Breza, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Breza
Breza
	View of the town. View of the town.
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location of Breza within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	The Federation
Canton	Zenica-Doboj
Government
• Municipality president	Halil Tuzlić (Independent)
Area
• Total	72,9 km2 (281 sq mi)
Population (2013 census)
• Total	14,564
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	032
Website	http://www.opcinabreza.com/

Breza is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, famous for the local mining activities and production of coal. It covers an area of 73 km² (28 sq mi) and is part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Total area of municipality of Breza is 83 square kilometers. It is located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton and it borders with four municipalities: Ilijaš, Kakanj, Vareš and Visoko. Its economic environment is based on coalmine, which was established in year 1907.

History

Breza as a settlement was first time mentioned in documents dating from the 2nd century as Hedum Kastelum (Inhabited Castle). The ancient town was the capital of the infamous Daesitiates, an Ilyrian tribe which had most of the territory of modern central Bosnia under control before being crushed by the Romans.

Geography

Information from the last census held in October 2013 tell that the municipality has a population of 14,564 inhabitants.^[4] Breza is sometimes visited from tourists who usually visit the old town or explore the hills surrounding the town. The whole municipality is wanted by foreign investors mainly because of its mining activities.

Education

The municipality has 3 primary schools and two secondary schools of which one is a Gymnasium and the other one is a technical/vocational school.^[5]^[6]

Sport

Breza is famous for having one of the oldest clubs formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the football club "Rudar" was formed in 1924. The town is also famous for many local volleyball and basketball clubs.^[7]