Discover your Bosnian, Herzegovinian roots

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

1. Which town or region of Bosnia and Herzegovina did our family come from? Was it near Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla?
2. Who was the first in the family to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina, when, and why?
3. Which dishes from Bosnia and Herzegovina were cooked at home? Did anyone make Ćevapi or Burek and other pita?
4. Does anyone in the family still speak Bosnian, or use a few words of it?
5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from Bosnia and Herzegovina that the family kept?
6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from Bosnia and Herzegovina? Who has them?
7. If you could visit Bosnia and Herzegovina together, where would you go first?

A short history of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina's story runs from Illyrian tribes and Roman soldiers, through a medieval kingdom and four centuries of Ottoman rule, to Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia, a painful war in the 1990s and a peace that still shapes the country today.

1. AD 9

   Rome conquers the Illyrians

   Local Illyrian tribes rose up against Rome in AD 6. After four years of hard fighting, one of Rome's most difficult wars, the revolt was put down in AD 9 and the land became part of the Roman Empire.

2. 1377

   Tvrtko crowned king

   Ban Tvrtko Kotromanić had himself crowned king, and Bosnia became a kingdom. By the 14th century it was the most powerful state in the western Balkans.

3. 1463

   The Ottoman conquest

   The Ottoman Empire conquered the Kingdom of Bosnia. Over the next four centuries Islam spread, and towns such as Sarajevo and Mostar grew into centres of trade with mosques, markets and bridges.

4. 1878

   Austria-Hungary takes over

   At the Congress of Berlin, Austria-Hungary won the right to occupy and run Bosnia and Herzegovina, which stayed formally Ottoman. It annexed the country outright in 1908, and brought new laws, institutions and industries.

5. 1943

   Wartime councils restore Bosnia

   During the Second World War, in which more than 300,000 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina died, Tito's Partisan movement held councils in Mrkonjić Grad and Jajce in November 1943. They restored Bosnia and Herzegovina as a republic within a future Yugoslav federation, which it became after the war.

6. 1992

   Independence and war

   After a referendum that most Bosnian Serbs boycotted, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence on 3 March 1992 and was recognised internationally on 6 April. War followed. Bosnian Serb forces, supported by Serbia, took control of much of the country, and from late 1992 to early 1994 Bosnian Croat and government forces also fought each other. Sarajevo was besieged for almost four years. More than 100,000 people were killed and over 2 million had to leave their homes.

7. 1995

   The Dayton peace agreement

   Peace talks at an air force base near Dayton, Ohio, ended the war in November 1995, and the agreement was formally signed in Paris on 14 December. It kept one state made up of two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with an international High Representative overseeing the peace.

8. 2022

   EU candidate status

   On 15 December 2022 the European Union made Bosnia and Herzegovina an official candidate for membership. In March 2024 EU leaders agreed in principle to open membership talks once further conditions are met.

Family recipes to cook together

Ćevapi 45 min · serves 4Spinach pie 1 h 15 min · serves 6Bey's soup 1 h 30 min · serves 4Walnut-stuffed apples 1 h · serves 6

Bosnian words to teach the grandchildren

Towns and regions

• Sarajevo, Sarajevo Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Baščaršija, the old bazaar, The 1984 Winter Olympics.
• Banja Luka, Republika Srpska: The Vrbas river, Banja Luka ćevapi, joined in a square.
• Mostar, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Old Bridge, Stari Most, Divers leaping from the bridge.
• Tuzla, Tuzla Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Salt lakes in the city centre, Its two universities.
• Zenica, Zenica-Doboj Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Zenica ironworks, Vranduk, a castle of the Bosnian kings, nearby.
• Bihać, Una-Sana Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The clear Una river, Una National Park.
• Travnik, Central Bosnia Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vlašić cheese and kajmak, The birthplace of Ivo Andrić.
• Jajce, Central Bosnia Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Pliva Waterfall, Its hilltop fortress.
• Višegrad, Republika Srpska: The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, The novel The Bridge on the Drina.
• Trebinje, Republika Srpska: The Arslanagić Bridge, The walled old town.
• Brčko, Brčko District: The self-governing Brčko District, The Sava river.
• Neum, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The country's only seaside town, Beach holidays.