Tuzla
Flag of Tuzla Flag Coat of arms
Location of Tuzla within Bosnia and Herzegovina (dark blue)
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canton	Tuzla Canton
Government
• Municipality President	Jasmin Imamović (SDP)
Area
• City	302 km2 (117 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• City	120,000
• Density	540/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
• Urban	200,000
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	+387 35
Website	http://www.tuzla.ba

Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 2011 census, it had an estimated population of 120,000 inhabitants, while the municipality had 200,000.^[1] After Sarajevo, and Banja Luka, Tuzla is the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the seat of the Tuzla Canton and Tuzla Municipality. The name "Tuzla" is the Turkish word for salt mine, and refers to the extensive salt deposits found underneath the city.

The city of Tuzla is home to Europe's only salt lake as part of its central park^[2] and also has around 100,000 people visiting its shores every year. The history of the town Tuzla goes back to 1510 when Tuzla was a Turkish garrison town.^[3]

History[link]

The city was first mentioned in 950 by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his De Administrando Imperio as a fort named Salines (Σαληνέζ). Soli means "salts" in the Bosnian language and the city's present name means "place of salt" in Turkish.^[4] However, there is enough archaeologic evidence to suggest that Tuzla was a rich Neolithic settlement, and hence inhabited continuously for more than 6,000 years which makes Tuzla one of the oldest European settlements with sustained living. An open-air museum at Solni Trg, opened in 2004, tells the story of salt production in Tuzla.

World War II[link]

On 2 October 1943, Tuzla became the largest liberated town in Europe to the time.^{[citation needed]} In December 1944, the city was unsuccessfully attacked by Chetnik forces of Draža Mihailović along with the Serbian Assault Corps.^[5][6] After the war it developed into a major industrial and cultural centre during the communist period in former Yugoslavia.

Bosnian War[link]

Tuzla massacre memorial

In the 1990 elections the Reformists won control of the municipality being the only municipality in Bosnia where non-nationalists won. During the Bosnian war, 1992-1995 the town was the only municipality not governed by nationalist authorities, and was besieged by nationalist forces.

As response, Serbian forces attacked Tuzla few days later.The town was not spared the atrocities of the Bosnian War. On 25 May 1995, an attack on Tuzla killed 71 people, mostly children and injured 200 persons in Tuzla massacre when a shell hit the central street and its promenade. The youngest who died in that massacre was only two years old.

Contemporary Tuzla[link]

Statues of Meša Selimović and Ismet Mujezinović

Statue dedicated to the participants of the miners rebellion

The city has one of only two salt lakes in Europe as part of its central park; more than 100,000 people visit its shores every year. One of the most influential writers in the Balkans, Meša Selimović hails from Tuzla. In addition, Tuzla hosts the annual Meša Selimović book festival (in July), where an award for the best novel written in the languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro is presented. The first professional theatre in Tuzla, Narodno Pozorište u Tuzli, was founded by the brothers Mihajlo and Živko Crnogorčević in 1944.

Tuzla is the seat of the Tuzla Canton, which is a canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as of Tuzla Municipality, which is one of the 13 municipalities that together constitute the Tuzla Canton. Administratively, Tuzla is divided into 39 mjesne zajednice (local districts).

Apart from Tuzla, the municipality incorporates several other adjacent settlements, including the town of Gornja Tuzla (Upper Tuzla), as well as the villages of Husino, Par Selo, Simin Han, Obodnica, Kamenjaši, Plane, Šići and others.

The Mayor of Tuzla Municipality is Jasmin Imamović, a writer and lawyer born in 1957, of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was reelected to a third term in 2008.

The City council of Tuzla has 30 members, of the following parties:

• Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDP) - 14 members
• Party of Democratic Action (SDA) - 6 members
• Bosnian Party (BOSS) - 4 members
• Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) - 2 members
• People's Party Work for Betterment (Narodna stranka Radom za boljitak) - 2 members
• Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ) - 2 members.

The Chairwoman of the City Council, Nada Mladina, is a member of the SDP.

