The Healing Waters of Srebrenica in the Function of the Development of Tourism, Agriculture and Economy

Abstract

Srebrenica, this small town in the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been described for centuries as a picturesque place, rich in healing waters, ores, and diverse cultural heritage. Today, Srebrenica is a symbol of suffering and suffering, but also of missed opportunities for the renewal of life and economy in this area. In the work we present, we deal with potentials that can renew life in the Srebrenica area. Thanks to its unique and very abundant natural resources, Srebrenica has been inhabited since ancient times, presumably since the Illyrians. Guber mineral water was used as a medicine for the treatment of skin diseases even before the arrival of the Romans in this area. The first written traces of mineral springs near Srebrenica were made by the Turkish travel writer Evlija Čelebija in the 17th century, traveling through BiH, and the Austro-Hungarians bottled the mineral water of the Spa "Guber" and sold it throughout the monarchy ("Guber-voda"). Mineral water has been bottled and exported since 1887. In 1886, the first scientific research of mineral springs was carried out in the area of the municipality of Srebrenica, when Viennese researchers recorded the existence of 48 mineral springs. Special attention of the Austro-Hungarian researcher prof. Dr. Ernes Ludwig was attracted by water from the source of the Velikog or Crni Guber, whose analysis was an excellent combination of minerals for the treatment of anemia. In 1956, the Federal Ministry of Health of the SFRY and the Federal Institute of Medicines Commissions from Belgrade declared Crni Guber water a medicine. Thus, Crni Guber water is the only water that has been declared a medicine in the former Yugoslavia. In the pre-war period, the total annual income of Banja Guber ranged from 1,200,000 to 1,500,000 US dollars. The company operated successfully until the last war in which, due to the war, there was a complete or partial destruction of certain facilities. The aim of this paper is to determine the potential impact of Srebrenica medicinal water resources on the development of tourism, agriculture and economy. Development of health tourism, increase of accommodation capacities, integration of agricultural producers and other activities enables rural development. By increasing the number of newly employed workers, household budgets, but also the overall economic development of Srebrenica, water could renew life in this area again.