SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 11 (ONASA) – As part of the “EU4BusinessRecovery” project, which is co-financed by the European Union and the German government, we visited Šamac to see for ourselves why Šamac was on the list to receive the Green Destination certificate.
Šamac is one of the eight outstanding destinations from Bosnia and Herzegovina that are on the way to receive the Green Destinations certificate.
In addition to Šamac, the selected destinations that will work on completing the task in order to receive the Green certificate are: Bosanska Krupa, Kozara National Park, Skakavac Nature Monument near Sarajevo, Trebinje, Konjic, as well as Mostar, Žepče, which includes Zavodovići and Maglaj.
Upon your arrival in Šamac, you will be greeted and delighted by the friendly local population, who are ready to show you all the untouched beauties of Šamac and, in addition, to tell you with enthusiasm about the previous projects of GIZ and the German government in their local community, which enriched their small municipality in the very north of our country.
Today’s municipal seat of Šamac was created only in 1863 at the confluence of Bosnia and Sava.
The project for the construction of Šamac was drawn up by engineer Salih Efendija Mukevit, and the construction was managed by French engineers.
One of the most important sights of Šamac in the city center is the fact that the streets in that part of the city are crossed at right angles, so that the city center has the shape of a rectangle.
Although Šamac does not have any old architectural buildings, they boasted to us about the Kučukalića house.
Kučukalić House is the Kučukalić family house in Bosanski Šamac. It is sometimes called the Bey’s House or the Old Library. It is located in the main street, in the center of Bosanski Šamac.
The house was built by entrepreneur Ali-aga from Brc and his son Fehim-aga Kučukalić.
It was built in the period from 1898 to 1904.
The house was built by Italian masters in the Presudo-Moorish style, and the architect was Aleksandar Vitek, who designed the Town Hall and the Kučukalić House in Brčko.
When it was built, the Kučukalić house was the most beautiful house in Bosanski Šamac, and I can confirm that it still carries that epithet today.
After the Second World War, this classic villa housed an infirmary, then the city library until 1981.
Since 1981, the library has been moved to the Memorial Home “Mitar Trifunović Učo”, after which the Court for Misdemeanors was located in the house.
There are no standard tourist attractions such as old buildings, monuments, etc. in the territory of the municipality of Šamac, but the municipality of Šamac has a lot to offer.
The town itself is located at the confluence of Bosnia and Sava, which is a huge potential for the development of summer and fishing tourism.
On the territory of the municipality there is also the Odmut pond with a large number of rare species of pond birds, which provides a habitat for many migratory birds and is one of the most important localities of this type in this part of Europe.
The area of the municipality of Šamac can offer a lot in terms of hunting tourism, as well as in the aforementioned fishing, because the municipality has a large number of artificial lakes rich in fish.
From wetlands to small lakes, grasslands, floodplain forests and mixed riparian forests, rich food sources are ideal habitats for many migratory and endemic bird species such as the attractive kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
Tišina is a populated place in Bosanski Šamac. This place is exceptional in the biological diversity of animals, plants and their habitats, which are also very important at the level of the European Union.
The swamp-marsh complex “Tišina” consists of the wetlands Mala Tišina, Velika Tišina, the Odmut pond and the occasional Žandrak watercourse.
This is a nature reserve with typical swamp vegetation (175 plants), habitat of important fish species (21 species), and about 150 bird species, of which 33 are endangered species in Europe and protected by international conventions. Bara Tišina is one of the most important places for feeding and resting birds on migration from Central and Northern Europe.
Tišina is also a paradise for many species of fish, such as the common carp (Aspius aspius), the pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), but also for rare mammals such as the European horseshoe bat, the great horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), and some other significant species from the European Natura 2000 network.
In September 2019, the Government of the Republika Srpska adopted a Decision declaring this swamp-marsh complex a protected area of the fourth category.
As for investments in sports and culture, the municipality allocates solid funds in relation to its budget, but of course this could also be improved and a more diverse offer in these areas could be achieved through better planning.
It was through the GIZ project with the support of the German Government that kayaks were purchased, with which the Municipality of Šamac is trying to revive boating tourism and water sports.
Let’s not forget that Šamac is located right at the confluence of the Bosna River and the Sava River.
Šamački kraj is also an excellent place for game hunting, and is therefore often the site of international competitions.
Hunting grounds abound with feathered game (wild pigeon, pheasant, wild duck, quail), small game (rabbit) and big game (wild boar, roe deer).
With good household management, this could be changed for the better, but this requires a lot of work and certainly a long period of quality planning and investment.
If you are a lover of nature, water sports, hunting and fishing, Šamac is a place you must visit. (end) A.G.