- published: 10 Jul 2015
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Bosnia and Herzegovina (i/ˈbɒzniə ən hɛrtsəɡoʊˈviːnə/; Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Bosna i Hercegovina, Cyrillic script: Босна и Херцеговина), sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Sarajevo. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the 20 kilometres (12 miles) of coastline on the Adriatic Sea surrounding the town of Neum. In the central and southern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, bookended by hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography.
Herzegovina ( /ˌhɛərtsɨˈɡoʊvɨnə/ or /ˌhɜrtsəɡoʊˈviːnə/;Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Hercegovina, Serbian Cyrillic: Херцеговина, [xɛ̌rtsɛɡov̞ina]) is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton to the east, and Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje to the north. Measurements of the area range from 11,419 km2 (4,409 sq mi), or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country to 12,276 km2 (4,740 sq mi), around 24% of the country.
The name Herzegovina means "duke's land", referring to the medieval duchy of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača who took title "Herzeg of Saint Sava". Herceg is derived from the German title Herzog.
While the population of Herzegovina throughout history has been ethnically mixed, the Bosnian War in the 1990s resulted in mass ethnic cleansing and large-scale displacement of peoples. The last pre-war census in 1991 recorded a population of 437,095 inhabitants.
Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" Zelle (7 August 1876 - 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands, the eldest of four children of Adam Zelle (2 October 1840 - 13 March 1910) and his first wife Antje van der Meulen (21 April 1842 - 9 May 1891). She had three brothers. Her father owned a hat store, made successful investments in the oil industry, and became affluent enough to give Margaretha a lavish early childhood that included exclusive schools until the age of 13.
However, Margaretha's father went bankrupt in 1889, her parents divorced soon thereafter, and her mother died in 1891. Her father remarried in Amsterdam on 9 February 1893 to Susanna Catharina ten Hoove (11 March 1844 - 1 December 1913), with whom he had no children. The family had fallen apart and Margaretha moved to live with her godfather, Mr. Visser, in Sneek. In Leiden, she studied to be a kindergarten teacher, but when the headmaster began to flirt with her conspicuously, she was removed from the institution by her offended godfather. After only a few months, she fled to her uncle's home in The Hague.