Velika Kladuša was first mentioned by name on October 30, 1280 (date on its shield) by the name Cladosa. During the era of Byzantine Empire it is assumed that the population of the town started to slowly grow. Towards the end of the 13th century up to 1464, Velika Kladuša was controlled by two different Croatian kings.
Around 1464 the Ottoman Empire was expanding towards this region and the town was finally captured in 1633. Velika Kladuša would later become the center of Ottoman expansion into neighboring Croatia as well as the rest of Europe. At the start of the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1878, Velika Kladuša along with others in the region, put up the biggest resistance in the region. Nevertheless, it developed with the opening of schools, the introduction of land register books, and a mosque and a catholic church were built.
WW II and socialist Yugoslavia
During WWII the region of Velika Kladuša fought on the side of the Yugoslav Partisans. At one point the town switched alliances and allowed the Nazi’s to occupy it but this was planned out with the Partisans because they then surprised the Nazi’s by jointly attacking them with the Partisans. The people in this region were always strong supporters of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and communism. One café in Velika Kladuša was named “Tito” in his honor.
In era of Yugoslav socialism the town became the headquarters of Agrokomerc, one of biggest food companies in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The company started as a single food producing farm and grew to an estimated 13,000 employees at its peak of production. Agrokomerc made Velika Kladuša and the surrounding regions turn from one of the poorest in Yugoslavia to one of the richest. Velika Kladuša was at one point called “The Switzerland of Yugoslavia” due to its small size but great wealth and at other points it was called "The Cayman Islands of
