Its basin covers an area of approximately 703.5 km2. The Vrbanja has ...

. From this village to

there is a mostly gravel local road, length of about 8 km. Stopan used to be a relatively big village in Šiprage's area, with drinking water, orchards, domestic fruit products, and hospitality.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the village took part in the defense forces and was a significant

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

jump refuge. In January 1944, it received a large number of wounded partisans, who were evacuated from the Divisional Hospital in the gorge of

Demićka Demićka is a river that flows through Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east ...

, near Šiprage, during the

sixth enemy offensive Operation Kugelblitz () was a massive counter-insurgency operation by the German 2nd Panzer Army conjunction with collaborationist forces against the Yugoslav Partisans around the eastern Bosnian region of the Independent State of Croatia during ...

. Because of the distance of the main local communications, Stopan was a safer refuge for the civilian inhabitants of surrounding localities. During the

War in Bosnia The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incidents, the war is commonly seen as ha ...

(1992–1995), army, police, and paramilitary forces of the

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

destroyed the surrounding

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

villages, especially those upstream of Vrbanja to

Kruševo Brdo Kruševo Brdo is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, municipality Kotor Varoš in geographical region Bosanska Krajina. It is administratively divided into Krševo Brdo I and II. Geography This settlement is located at the be ...

as well as those downstream to

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

. Local inhabitants were being killed, and the majority were expelled. After 1996, most Bosniak villages in Šiprage community were partly restored, thanks to the BELUGA battalion of the EUFOR-

SFOR The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alt ...

Mission. The only mosque in the wide area was renewed.

Population

References

{{coord, 44.4839, N, 17.5636, E, source:wikidata, display=title Populated places in Bosnia and Herzegovina Populated places in Kotor Varoš