Žepče

Žepče (Serbian Cyrillic: Жепче) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, between Doboj and Zenica. As of 2013, it has a population of 30,219 inhabitants.

Žepče Жепче
Town and municipality
House of Culture in Žepče
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Žepče within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Žepče
Coordinates: 44°26′N 18°02′E
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canton	Zenica-Doboj
Government
• Municipal mayor	Mato Zovko (HDZ BiH)
Area
• Total	282 km2 (109 sq mi)
Population  (2013 census)
• Total	31,582
• Density	112/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code	+387 32
Website	www.opcina-zepce.com

The river Bosna flows through this city. Near within the town, there are 14 mineral water springs. Žepče is within the vicinity of the Lasva valley and thus is surrounded by mountains.

History

The town was first mentioned in 1458 in a charter issued by the Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević, "... Pissanna Žepču va ljetu 1458. oktombrija 14. dan." (Written in Žepče in the year 1458. 14.day of October)

The city would see combat during the Bosnian War, as HVO forces would launch an operation against ARBiH over complete control of the city on the 24th of June, 1993. After the Dayton Agreement in 1995, the city would end up becoming a part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton.

Demographics

In 2001 the following Croat villages from the municipalities of Maglaj and Zavidovići merged with the municipality of Žepče to form one entity with Croat majority: Adže, Pire, Ponijevo, Matina, Ljubatovići, Grabovica, Čusto Brdo, Komšići, Radunice, Globarica, Brankovići, Donji Lug, Gornji Lug, Vrbica, Debelo Brdo, Osova, Vinište and Gornja Lovnica.

Population

Population of settlements – Žepče municipality
	Settlement	1961.	1971.	1981.	1991.	2013.
	Total	13,924	16,906	19,754	22,966	31,582
1	Adže				414	358
2	Begov Han				1,041	1,299
3	Bistrica				1,192	978
4	Brankovići				547	499
5	Čusto Brdo				322	296
6	Donji Lug				504	528
7	Globarica				823	637
8	Goliješnica				798	925
9	Golubinja				398	363
10	Gornja Golubinja				483	399
11	Gornja Lovnica				721	473
12	Gornji Lug				509	613
13	Grabovica				411	396
14	Ljubatovići				564	502
15	Ljubna				176	246
16	Lupoglav				869	844
17	Matina				501	497
18	Mračaj				687	562
19	Orahovica				1,295	929
20	Osova				561	441
21	Ozimica				1,546	1,431
23	Papratnica				1,130	1,192
24	Pire				384	338
25	Ponijevo				775	864
26	Radunice				601	312
27	Ravne Donje				141	230
28	Tatarbudžak				571	588
29	Vašarište				327	566
30	Vinište				1,061	845
31	Vitlaci				339	256
32	Vrbica				600	400
33	Želeće				410	204
34	Željezno Polje				4,384	4,791
35	Žepče	2,709	3,209	4,257	5,571	5,460

Ethnic composition

Ethnic composition – Žepče town
	2013.	1991.	1981.	1971.	1961.
Total	5,460 (100,0%)	5,571 (100,0%)	4,257 (100,0%)	3,209 (100,0%)	2,709 (100,0%)
Bosniaks	2,696 (49,38%)	3,367 (60,44%)	2,337 (54,90%)	2,242 (69,87%)	1,312 (48.43%)
Croats	2,591 (47,45%)	1,450 (26,03%)	935 (21,96%)	637 (19,85%)	461 (17.02%)
Serbs	82 (1,502%)	270 (4,847%)	252 (5,920%)	227 (7,074%)	349 (12.88%)
Others	82 (1,502%)	103 (1,849%)	71 (1,668%)	31 (0,966%)	32 (1.18%)
Albanians	5 (0,092%)		7 (0,164%)	6 (0,187%)
Montenegrins	4 (0,073%)		11 (0,258%)	22 (0,686%)
Yugoslavs		381 (6,839%)	640 (15,03%)	33 (1,028%)	555 (20.49%)
Macedonians			2 (0,047%)	4 (0,125%)
Slovenes			2 (0,047%)	7 (0,218%)

Ethnic composition – Žepče municipality
	2013.	1991.	1981.	1971.	1961.
Total	31,582 (100,0%)	22,966 (100,0%)	19,754 (100,0%)	16,906 (100,0%)	13,924 (100,0%)
Croats	17,801 (58,91%)	9,100 (39,62%)	7,813 (39,55%)	7,174 (42,43%)	5,978 (42.93%)
Bosniaks	11,727 (38,81%)	10,820 (47,11%)	8,769 (44,39%)	7,531 (44,55%)	5,038 (36.18%)
Serbs	501 (1,658%)	2,278 (9,919%)	2,004 (10,14%)	2,028 (12,00%)	2,033 (14.60%)
Others	190 (0,629%)	222 (0,967%)	187 (0,947%)	68 (0,402%)	54 (0.39%)
Yugoslavs		546 (2,377%)	933 (4,723%)	56 (0,331%)	821 (5.90%)
Montenegrins			25 (0,127%)	32 (0,189%)
Albanians			14 (0,071%)	6 (0,035%)
Macedonians			7 (0,035%)	4 (0,024%)
Slovenes			2 (0,010%)	7 (0,041%)

Town

Sport

The town is home to local football club NK Žepče.

Notable people

• Ivica Marić, basketball player
• Abdulvehab Ilhamija, poet and prose writer
• Emir Preldžić, basketball player
• Nedžad Ibrišimović, writer

Gallery

• 
  Construction of the railway line (1879)
• 
  Garden Fountain
• 
  Orthodox Church
• 
  Church of St.Anthony of Padua
• 
  Railway station
• 
  Bus station
• 
  Bus station (war signs)