Summary

The present-day municipality of Gračanica is composed of the largest part (approximately 56%) of the pre-war municipality of the same name. Other portions have been incorporated into the municipalities of Doboj and Petrovo, both within the state’s Republika Srpska entity. Today’s municipality lies in Tuzla Canton, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. 

In  a survey conducted in October 1972, a total of 37 monuments and memorials to the People's Liberation War were recorded as existing upon the then-territory of Gračanica municipality, although no information survives to allow determination of their precise locations. However, the NOB heritage of the former (larger) Gračanica municipality was the subject of the 1985 book Biljezi slobode, Partizanska spomen-obilježja na području opštine Gračanica, Kratak hronološki pregled najvažnijih događaja u periodu 1941-1945. u gračaničkom kraju (Testaments to Freedom: Partisan memorials on the territory of Gračanica municipality, a short chronological overview of the most important happenings of the period 1941-1945 in the Gračanica region), by Omer Hamzić and Ešref Ćurić. The book documents a total of 43 monuments and memorials in detail, with 19 of these lying within the boundaries of present-day Gračanica municipality. It is worth noting that Hamzić & Ćurić’s book, as well as providing the only known published photographic evidence of a number of monuments in their original form, provides invaluable details on not just the persons who designed monuments, but also on artisans and craftsmen involved in their on-the-ground creation, such as masons responsible for carving lettering, and, in a number of instances, persons and organizations who supplied construction materials. Additionally, it gives a brief overview of the historical events and individuals commemorated by many of the memorials.

From a study of other sources, it was possible to identify an additional three monuments upon the territory of the present-day Gračanica municipality, which are also recorded in the Report. 

Gračanica’s Spatial Plan, adopted in January 2015, lists 12 monuments and memorials commemorating the People’s Liberation War as existing upon the territory of Gračanica municipality (Sl. Glasnik Općina Gračanica 50/13, 2015 pp.19-20). It is interesting to note that no busts are included in the municipality’s Spatial Plan, while five are known to have existed on the territory of the municipality.

It must also be mentioned that many of the monuments in Gračanica municipality have been altered or renovated in recent years. While renovations and modifications to some monuments were performed prior to 1992, of the 22 monuments recorded here, at least 9 have been in some way restored or replaced after 1995, with the overwhelming majority of restorations occurring in 2007 and 2008 (7 of the 8 for which dates could be ascertained).

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Key

(precise coordinates can be obtained by contacting the author

Resources