where is bosnia located in the world map
Bosnia and Herzegovina (/ ˈbɒzniə ... ˌhɛərtsəɡoʊˈviːnə,-ˌhɜːrt-,-ɡə-/ (listen) or / ˌhɜːrtsəˈɡɒvɪnə /; abbreviated B&H Bosnian and Serbian: Bosna i Hercegovina (BiH) / Боснa и Херцеговина (БиХ), Croatian: Bosna i Hercegovina (BiH) pronounced (bôsna i xěrtseɡoʋina)), sometimes called Bosnia -- Herzegovina, and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located in the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an almost landlocked country -- it has a narrow coast at the Adriatic Sea, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) long surrounding the town of Neum. It is bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast. In the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland, Bosnia, is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip, Herzegovina, has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography. Bosnia and Herzegovina traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, having been first settled by the Slavic peoples that populate the area today from the 6th through to the 9th centuries. In the 12th century the Banate of Bosnia was established, which evolved into the Kingdom of Bosnia in the 14th century, after which it was annexed into the Ottoman Empire, under whose rule it remained from the mid-15th to the late 19th centuries. The Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, it was granted full republic status in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995.