Jajce

Jajce, Bos.-Her.

Jajce, town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 29 miles (47 km) south of Banja Luka, on the Vrbas River. The ancient capital of the Bosnian kings, it fell to the Turks in 1461, when the last king was executed. It was taken again, by Hungary, and was the centre of the banat of Jajce in 1463–1528. The Turks returned in 1528 and remained for 350 years. Austrian occupation began in 1878, and Jajce was the scene of local resistance. The town became part of Yugoslavia after World War I. During World War II it was the base of operations for the Communist resistance forces under Marshal Tito. Jajce was the site of the second session of the provisional parliament that drafted the postwar constitution and founded the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Nov. 29, 1943.

Jajce is a tourist attraction, noted for its much photographed and publicized Turkish wooden water mills on the rapids of the Pliva River. The falls of the Pliva into the Vrbas canyon are nearby. Two hydroelectric stations are on the Pliva and Vrbas rivers, and an electrochemical plant produces calcium carbide. Pop. (latest est.) 11,000.