Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina (ⁱ/ˈbɒzniə ənd ˌhɛərtsəɡoʊˈviːnə, -ˌhɜːrt-, -ɡə-/ or /ˌhɜːrtsəˈɡɒvᵻnə/;Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnian and Serbian Cyrillic script: Боснa и Херцеговина; pronounced [bôsna i xěrt͡seɡoʋina]), sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or Bosnia & Herzegovina, abbreviated BiH or B&H, and in short often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west, and south; Serbia to the east; Montenegro to the southeast; and the Adriatic Sea to the south, with a coastline about 20 kilometres (12 miles) long surrounding the city of Neum. In the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, bookended by hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography.

Sarajevo

Sarajevo (Bosnia/Croatian/Serbian cyrillic Сарајево) (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [sǎrajeʋo]) is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an estimated population of 369,534. The Sarajevo metropolitan area, including Sarajevo, East Sarajevo and surrounding municipalities, is home to 688,354 inhabitants. Moreover, it is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity,and the center of the Sarajevo Canton. Nestled within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans.

Sarajevo is the leading political, social and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a prominent center of culture in the Balkans, with its region-wide influence in entertainment, media, fashion, and the arts.

The city is famous for its traditional cultural and religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Orthodoxy, Judaism and Catholicism coexisting there for centuries. Due to its long and rich history of religious and cultural variety, Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe" or "Jerusalem of the Balkans". It was, until late in the 20th century, the only major European city to have a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue within the same neighborhood. A regional center in education, the city is also home to the Balkans' first institution of tertiary education in the form of an Islamic polytechnic called the Saraybosna Osmanlı Medrese, today part of the University of Sarajevo.

Herzegovina

Herzegovina (/ˌhɛərtsᵻˈɡoʊvᵻnə/ or /ˌhɜːrtsəɡoʊˈviːnə/;Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Hercegovina, Херцеговина, [xɛ̌rtsɛɡov̞ina]) is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the southwest, Montenegro to the east, Mount Maglić to the northeast, and Mount Ivan to the north. Measurements of the area range from 11,419 km² (4,409 sq mi), or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country, to 12,276 km² (4,740 sq mi), around 24% of the country.

The name Herzegovina means "duke's land", referring to the medieval duchy of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača who took title "Herzeg of Saint Sava". Herceg is derived from the German title Herzog.

Geography

The terrain of Herzegovina is mostly hilly karst with high mountains in the north such as Čvrsnica and Prenj, except for the central valley of the river Neretva River. The largest city is Mostar, in the center of the region. Other larger towns include Trebinje, Stolac, Široki Brijeg, Konjic, and Čapljina. Borders between Bosnia and Herzegovina are unclear and often disputed.

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis. Facilities provided may range from a basic bed and storage for clothing, to luxury features like en-suite bathrooms. Larger hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, business centre, childcare, conference facilities and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities.

The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travelers. Inns began to cater for richer clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the century.

Republika Srpska

The Republika Srpska (Serbian Cyrillic: Република Српскa, pronounced [repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː]) is an administrative entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is one of two administrative entities, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The de jure capital of Republika Srpska is Sarajevo, the de facto capital is Banja Luka.

Name

In the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages, Republika Srpska means "Serb Republic". The second word is a nominalized adjective derived by adding the suffix -ska to srb-, the root of the noun Srbin, meaning Serb. The -ps- sequence rather than -bs- is a result of voicing assimilation. Although the name Republika Srpska is sometimes glossed as Serb Republic or Bosnian Serb Republic (Serbian: Republika Bosanskih Srba / Република Босанских Срба), and the government of Republika Srpska uses the semi-Anglicized term Republic of Srpska in English translations of official documents, western news sources such as the BBC,The New York Times, and The Guardian generally refer to the entity as the Republika Srpska.