20 Interesting Facts about BiH that Everyone should know

Slavorum.org made a list of 20 interesting facts that, maybe, strangers do not know about our country. Many have already heard about BiH. If nothing else, then in the context of the ex-Yugoslav wars.

BiH, like its other neighboring Balkan countries, is rich in culture, history, and, most importantly, extraordinary landscape.

If you want a truly untouched nature, BiH is definitely the place to visit.

Here are some of the interesting and fun facts about BiH:

1. 1. Sarajevo, the capital city of BiH, hosted the Winter Olympic Games back in 1984
2. The nickname of BiH is “heart-shaped country”, because of its shape that reminds of a heart
3. The name Bosnia comes from the Indo-European word “Bosana”, which means water
4. BiH consists of two entities, the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska
5. The currency of BiH is Bosnian Mark (BAM)
6. In 2010, the Lonely Planets nominated Sarajevo in the category “Best in Travel” as one of the top ten cities to visit that year
7. Established in 1995 during the war in BiH, the Sarajevo Film Festival became the largest and most famous film festival in the Balkans and the area of the Southeast Europe
8. BiH was the World Champion in the Volleyball Paralympics in 2004. Many team members lost their limbs in the war
9. BiH has the 10^th largest coffee consumption per capita in the world
10. Danis Tanovic won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film “Nicija Zemlja (No Man’s Land) in 2002
11. Medjugorje is located in the mountains near the city of Mostar. This small town is very popular among Catholic pilgrims since the year of 1981
12. The first regularly used tram in Europe was the one in Sarajevo, and it started operating in 1885
13. BiH is somewhat smaller than the state of West Virginia
14. The Ottomans executed the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomasevic in Jajce and then started the transformation of Bosnian Christians into Muslims. It became a real phenomenon in the history of Europe
15. There are 3.8 million people in BiH
16. Life expectancy in BiH is 75 years
17. There are three official languages that are, essentially, the same
18. BiH has the last remaining rainforest in Europe, and its name is Perucica
19. BiH might also have a pyramid
20. National symbol of the country: Golden Lily

(Source: reporter24)