Kupres

This article is about the town of Kupres. For the municipality, see Municipality of Kupres. For other uses, see Kupres (disambiguation).

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Town in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Kupres Купрес
UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code	+387 34

Kupres (Serbian Cyrillic: Купрес) is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Kupres in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Kupres is 43 km (27 mi)^[1] distanced from Livno, 127 km (79 mi) ^[1] from Mostar, 143 km^[1] from Sarajevo, 123 km^[1] from Banja Luka and 127 km (79 mi)^[1] from Split.

Kupres is located 1,120 to 1,150 m (3,675 to 3,773 ft) above sea level and averages 55 days a year of snowfall due to its advantageous location in the Dinaric Alps.

The town has good road (state road M-16) and bus access heading towards Tomislavgrad, Livno and Mostar, and is connected to the nearby town of Bugojno in Bosnia Proper via a tunnel called "Kupreška vrata" (en. "Gates of Kupres"). It also has daily bus line towards Croatian cities of Zagreb, Split and Osijek.

History

The first traces of humans date back to prehistoric times, with a few archaeological findings supporting that theses. In times between neolithic and IV. century B.C., area of Kupres was inhabited by the Illyrians (Dalmatae tribe) along with Celts, who were much more technologically advanced then Illyrians. Both of those nations left the area or were assimilated following Roman Conquest in the time of the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who governed it until its collapse in 476 A.D.^[2]

Kupres was first mentioned in documents from the

The town is situated in the middle of the Kupres Plain (Kupreško Polje), which has high strategic importance because of its control of traffic communication between Dalmatia and Central Bosnia. That made Kupres important in previous wars, which is seen in famous saying: "Who holds this high plain can negotiate with its enemies in any way he wishes."[3]

Kupres was scene of Battle of Kupres fought in 1942 during World War 2 in Independent State of Croatia between the forces of the Independent State of Croatia and the Yugoslav Partisans, in and around the town of Kupres in western Bosnia.

Kupres was the scene of fierce fighting in the recent

Roman Catholic Basilica of the Holy Family

Demographics

Ethnic composition

Religion

The town of Kupres has a Roman Catholic church in the parish of Holy Family and a mosque of Ahmed Fazil Paša^[4] – both the Roman Catholic church and Muslim mosque were destroyed by Serbian forces after the Battle of Kupres in 1992.^[5]

Culture

Kupres is famous for stećak tombstones. There is one large group of stećak tombstones called Ravanjska vrata and one in Rastičevo. Kupres is also famous for tumuli-burial mounds. In one of those, archaeologists found a grave and a skeleton. It is believed to be more than 3000 years old and it is now kept in Gorica museum in Livno.

There is an annual cultural and agricultural fair ("Strljanica") held in Kupres each first Sunday of July.^[6]

The largest cultural institution in town of Kupres is Hrvatski dom Kupres ("Croatian home Kupres"), previously known as "Dom Kulture" ("Home of Culture").^[7]

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Since 2020, Grass mowing competition custom in Kupres ("Strljanica") is inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The most important social event in the Kupres municipality is the annual mowing competition that takes place in July at a specific meadow called Strljanica, which is also the local name for the custom. The contest involves the manual mowing of grass using a scythe and is judged by the time, effort and amount mown as cutting grass at that altitude requires strength and a special technique. The top three mowers are recognized, with the chief mower treated as a leader who ensures the successful mowing of all the fields to gather hay for the cattle; agriculture and cattle breeding are essential parts of the area’s economy. Men, starting from the age of eighteen, are traditionally the competitors, with the element being transmitted within families from father to son. Women rake the grass and prepare food for guests. Other elements linked to the competition include national costumes, the forging of scythes and the preparation of cattle for competition. All ethnic and religious groups and individuals in Kupres are free to participate, with the custom being considered as a foundation of the area’s cultural identity, regardless of people’s background. The bearers themselves and the Kupres Mowers Association are most responsible for safeguarding the element.^[8]

Guinness World Record

The largest gathering of people with the same first name (Ivan) is 2,325, and was achieved by Kupreški kosci (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in Kupres, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 30 July 2017.^[9]

Education

Town of Kupres has one elementary school and two highschools.

Tourism

Kupres is a famous

Kupres is twinned with:^[10][11]

• Baška Voda, Croatia
• Gospić, Croatia
• Kaštela, Croatia
• Valpovo, Croatia

See also

• Tropolje

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kupres.

• "Kupreški Radio ::: 24h uz Vas!". Kupreskiradio.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
• "eKupres.com". eKupres. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
• "Kupres Online". Kupres Online. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
• "Kupres Travel Guide". VirtualTourist.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.