Bosnia

Bosnia is the northern part of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a mountainous republic of south-central Europe; formerly part of the Ottoman Empire and then a part of Yugoslavia. The capital of Bosnia is Sarajevo. Bosnia voted for independence in 1990 but the mostly Serbian army of Yugoslavia refused to accept the vote and began ethnic cleansing in order to rid Bosnia of its Croats and Muslims (see Bosnian War).

In 1981, six children in the small Bosnian village of Medjugorje began to have apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The apparitions continue to this day though they have not yet been approved by the Vatican. As a result, Medjugorje has become a popular Marian pilgrimage site along with Fatima, Lourdes and Guadeloupe.

See also[edit]

• Yugoslavia