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History of Jajce


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Jajce was first built in the 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Bosnian kingdom during its time. The town has gates as fortifications, as well as a castle with walls which lead to the various gates around the town. Skenderbeg Mihajlovic besieged Jajce in 1501, but without success because he was defeated by Ivanis Korvin assisted by Zrinski, Frankopan, Karlovic and Cubor. When the Bosnian kingdom fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Jajce was taken by the Ottomans but was retaken next year by Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. About 10–20 kilometres from Jajce lies the Komotin Castle and town area which is older but smaller than Jajce. It is believed the town of Jajce was previously Komotin but was moved after the Black Death.

During this period, Bosnian queen Katarina Kosaca-Kotromanic restored the Church of Saint Luke in Jajce, today the oldest church in town. Eventually, in 1527, Jajce became the last Bosnian town to fall to Ottoman rule. There are several churches and mosques built in different times during different rules, making Jajce a rather diverse town in this aspect.

The Franciscan monastery of Saint Luke was completed in 1885. Jajce gained prominence during the Second World War because it hosted the second convention of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia on 29 November 1943, a meeting that set the foundation for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after WWII.

At the beginning of the Bosnian war, Jajce was inhabited by people from all ethnic groups, and was situated at a junction between areas of Serb majority to the north, Bosnian Muslim majority areas to the south-east and Croatian majority areas to the south-west.

At the end of April and the beginning of May 1992, almost all Serbs left the city and fled to territory under the Republika Srpska control. In the summer of 1992, the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) started heavy bombardment of the city. The Serbian Orthodox
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