Banja Luka in Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire

Immediately after the conquest of Banja Luka in 1527, Ottomans started to build city even further
into formidable military fortress, projected as one of crucial points for further expansion of the
Empire towards northwest. When the Bosnia Eyalet was established in 1580 Banja Luka became the
seat of huge Ottoman administrative region. Viziers or beylerbeys were seated in Banja Luka until
1639. Ferhad Pasha Sokolović, who was a member of the powerful Serbian Sokolović family, to
which also belonged the Grand Vizier Mehmed-Pasha Sokolović and Archbishop Makarije Sokolović,
was main builder at the space of Banja Luka. After 1574 he has ordered the building of mosques,
baths, warehouses and artisan shops. Among others he was responsible for commissions of the
Ferhadija and Arnaudija mosques. Buildings from those times further stimulated the economic
development of Banja Luka, and turned the city into one of the leading commercial and political
centres in whole Eyalet.

Still, the military role was further of crucial importance. Ottoman Empire struggled in the attempts to
continue expansion towards northwest in 17th century. Therefore, Habsburg armies were in position
to make deep impacts into the territories around Banja Luka in several occasions. The Austrians
under Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden briefly conquered Banja Luka on September 4,
1688. The most famous battle of Banja Luka took place on 4 August 1737, during the Austro-Russian-
Turkish War. An Austrian army, led by Prince Joseph Hildberghausen was defeated, as it attempted
to besiege the town, when it ran into a large Ottoman relief force led by Bosnian Vizier Hekimoğlu Ali
Pasha.

Orthodox churches and monasteries near Banja Luka were built through the centuries. In this frame
19th century was especially important for migration of Sephardic Jews and Trappists to the city. This
migration further contributed to the early industrialisation of the region by building of mills,
breweries and other important structures. The Trappist monastery built in 1869, has left a large
legacy in the area through its Trappist cheese and its beer production. The complex was completed
by a hydroelectric plant, a mill, a textile factory, a printing workshop, a brickyard and a bakery.

Despite its leading position in the region, Banja Luka as a city was not modernised until Austro-
Hungarian occupation in 1878. Railroads, schools, factories, and infrastructure appeared, and were
developed, which turned Banja Luka into a modern city. The water supply, sewage system and
electric lighting were improved. A railway line linked the city to Vienna and Budapest. The former
main train station in the city centre was built in 1891 during the Austro-Hungarian rule. Today this
building houses the Museum of Contemporary Art. The synagogue was built in 1884. The first official
census took place on April 22, 1895 and the city then had 13,566 inhabitants.

At the start of the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian authorities arrested all prominent Serbian
figures in the town of Banja Luka, charging them with treason. They were released only thanks to the
intervention of the King of Spain Alphonso XIII and through his mother Marie-Christine of Austria,
who supported his request with the court of Vienna; even today, a street in the centre of the city
bears the name of this sovereign. Banja Luka was finally liberated by the Serbian army on November
21, 1918.

After World War I, the town became the capital of the Vrbas Banovina, a province of the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia.