Banja Luka is a town in the western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located on the Vrbas River. It is the second largest city in the whole of BiH, and many are considered one of its most beautiful cities and is the economic and cultural center of this part of Bosanska Krajina.
The tourist facilities of Banja Luka and its narrower and wider surroundings are large and relatively well utilized. Banja Luka is known for its excursions because in the vicinity of the urban part of the city there are several fantastic places of wild nature and landscaped sites for visits and recreation. Make your stay in Banja Luka complete with a visit to Banja Luka excursion sites.
With about 2,400 hectares of green areas, including the belt around Vrbas, Banja Luka is known as the green city. The surroundings of Banja Luka are rich in various forest and river wildlife, which has contributed to the development of hunting and fishing in this area. Thanks to the vicinity of thermal mineral springs (Laktaši, Šeher, Slatina, Kulaši …) Banja Luka has basic conditions for the development of bath and recreational tourism.
This peaceful place has been inhabited since Palellolite, and it is assumed that the fortress Kastel was built on the site of the settlement from that period. The chief builder of Banja Luka was without doubt Ferhat Paša Sokolović, a close relative of Mehmed Paša Sokolović, one of the most prominent Bosnian magnates and one of the most influential people of that era throughout the Ottoman Empire. Ferhat paša Sokolović’s most important contribution to Banja Luka was the mosque of Ferhadija, with which the original water supply infrastructure of Banja Luka was also based, which served its faster urban development. The mosque was demolished in the recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the reconstruction started in 2007.
The hardest hit in the period after World War II Banja Luka was a catastrophic earthquake in 1969, where a large number of Houses and other living places were completely demolished. From all parts of Yugoslavia in Banja Luka came help. In those days, Banja Luka was a capital of solidarity. After earthquake the city gains its present appearance and significance.
