Ugljevik ( sr-cyrl, Угљевик) is a town and municipality in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 15,710 inhabitants, while the town of Ugljevik has a population of 4,155 inhabitants.
The municipality is located in the countryside of the eastern foothills of
Mount Majevica, where the mountains start descending towards the flatlands of
Semberija
Semberija ( sr-Cyrl, Семберија, ) is a geographical region in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main city in the region is Bijeljina. Semberija is located between the Drina and Sava rivers and Majevica mountain. Most of the regi ...
, to which it is tied to more than any other surrounding area. It is the home of miners and other energy resource professionals.
Name
Ugljevik is named after
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
(ugalj), which first began to be exploited on Mount
Majevica
Majevica ( sr-cyrl, Мајевица, ) is a low mountain range in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated between Semberija, Posavina, and Tuzla Canton.
Its highest peak is Stolice, some 16 kilometres east of Tuzla, in the far sout ...
in 1899.
History
At least ten archaeological locations have been found in the area. These include five locations with groupings of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
stone sarcophagi, called ''
stećci'', and three dating from the Roman period. Though research into the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
sites in the municipality is lacking, nearby areas have Neolithic archaeological sites, allowing postulation that there might have been ancient sites present. The village of Tutnjevac contains the remains of a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
villa.
The first population census of the region showed five settlements with a total of 55 houses, which date from prior to arrival of the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
in the 15th century. During troubled times the population would leave these parts with most of the succeeding population—the forebears of the present Majevicans—coming from Eastern and ‘Old’
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...
in the 19th century.
During the past hundred years, the pace and extent of development of the Ugljevik region has been determined by coal production. With the increased need for coal, coal exploitation began in 1899, and a
narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
was built from
Rača, on the
Sava
The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
river, to the Ugljevik coal mine via
Bijeljina
Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...
in 1919. Subsequently, this railway was upgraded to a normal narrow gauge, and later was connected to one of Ugljevik’s communities, Mezgraja, in 1938. This was the last narrow gauge railway in Europe before it was closed on May 26, 1979.
The coal from Bogutovo Selo surface mine has a
calorific value
The heating value (or energy value or calorific value) of a substance, usually a fuel or food (see food energy), is the amount of heat released during the combustion of a specified amount of it.
The ''calorific value'' is the total energy release ...
of 2,550
kcal
KCAL may refer to:
* KCAL (AM), a radio station (1410 AM) licensed to Redlands, California, United States
* KCAL-FM, a radio station (96.7 FM) licensed to Redlands, California, United States
*KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent tel ...
/kg (10.68
MJ/kg), and it is estimated that the reserves are sufficient to satisfy the needs of four 300
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
coal-fired power plants.
It is thanks to these coal giants that almost all of Ugljevik’s corporations have developed.
After the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
Ugljevik became a significant peacekeeping force post. For the first time after the
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 Russian Army and Western Allies worked together in a military mission, as the Implementation Force (
IFOR
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''.
Background
In ...
) and later the Stabilization Forces (
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 ...
). Headquarters of the Russian Peacekeeping Mission in
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, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
was in Ugljevik. Americans had a small base in Ugljevik, across the Janja river from the Russians. In relation to this, the IFOR info magazine “Talon” wrote in one of its articles “Cold War melted on the Balkan sun”.
File:Bogutovoselospomenje.jpg, Medieval graveyards in Ugljevik village of Bogutovo Selo
File:Jablan grad sjever.JPG, Medieval Jablan city
File:Stariugljevik.jpg, Ugljevik, miners settlement – Kolonija, in 1931
File:Russian Army Bosnia.jpg, Russian peacekeepers, a part of the Operation Joint Endeavor, 1996, in Ugljevik
Location
The municipality of Ugljevik borders
Bijeljina
Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...
to the east and north,
Lopare
Lopare ( sr-cyrl, Лопаре) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Majevica region. As of 2013, the town has a population of 2,709 inhabitants, while the municipality has 15,357 inhabitant ...
to the
west,
Zvornik
Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants. Zvornik is located on the Drina River, on the eastern slopes of Majevica mountain, at the altitude of ...
to the south, and also
Teočak
Teočak ( sr-cyrl, Теочак) is a municipality located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The center of the municipality is the village of Teočak-Krstac.
Geography
The municipali ...
in the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: ''Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / ''Федерација Босне и Херцеговине'') is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities composing Bo ...
to the south. In the 1993 census the population was 16,456 residing in 4,733 households, covering . The population density was 12.44/km².
Territorial organisation
The municipality of Ugljevik has the following 21 communities:
*
Korenita
*
Maleševci
*
Zabrđe
*
Ugljevička Obrijež
*
Stari Ugljevik Stari (Slavic languages, 'Old One') may refer to:
* Stari, a rural locality in Babushkinsky District of Vologda Oblast of Russia
* Stari, a nickname of Đuro Pucar
* Stari, a nickname of Josip Broz Tito
See also
* Southern tick-associated rash ...
*
Ugljevik Selo
*
Gornje Zabrđe
*
Ravno Polje
*
Bogutovo Selo
*
Gornja Krćina
*
Gornja Trnova
*
*
Modran
Modran ( sr-cyrl, Модран) is a settlement in Bijeljina, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on t ...
*
Donje Zabrđe
*
Janjari (Atmačići)
*
Srednja Trnova
*
Glinje
*
Sarije
*
Mukat
* Stankovići
*
Donja Trnova
*
Atmačići
Demographics
Population
Ethnic composition
Economy
The
Ugljevik Power Plant is a 300 megawatt coal-fired power station with a 310 metre tall chimney in the municipality.
Notable people

*
Filip Višnjić
Filip Višnjić ( sr-Cyrl, Филип Вишњић, ; 1767–1834) was a Serbian epic poet and '' guslar''. His repertoire included 13 original epic poems chronicling the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire and four reinterpret ...
(1767-1834), poet and musician.
*
Mitar Mirić
Mitar Mirić ( sh-Cyrl, Митар Мирић, born 16 January 1957) is a Bosnian-born, Serbian pop-folk singer. Some of his most popular songs include: ''"Ciganče"'', ''"Nisam lopov"'', ''"Voli me danas više nego juče"'', ''"Doberman"'', ' ...
(1957-), pop-folk singer.
Twin towns – sister cities
Ugljevik is
twinned with:
*
Beočin
Beočin ( sr-Cyrl, Беочин, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The population of the town is 7,274, whilst Beočin's municipality population is 13,875 (2022 ce ...
, Serbia
References
* Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by municipalities and settlements, 1991. census, Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine - Bilten no.234, Sarajevo 1991.
External links
*
{{Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Populated places in Ugljevik
Cities and towns in Republika Srpska