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City and Attractions
Banja Luka
The city is located in the valley, at the 164 m above the sea level, where the Dinaric Alps from the south descend into the Panonnian Basin in the north. Banja Luka has mild-continental climate with warm summers and mildly cold winters. The average annual temperature is 10,7 °C (July 21,3°C/January 0,8°C). The city is in the Central European Time Zone (GMT +1).
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GENTRY STREET (GOSPODSKA ULICA)
The best known street in Banjaluka is Gentry Street, whose aesthetics keep safe the charm of the olden days. This is the street that every traveller walks. It started gaining its current appearance back in the time of Austria-Hungary, and it wouldn’t be far from truth to claim the changes have been very slight since. Its today’s look it reached after undergoing major repairs following the earthquake of 1969.
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Banja Luka
Today, Banja Luka, with population of about 250.000, is the biggest city of the Republic of Srpska and the second biggest in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city represents the administrative, economic, cultural and university center of the Republic of Srpska.
More information on the city, its history, culture and sport, as well as tourist attraction can be found on official web presentation of Banja Luka City and Tourist Board.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/banjaluka.jpg
City Assembly
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PRESENTATION ROOM - TEMPLE OF CULTURE
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KASTEL FORTRESS
Kastel is the oldest preserved cultural–historic monument in Banjaluka. The total area of the Kastel complex is 48,000 m2. The ramparts encase a multitude of objects, among them: a central camp with two towers and a small arsenal, the central armory, the so called stone building, and various walls that used to separate particular internal sections.
The history of Kastel starts with the Roman invasion of the Illyrian territories. Due to frequent unrests in Banjaluka area and to the Romans gaining only an unstable stronghold in these regions, there surfaced a need that the Roman army units be stationed in these parts on a permanent basis. For that end, army camps (CASTRA) were set up here and all throughout Illyricum (the Roman province Banjaluka was part of), along which camps civillian built up areas burgeoned.
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KASTEL FORTRESS
Several late antique bronze specimens, including a bronze fibula, and ceramics were found inside the fortress. In the central part of the fortress there are remains of late antique fortified structures of sizable dimensions. Whether they were an ancient Roman sanctuary, an administrative building or a complex of varied content—remains to be researched.
In 1950, the Kastel fortress was proclaimed a cultural and historical heritage asset of the first priority category, and in 2002 it was placed on the list of National Monuments at Risk in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, a reconstruction phase is underway, as particular parts of the fortress are in a state of dereliction and thus closed for public.
Kastel features Summer Stage, which is home to a multitude of events. This fortress also hosts the Kratkofil Plus evening film projections.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/kastel1.jpg
SAFIKADA'S TOMB
Across the Kastel fortress there lies a tomb of Safikada, a beautiful girl who took her own life because of love. The story of the unfortunate Safikada, who, as the legend has it, took her life over an ill fated love, belongs with the legends that are characteristic of Banjaluka.
Safikada's story, like every legend, has many different versions, but the heart of all the various interpretations of this star crossed lovers tale is the same. Safikada was a young and beautiful girl from Banjaluka who took her own life over her thwarted love for a soldier stationed at Banjaluka's Kastel fortress.
The site of Safikada's tomb has become a cult location where generations of Banjaluka residents have lit candles for a wish of good luck in love. Enamored souls, usually on Valentines' Day, on February 14, visit the tomb in order to burn a candle and leave a rose and a wishing note.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/safikadin_grob.jpg
BANJ HILL / ŠEHITLUCI
Formerly known as Šehitluci, Banj Hill is a popular mount not far from downtown Banjaluka.
If you feel like setting aside a few hours on some day during your stay, you might pay this place a visit. There is an excursion site Trešnjik (Cherry Orchard) there, and you can also take a forest path or a paved road to reach the Monument to the Krajina’s Fallen in the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–1945). The monument is 5 km away from the city center.
This monument was designed by an academy trained sculptor Antun Augustinčić, one of the greatest Yugoslavian sculptors and masters of memorial plastic art. It was ceremonially opened on July 27, 1969, on the Day of the Uprising of the Peoples of BiH, with the attendance of the top officials. The edifice in question is a mausoleum-type structure 13 m tall and 24 m long. Its dimensions and monumentality were meant to manifest the greatness of the sacrifice made in the name of freedom.
The monument is so positioned that it can be seen from almost all city quarters, and the site itself is a panoramic viewpoint offering a scenic vista of the entire city.
The inner walls of the monument were meant to be adorned with paintings, and the preparatory drawings had been made by Ismet Mujezinović, but the endeavor had to be postponed due to water intrusion. The monument is constructed of Brač marble, a renowned stone (allegedly used for the construction of parts of the White House, Notre Damme and Reichstag building) that, however, started to crumble, proving to be unsuitable for Banjaluka’s climate. As a consequence, the monument has always been beset by maintenance problems. In the eighties, a meticulous reconstruction was undertaken, but it has prevented deterioration only to an extent.
The monument used to be a pilgrimage spot for people from all over Yugoslavia. The place where outdoor history lessons used to be held. The starting and finishing point of numerous rally, motorcycle and bicycle races. To have some official or unofficial delegation come to Banjaluka and not visit this monument would have been unthinkable. Banjaluka locals themselves liked to take their guests up to this scenic vista point.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/banj_brdo.jpg
VRBAS DAYAK BOAT
Cruising along the Vrbas River, there are peculiar boats, called dayaks, that are characteristic of this area. This drift boat is impelled by pushing a wooden oar of 4 m in length—from which the boat borrowed its name—off the river bed. The boat's authentic shape is unique to Banjaluka and it has been the unofficial symbol of the City on the Vrbas River for quite a long time now.
