Bihać

Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region close to the border with Croatia. In 2013 its population was 56,261.

==History== According to documents and historical sources, the first medieval urban settlements and towns around the Una river, began to appear in the middle of the 13th century. Bihać, as the centre of Pounje, was first mentioned on 26 February 1260, in the charter of Hungarian King Béla IV, and was described as a town built on the river's Island of St. Ladislav, owned by the Benedictine abbey of Topusko. Just two years later, in 1262, Béla proclaimed Bihać a royal free city and placed it under the direct authority of the Hungarian throne, with all rights and privileges pertaining thereto, which ensured its ability to develop completely independent from the political powers of local lords. The following mention in the charter of 1271 confirms that Bihać at that time enjoyed the status of a free city. At the head of the municipality was the town elder or major villae, who was often called a judge, and whose decision could only be changed by the king. Bihać also had a curia or magistrates, an assembly of local citizens who took the oath of office for this duty, and notaries who kept court and other civil records.