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| Location | Zvornik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republika Srpska | ||
| Population – (est.) – (1991 census) |
8,500 |
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| Time zone | CET (UTC +1) |
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Karakaj (Serbian Cyrillic: Каракај) is a town located 2 km north from the city Zvornik in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Drina River, it has also the border checkpoint with Serbia. The word Karakaj comes from Turkish word which means dark stone. The dark stone is located near the bridge in the center of the town, and there are lots of legends and myths about this great art of nature.
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There are numerous archeological sites in the Karakaj area from the Neolithic Age and later: a Greek colony was located here, later replaced by a Celtic one. The Romans conquered the area from the Illyrians, and also established a settlment here.
In the early Middle Ages, the Ostrogoths conquered the town over from the Byzantines, who later recovered it. In the 6th century it was captured by the Slavs. Karakaj was a part of the first Serbian state which later collapsed into several Serbian dukedoms. Karakaj changed owners between Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia trough the Middle Ages.
The population of Karakaj is about 8,500. The population of today's Karakaj is almost 100% Serbian. Karakaj provided shelter for many refugees after the Bosnain civil war.Today karakaj and Zvornik have a very large natural growth,one of the largest in Srpska.
Karakaj is an industrial place. In the socialist period, there were many factories in the town, but after the Bosnian civil war, many of them were closed. Karakaj in the Yugoslav period was a workers' town. It had many companies. Some of them bankrupted, but many are now recovering from the war. Currently Karakaj has many strong companies. Some of them are: Birac, Vezionica, Gumara Fagum and many other. Despite the war Karakaj is a quite developed place. It has a railroad station, many roads and two shopping centers. Interex, a major shopping center in many cities all over Bosnia, is a very popular shopping center in Karakaj too. There is also a "Border crossing" in Karakaj. It connects Serbia and Republika Srpska. Alexandria, the chocolate, candy and biscuits industry company, also has business in Karakaj. These and many more companies make Karakaj one of the most developed places in Republika Srpska. Many citizens of the outskirts of Karakaj are farmers, and they have farms surrounding Karakaj. They usually grow maize and wheat. In the hills above Karakaj, people grow plums and apples. Trade is usual in Karakaj. There are shops everywhere. Hunting is also developed in Karakaj. People hunt rabbits and foxes, mostly for fun.
Karakaj has its own football club, FK Radnički Karakaj.
Karakaj's Technician School Center (TSC) is a local well-known school which has won prizes in many sport and educational events. It is planned that TSC will open a vocational school in the next few years. There is also a Faculty of Technology in Karakaj, which is a part of University of East Sarajevo. It's called a Tehnološki fakultet with a motto Count on us!
In this area you can find many Serbian Orthodox churches, beautiful bridges over the Drina River and the river itself (which is the great place for watersports) and the untouched nature. A Jeep racing is usual in the hills of Karakaj, and it attracts many tourists. Karakaj is still not tourist orientated, but development of this area is a local community's target for a next years.