Jajce is a city and municipality located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. It is part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. It is on the crossroads between Banja Luka, Mrkonjić Grad and Donji Vakuf, on the confluence of the rivers Pliva and Vrbas. Jajce was first built in the 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Kingdom of Bosnia during its time. The town has gates as fortifications, as well as a castle with walls which lead to the various gates around the town. Skenderbeg Mihajlović besieged Jajce in 1501, but without success because he was defeated by Ivaniš Korvin assisted by Zrinski, Frankopan, Karlović and Cubor.[3] When the Bosnian kingdom fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Jajce was taken by the Ottomans but was retaken next year by Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. 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 previously Komotin but was moved after the Black Death. During this period, Queen Catherine restored the Saint Mary's Church in Jajce, today the oldest church in town. Eventually, in 1527, Jajce became the last Bosnian town to fall to Ottoman rule.[4] There are several churches and mosques built in different times during different rules, making Jajce a rather diverse town in this aspect. The Franciscan monastery of Saint Luke was completed in 1885. From 1929-41, Jajce was part of the Vrbas Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. On 29 November 1943, during the Second World War, Jajce hosted the second convention of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia, where Tito set up a provisional government and formally deprived the government in exile of its rights, the foundation for the post-war Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[citation needed] At the beginning of the Bosnian War, Jajce was inhabited by people from all ethnic groups, and was situated at a junction between areas of Serb majority to the north, Bosnian Muslim majority areas to the south-east and Croatian majority areas to the south-west.[citation needed]
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