Jajce

Jajce (Serbian Cyrillic: Јајце) is a town and municipality in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with 27,258 inhabitants in the municipality, It is situated in the region of Bosanska Krajina, on the crossroads between Banja Luka, Mrkonjić Grad, and Donji Vakuf, and on the confluence of the rivers Pliva and Vrbas.

Jajce Mithraeum is a temple dedicated to the God of the Sun, Mithra. The god was worshiped and the cult spread to other parts of the Roman Empire throughout the Mediterranean basin by slaves and merchants from the Orient, and by Roman soldiers who came into contact with the followers of the cult in the East. The temple is dated to the 2nd century AD and was renovated sometime during the 4th century AD. This particular Mithraeum is renowned as one of the best preserved in Europe. It was discovered accidentally during the construction of a private house. The temple is protected by glass walls so that visitors can see inside even without entering the facility. However, for entry and a closer look, visitors need to give notice of their visit in advance by contacting the Ethnological Museum of Jajce.

The Jajce Mithraeum has been declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, at the height of his power, founded the town of Jajce, and built a fortress on the site of an earlier fort. It is assumed that one of the locations of his death could be Jajce, where he built his tomb, known as the Catacombs of Jajce. However, another location of his burial is possibly believed to be Zgošća near Kakanj, where the Zgošća Stećak, a burial megalith, had been found.

Jajce was first built in the 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Kingdom of Bosnia during its time. The first references to the name of Jajce in written sources is from the year 1396, but the fortress already existed before this. The town has gates as fortifications, as well as a castle with walls which lead to the various gates around the town. About 10–20 kilometres from Jajce lies the Komotin Castle and town area which is older but smaller than Jajce. It is believed the town of Jajce was established after Komotin was struck by the Black Death.^{[citation needed]}

Jajce was the final residence of the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević where he received the royal crown from Pope Pius II as "by grace of God, the King of Serbs, Bosnia, Littoral, Hum, Dalmatia, Croats, etc.". The king was slain in the town after the Ottoman conquests.

The Ottomans besieged the town and executed Tomašević in 1463, but held it only for six months. What was left of the Kingdom of Bosnia was annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary, who looked to seize the opportunity to hinder the Ottoman expansion in the Balkans. With the Bosnian King's death, an opportunity arose for the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus to try and capture Bosnia before the Ottomans, which consequentially lead to the Siege of Jajce and suppression of the Ottoman forces' advancement. This derailed Ottoman plans for nearly half a century.

Later in the year 1463, king Matthias Corvinus established the Banate of Jajce [hr].