Created by Angela Albanese Copyright of Global Ties Akron & Know Your Community - Know Your World

1. BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY- KNOW YOUR WORLD

2. Speaker:

3. Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in Southeastern Europe
in a regions known as the Balkans. In area, it is slightly
smaller than West Virginia. It has a short 12 miles of
coastline on the Adriatic Sea to the west. Bosnia has
beautiful mountains and valleys throughout it.

4. Country Quick Facts
 Full name: Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Population: about 3.9 million (July 2014)
 Capital: Sarajevo
 Largest city: Sarajevo
 Official languages: Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian
 Major religions: Muslim (40%), Orthodox (31%), and Roman Catholic (15%)
 Life expectancy: Male-73 , Female- 80
 Monetary unit: Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (BAM)
 Main exports: metals, clothing, wood products
 GNI per capita: $9,660

5. Bosnian History in Brief
 In the ancient history of Bosnia, the land passed between many different
groups like the Romans, Byzantine Empire, and Slavs, respectively
 The biggest conquest was the Ottoman Empire in 1463 and present-day
Bosnia has a lot of Turkish cultural influence from it
 Bosnia joined the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1878
 The event that caused WWI to start happened in Bosnia, but Bosnia was
not severely harmed during the war
 Joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after WWI, which was invaded by Nazi
Germany in WWII, and lots of people were killed, especially Bosnia’s Jews
 After WWII, Bosnia joined the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia
 Bosnia and Herzegovina gained its independence on March 3, 1992
 War broke out a few days later that would last until December 1995 and kill
many people

6. This picture shows some buildings in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia
burning during the war that took place from 1992-1995. It killed
many innocent people on both sides of the fighting.

7. Language*
 HELLO: Dobar dan/Zdravo
 GOODBYE: Dovidenja
 YES: Da
 NO: Ne
 THANK YOU: Hvala
 YOU’RE WELCOME: nema na čemu/molim
 PLEASE: Molim
 I LOVE YOU: Volim te
 HOW ARE YOU: Kako si?
*Since Bosnia has 3 official
languages, (Bosnian,
Croatian, and Serbian) they
words are put in all three
languages. You only see one
word because theses words
are the same in all three
languages! 

8. Sarajev
oSarajevo is known for being a
“meeting of cultures” because of the
mix of West and East influence from
the Austro-Hungarian Empire (bottom
left) and the Ottoman Empire (below)

9. Chess is a common
social pastime in
Bosnia, especially for
older men. These men
can be found playing
jumbo chess in the
park any time of day in
Sarajevo.

10. Sarajevo from
above

11. Government
 3 member presidency (based on ethnic group) that rotate every 8 months
 Chairman of the Presidency: Mladen Ivanić (Serb)
 Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Denis Zvizdić (Bozniak)
 Type of government: federal democratic republic
 Voting age: 18 years, 16 if employed
Zvizdić Ivanić

12. Current Issues
 High unemployment
 Division by ethnic group in the government leaves
minorities underrepresented
 Still arguments over certain parts of territory and who
they belong to with Serbia
 High levels of human trafficking
 Weak law enforcement
 Government corruption

13. Economy
 Still struggling economically since the war in the 1990s
 Gained potential candidate status for the European Union
in 2003
 One of the leaders in Eastern European tourism growth in
the past couple years
 Foreign banks, mostly from Austria and Italy, control most
of Bosnia’s banking sector
 Top industries:
 Steel, Coal, Iron ore, and lead

14. Mostar, Bosnia and
Herzegovina

15. Currency
 Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (BAM)
 1 US Dollar= 1.76 BAM
 Mark comes from German mark, which the BAM was linked to before
Germany switched to the Euro
 Bosnia switched to BAM in 1995, previously had three different
currencies: Bosnian dinar, Croatian kuna, and Serbian dinar

16. Traditional Food
 Ćevapi- grilled minced meat served with pita bread and onions
 Burek- flaky pastry filled with cheese, meat, and/or vegetables
 Japrak- grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice
 Đuveč- vegetable stew
 Baklava for dessert- flaky pastry filled with nuts and covered in sugar or
syrup
Baklav
a
Ćeva
pi
Đuveč

17. Traditional Dance and Dress
 https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=n1JEWAvM5Xc

20. Fun Facts
 WWI actually began in Sarajevo, Bosnia where the Archduke of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire was shot
 Sarajevo, the capital, hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics
 Bosnia and Herzegovina is comprised of two entities: Federation of Bosnia
and Herzegovina and and the Republic Srpska
 The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football (soccer) team’s first major
tournament was the 2014 FIFA World Cup
 Bosnia has the 10th highest coffee consumption in the world. Bosnian
coffee is also different from American coffee and served as a special set
and sugar cubes
 The Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the Bosnian War in 1995 was
signed in Dayton, Ohio!! There is now an international peace museum in

21. Location where
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand was shot
and World War I
began.
The corner now
houses a history
museum and a
serious reminder
of war.

22. Below, the structures
build for the 1984
Winter Olympics have
been abandoned
throughout the city
since the war
How Bosnian coffee is
served
Sarajevo 1984

23. Book to Read
 Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s
Life in Wartime Sarajevo
 Zlata was a little girl in
Sarajevo, Bosnia and
Herzegovina when the
war broke out in 1992.
Read her diary she kept
during the war to learn
about what life was like
for kids your age in the
middle of war.

24. Links
 http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/
ba.htm
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/bk.html
 http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/b
osnia-and-herzegovina/
 http://sarajevo.usembassy.gov/