Extractions of the city's salt deposits, particularly in the 20th century, have caused sections of the city center to sink. Structures in the "sinking area" either collapsed or were demolished, and there are few structures in the city that predate the 20th century, despite the fact that the city was founded over 1000 years ago.

Tuzla has an international airport located at Dubrave (IATA code: TZL), and an effective and well-developed public bus network. There are plans to introduce a trolleybus network in the city soon.

The airport was opened to civilian aircraft only recently. The airport had comprised a portion of "Eagle Base", an American military base that has been home to NATO troops serving in SFOR, Bosnia's stabilization force.

Several sports teams from Tuzla have participated in international competitions. Almost all of Tuzla's sports teams are named Sloboda, meaning freedom. The most popular sports in Tuzla include football (FK Sloboda); basketball (KK Sloboda), karate (KBS Tuzla-Sinalco) and many others. The women's basketball team Jedinstvo Aida were European club champions in the late eighties, with the most famous sportswoman from Tuzla in their midst - Razija Mujanović. The first and oldest sport in Tuzla is gymnastics.

Tuzla is home to the University of Tuzla, with 16,500 students,^[7] and also the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On 1 September 2007, 6980 couples kissed for 10 seconds in Tuzla, Bosnia erasing the previous Guinness World kissing Records of the Philippines and Hungary (for synchronised osculation in 2004 with 5327 Filipino couples, overtaken by Hungary in 2005 with 5875 couples; Filipinos came back in February 2010 with 6124 couples but the Hungarians responded in June 2010 with 6613 couples). The record now awaits official certification.^[8]

On 26 September 2008, Tuzla began offering free wireless internet access in the city center.^[9]

Geography[link]

Tuzla is located in the northeastern part of Bosnia, settled just underneath the Majevica mountain range, on the Jala River. The central zone lies in an east-west oriented plain, with residential areas in the north and south of the city located on the Ilinčica, Kicelj and Gradina Hills. The climate is moderate continental. There are abundant coal deposits in the region around Tuzla. 6 coal mines continue to operate around the city. Much of the coal mined in the area is used to power the Tuzla Power Plant, which is the largest power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Climate[link]

Demographics[link]

Demographics in Tuzla municipality:

1971 census[link]

total: 107,293

• 53,271 (49.65%) - Bosniaks
• 27,735 (25.84%) - Croats
• 21,089 (19.65%) - Serbs
• 2,540 (2.36%) - Yugoslavs
• 2,658 (2.47%) - others and unknown

1981 census[link]

total: 121,717

• 52,400 (43.05%) - Bosniaks
• 24,811 (20.38%) - Croats
• 20,261 (16.64%) - Serbs
• 19,059 (15.65%) - Yugoslavs
• 5,186 (4.26%) - others and unknown

1991 census[link]

Retired citizens playing chess, a favorite pastime, in the western residential area of Slatina

total: 131,618

• 62,669 (47.61%) - Bosniaks
• 21,995 (16.71%) - Yugoslavs
• 20,398 (15.49%) - Croats
• 20,271 (15.40%) - Serbs
• 6,285 (4,77%) - others and unknown

Town of Tuzla, itself: total: 83,770

• 44,091 (52.63%) - Bosniaks
• 16,302 (19.46%) - Yugoslavs
• 13,137 (15.68%) - Serbs
• 6,328 (7.55%) - Croats
• 3,912 (4.66%) - others and unknown

Education[link]

Universities[link]

• University of Tuzla
• American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Schools[link]

• International School of Tuzla
• Secondary Music School in Tuzla
• Gimnazija Meša Selimović
• Association Citizens Educational Center

Famous people born in Tuzla[link]

• Amar Selimović (born 15 January 1982), actor
• Andrea Petković (born 9 September 1987), professional tennis player
• Andrej Pejic (born 28 August 1991), fashion model
• Emir Hadžihafizbegović (born 20 August 1961), actor
• Emir Hot, guitar player
• Emir Vildic(born 25 February 1984), musician
• Franjo Leder (born 1905), artist
• Ismet Mujezinović (2 December 1907 - 7 January 1984), artist
• Lepa Brena (born 20 October 1960), singer
• Meša Selimović (26 April 1910 - 11 July 1982), writer
• Mirza Delibašić (9 January 1954 – 8 December 2001), basketball player
• Muhamed Hadžiefendić (January 1898 - 2 October 1943), senior Muslim military officer and collaborationist
• Razija Mujanović (born 15 April 1967 in Ratkovići, Čelić, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), retired basketball player
• Selma Bajrami (born 4 July 1980), singer
• Svetlana Kitić (born 7 June 1960), handball player