It is not known when the first rivercraft pushed by a dayak set out to cruise the Vrbas. The legend says the dayak boat was conceived of even before Banjaluka, and that cruising in the first dayak was the Banjaluka's very founder himself. Closer to the truth is the story that the dayak was created out of a need and as a means of transporting merchandise from one end of town to the other.
According to the official documents, the dayak was existant in Banjaluka before the First World War, whereas it reached its zenith between the two world wars.
The dayak boat is seven meters long, because over decades that size was determined to be ideal for the speed and depth of the Vrbas River. The width of the boat is commonly 75 centimeters. The most striking details are the stern and the bow, which are constructed of one piece solid wood, which can be acacia, ash or oak, and occasionally cherry and even mahogany. Every dayak has to be named something.
The boat is pushed in a standing position, from the stern, and maneuvering it requires great prowess.
The craftsmen, as is customary, do not disclose the secrets of dayak construction, and one dayak, although no official price list exists, goes for about €1,500, according to unofficial sources.
During the hot summer days you can always spot young lads and girls enjoying a dayak cruise on the Vrbas River.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/Dajak-Banjaluka.jpg
RAFTING
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Festival DEMOFEST
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While in Banjaluka, you must try NEKTAR BEER
Banjaluka is well reputed for being the city that brews the widely known Nektar beer. Read on to find out about the history of the beer of the City on the Vrbas River.
The brewery in Banja Luka was established in 1873 by the monks of a close-by and still active St. Mary Star Monastery of the Trappist order. A notable trait of the followers of the Trappist order is their steadfast observance of speechlessness, even though they do not take a vow of silence. Throughout the world, they are renowned for having organized multifarious production of different goods and for tying to it the local populations who worked their land.
The Trappists arrived in Banjaluka in the mid-19th century, soon after which they founded the monastery and commenced their work. The founding superior of the monastery and the initiator of all its activities—and thereupon, the founder of Banjaluka's brewery—was Friar Franz Pfanner.
Starting the production of beer was one of the Trappists' first undertakings. The first production run, a test run, took place in 1873, which is taken as the birth year of Banjaluka's brewery.
The Trappists would soon go on to start the production of cheese, macaroni as well as cloth, and even to build the first hydroelectric power plant in the area and a bridge across the Vrbas River.
After the Second World War, the government nationalized the brewery and assumed its ownership.
In 1975, "Banjaluka Brewery" was absorbed into the Agro-Industrial Combine "Bosnian Frontier" (taking the name after Bosanska Krajina, the wider geographic region Banjaluka is part of), whose constituent it remained until 1989, when it demerged and became an independent venture.
From a humble brewery that in its beginnings served only the monastery's needs, Banjaluka Brewery grew into a full-fledged, modern beer plant whose production capacity is sufficient to fulfill the demand of the entire BiH market.
Since last year, beer lovers have been free to wet their palate with Nektar beer in its standard flavor or in these additional ones: grapefruit, lemon, currant, and the newest one, pineapple.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/nektar.jpg
Banja Luka KEBAB
Most famous brand are kebabs at Mujo.
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TRAPIST CHEESE
Along with that of beer, the Trappists also started the production of cheese. Trappist cheese is renowned for its sumptuous taste and for its secret recipe. When you visit Banjaluka, don’t miss the chance to try this extraordinary cheese.
The original Trappist cheese is famed for its very specific taste and smell, mild aroma and a deliberate level of moistness. This makes it seem "unripened," i.e., it comes off as being a type of young cheese. This is, actually, one of the graces of this product, for its aging time is much longer than that of other semi soft cheeses.
One of its secrets lies in the hygiene of the very milk production process, and specially in the hygiene with regard to the handling throughout the entire operation. The cheese is manually turned over and coated. It is made from whole raw cow's milk.
The only ones who make the original Trappist cheese and are privy to its method of production are the Trappists. In Banjaluka, they started making "Trapist" as early as 1882. The cheese became famous and its sales spread over a wide area, up until the end of WWII, when the then government confiscated the monastery's property and banished some of the friars. After that, "Trapist" became in these regions a synonym for all semi soft cheeses.
The last one, recently, to know the secret of production of this cheese was Father Mohor. He died in 1996. After that, nobody knew how to make the original Trappist cheese.
Upon starting the production of milk, Father Tomislav Topić traveled in 2008 to France, to a Trappist monastery, where he was anew bestowed with the secret of Trappist cheese production. St. Mary Star Monastery is the only monastery in this part of Europe making this cheese.http://kestenburg.com/images/stories/city-attractions/trapisti.jpg
Ferhadija mosque from the 16th century
Ferhadija mosque from the 16th century
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Ferhadija mosque from the 16th century
Adventist Church
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Jewish Cultural Center Arie Livne
Jewish Cultural Center Arie Livne
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Catholic Church in Petrićevac
Catholic Church in Petrićevac
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Krupa monastery from the 13th century
Krupa monastery from the 13th century
School of Economics Banjaluka
School of Economics Banjaluka
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Temple of Christ the Savior
Temple of Christ the Savior
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The Greek Catholic Church
The Greek Catholic Church
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University of Banja Luka
University of Banja Luka
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