Banja Luka

Banja Luka or Banjaluka is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. It is also the de facto capital of this entity. Banja Luka is the traditional centre of the densely-forested Bosanska Krajina region of northwestern Bosnia. , the city proper has a population of 138,963, while its administrative area comprises a total of 185,042 inhabitants. The city is home to the University of Banja Luka and University Clinical Center of the Republika Srpska, as well as numerous entity and state institutions for Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina respectively. The city lies on the Vrbas river and is well known in the countries of the former Yugoslavia for being full of tree-lined avenues, boulevards, gardens, and parks. Banja Luka was designated European city of sport in 2018. Name The name Banja Luka was first mentioned in a document dated to 6 February 1494 by Ladislaus II of Hungary. The name is interpreted as the 'Ban's meadow', from the words ban (a mediaeval noble title), and luka ('valley' or 'meadow'). The identity of the ban and the meadow in question remains uncertain, and popular etymology combines the modern words banja ('bath' or 'spa'), or bajna ('marvelous') and luka ('port'). A different interpretation is suggested by the Hungarian name Lukácsbánya, in English 'Luke's Mine'. In modern usage, the name is pronounced and usually written as one word (Banjaluka). Geography