History

Pre-Roman and Roman Times

The history of the broader area dates back to ancient times. The first traces of life in this area are evident in prehistory - which is considered to be around 4000 B.C. In pre-Roman times and in Roman times, the Meze tribe lived in this area, which disappeared from the world stage in the 5th century, together with the Roman Empire. There is significant evidence of a Roman presence in the region over several centuries. The Serbs have been inhabiting this village since the 7th century. In that thirteen-century period, peoples' sufferings were very frequent.

The Middle Ages

Slavs have inhabited this village since the 7th century. It is not known when the name Gornji Jelovac was first mentioned. In our area, the rulers were from the Kotromanić family. There were 11 Stefan rulers (word Stefan = the one who was crowned), starting from Stefan Prijezda I Kotromanić (who ruled from 1290) all the way to Stefan Vukčić Kosača (who ruled until 1466), which is the period of 176 years. For a short period, this area, known in history as Donji Kraji, was under the rule of Tvrtko I (Stefan Tvrtko I Kotromanić - ban from 1367 to 1377, king from 1377 to 1391).

Turkish Administration

Gornji Jelovac fell under the Turkish rule after the end of Kotromanić's rule, and Banja Luka was the seat of the Sandžaks between 1554 and 1580. Turkish rule lasted from 1466 to 1878. The Christian Orthodox churches and monasteries around Banja Luka were built mainly in the 19th century, while the monasteries of Moštanica, Gomionica and Liplje were built many centuries earlier. During Turkish rule, the area was not modernized.

Austro-Hungarian Administration

From 1878 to 1918, the area fell under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The Austro-Hungarian occupation in 1878 led to economic progress. Mills, sawmills and infrastructure have been developed. In 1898 Christ Ascension Christian Orthodox church was built in Donji Jelovac. The period of 40 years of Austro-Hungarian rule is called the golden age in economic terms. In the First World War, more than 200 civilians were killed, while many local men (never found exact number) fought in the Serbian Army and 36 volunteers fought on the Thessaloniki Front in 1918; two were killed.

Kingdom of Serbs Croats Slovenes - Yugoslavia

From 1 December 1918 the area became an integral part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. A decade after the First World War, the village was part of the Vrbas Banovina - the province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The primary school was opened in Jelovac Donji in 1923. From the economy perspective the 23-year period of the Kingdom's rule is considered as the Bronze Age.

World War II

Serbs, Jews and Roma people were outlawed in the independent state of Croatia (ndH). Croatia was dedicated to the extermination of Serbs with its all resources, it did not guarantee them: job, movement, supplies, personal and civil rights, education, religious rights, property, ... or even their own lives. No one was found guilty of the murder of Serbs in the ndH, and nobody was charged or convicted for such murders. During WW II Ustasha Nazis (Croats and Muslims) slaughtered and otherwise killed 626 Serb civilians, including 267 children under the age of 15 (Marina Ljubičić Bogunović, "Ustaški pokolj nad Srbima u selima Veliko i Malo Palančište i Gornji Jelovac kod Prijedora 1942. godine", page 68). In this place, Croatian Ustashas killed 50 mothers with their children, including Radojka Mudrinić and her nine children; Milka Petrić with her eight children and Milica Knežević with her seven children. In the same period, 59 soldiers - members of the NOP (National Liberation Movement) were killed.

Gornji Jelovac is the only place where four mass graves from the WW II exist: Macurska krčevina (312 killed), Lakino kućište - Lazići (30 killed), Hajdučki izvor - Cvijetin tuk (27 killed) and Kneževića luka (13 killed). In the hamlet of Macure, a memorial ossuary was built in 1972, with the names of 221 murdered persons written on it. In the hamlet of Lazići (near Lakino kućište) there is a monument erected in 1985. In 1972, a monument with the names of the 109 killed was erected along the Dubica road in Kolarova Luka (author Vojislav Dragosavac). On the Patrija Hill, there is a monument to the Breakthrough of the Nazi-Ustasha ring on the 3/4 July 1942 - built in 1967, and renovated in 2009 (author Dragan Radaković). In 1959, a monument to fallen fighters of the National Liberation Movement (with 38 names) was erected along the Dubica road near Došen. In the same year, a memorial plaque was erected to the murdered residents of Jelovac Gornji - it is located on the building of the former regional elementary school. On the bridge near Bokani, over the Mlječanica river, a memorial plaque was placed in 1981 - marking the place where the Kozara fighters crossed from Kozara towards Patrija in July 1942. In this village, 34 households were completely extinguished - not a single family member managed to escape the slaughter and the Jasenovac factory of death - where "Ustashas used 57 methods of humiliation, murder and torture to death" (Prof. Dr. Gideon Greif, "Jasenovac - Auschwitz of the Balkans", page 264 & 265). NDH villains killed civilians - unarmed people with axes, sledgehammers and knives, on doorsteps, in orchards, groves, wherever they reached someone.

Mr Spasoja Aleksić, at the age of 82 (in 2010), concluded that the perpetrators of the massacre in Jelovac and the entire Potkozarje were NDH Ustashas. There were 68 % Croats from Herzegovina (Široki Brijeg = Lištica, Livno and Duvno), 10 % Croats from Croatia, and 22 % Muslims from BiH.

DF / FPR / SFR Yugoslavia

According to economic parameters, the period from 1945 to 1991 is considered as the Silver Age. On 26. and 27. October 1969 two devastating earthquakes (6.0 and 6.4 on the Richter scale) damaged many buildings in Banja Luka and its surroundings, including Gornji Jelovac. It was a time when large numbers of residents moved (mostly permanently) to rather remote places in Germany, Austria, France, and Australia.

Republika Srpska in the 1991-1995 Civil War

Most of the young men - 118 of them - joined the Republika Srpska Army. This bloody and brutal war took 20 lives. Throughout the newly created entity, on 9 January 1992 (St. Stefan), Gornji Jelovac found itself in a whirlwind of change, which the people find quite difficult to accept. A monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army was erected near the elementary school in 2001.

Life in the Dayton Republika Srpska

A significant number of residents have moved to work in Slovenia, Germany, Austria and the USA in the last two decades. There is no populatuin growth, so the demographic picture is constantly worsening.

Churches in the Neighborhood

• Church of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Jelovac Donji
• Church of Our Holy Mother Paraskeva in Mlječanica
• Church of the Protecting Veil of the Most Holy Mother of God Knežica

Service Activities
 

• Ribnjak - restaurant Zavišić on the Jelovačka River
• Ribnjak - restaurant Radukić on the Mlječanica River
• Car Seller Asha Auto on the Road М-15

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