Bihac, a Bosnian city that was once even a Croatian capital (VIDEO)

Bihać (N1)

Located in Bosnia extreme northwest, on the banks of the Una River, Bihac leaves no one indifferent with its charm.

Bihac is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton in the country's Federation (FBih) entity.

In the late Middle Ages, Bihac was a free royal city and at one time the capital of the Kingdom of Croatia (metropolis et propugnaculum totius regni Croatiae). In 1530 Austrian committee provide troops to defend seven key strongholds in Croatia, one of them is Bihac and Ripac (near Bihac).

The Turks occupied the town in 1592 after 10-day siege and from that time Bihac was the site of the most important fort in Bosnia until the 19th century. The Ottoman rule in Bihac ended de facto after the Congress of Berlin.

During World War II, the town was occupied by Axis troops and was included into Ante Pavelic's Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

The town was the capital of a short-lived territory, the Bihać Republic, for two months in late 1942 and early 1943 until it was recaptured by German forces. Bihac returned to Bosnian territory on March 28, 1945.