Twin cities[link]

• Sombor, Serbia
• Bologna, Italy
• Osijek, Croatia
• Pécs, Hungary
• Al Hoceima, Morocco
• L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
• Saint-Denis, France
• Dallas, Texas
• Delft, Netherlands

References[link]

• Interactive Web presentation of Tuzla (Bosnian)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tuzla

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Dolnja Tuzla.

• Bosnia Initiatives for Local Development
• Tuzla Municipality web site (Bosnian)
• Tuzla Map - Map of Tuzla (Bosnian)(English)
• Interactive web site presentation of Tuzla (Bosnian)
• An unofficial website (Bosnian)
• Kapija 25.05.1995.godine
• Radio Slon, with a website on Tuzla (Bosnian)
• Radio Kameleon
• RTV TK
• Pivara Tuzla - Tuzla Brewery
• Izrada reklama Tuzla
• CEC HQ in Tuzla

v t e Municipalities of the Tuzla Canton Banovići Čelić Doboj Istok Gračanica Gradačac Kalesija Kladanj Lukavac Sapna Srebrenik Teočak Tuzla Živinice

v t e Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina v t e Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republika Srpska v t e Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina      Una-Sana  Central Bosnia  Posavina  Herzegovina-Neretva  Tuzla  West Herzegovina  Zenica-Doboj  Sarajevo  Bosnian Podrinje  Canton 10 v t e Districts of Bosnia and Herzegovina Brčko distrikt v t e Municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina Capital Sarajevo Municipalities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Banovići Bihać Bosanska Krupa Bosanski Petrovac Bosansko Grahovo Bugojno Busovača Bužim Čapljina Cazin Čelić Centar, Sarajevo Čitluk Drvar Doboj East Doboj South Dobratići Domaljevac-Šamac Donji Vakuf Foča-Ustikolina Fojnica Glamoč Goražde Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje Gračanica Gradačac Grude Hadžići Ilidža Ilijaš Jablanica Jajce Kakanj Kalesija Kiseljak Kladanj Ključ Konjic Kreševo Kupres Livno Ljubuški Lukavac Maglaj Mostar Neum Novi Grad, Sarajevo Novo Sarajevo Novi Travnik Odžak Olovo Orašje Pale-Prača Posušje Prozor-Rama Ravno Sanski Most Sapna Široki Brijeg Srebrenik Stari Grad, Sarajevo Stolac Teočak Tešanj Tomislavgrad Travnik Trnovo (FBiH) Tuzla Usora Vareš Velika Kladuša Visoko Vitez Vogošća Zavidovići Zenica Žepče Živinice Municipalities of Republika Srpska Berkovići Bijeljina Bileća Brod Bratunac Čajniče Čelinac Derventa Doboj Donji Žabar Foča Gacko Grad Banja Luka Grad Istočno Sarajevo Gradiška Han Pijesak Istočni Drvar Istočna Ilidža Istočni Mostar Istočni Stari Grad Istočno Novo Sarajevo Jezero Kalinovik Kneževo Kostajnica Kozarska Dubica Kotor Varoš Krupa na Uni Kupres Laktaši Ljubinje Lopare Milići Modriča Mrkonjić Grad Nevesinje Novi Grad Novo Goražde Osmaci Oštra Luka Pale Pelagićevo Petrovac Petrovo Prijedor Prnjavor Ribnik Rogatica Rudo Šamac Šekovići Šipovo Sokolac Srbac Srebrenica Teslić Trebinje Trnovo Ugljevik Višegrad Vlasenica Vukosavlje Zvornik

Coordinates: 44°32′17″N 18°40′34″E / 44.53806°N 18.67611°E / 44.53806; 18.67611