Vrela, Teslić

Vrela (Serbian Cyrillic: Врела) is a small village in Teslić municipality, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Vrela
village
Coordinates: 44.635°N 17.868333°E / 44.635; 17.868333
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Republic of Srpska
Municipality	Teslić

It is bordered by the river Usora to the north and hills to the south, the Škrebin Kamen hill (literally: Škreba's Rock) to the west and the Kalošević village to the east. It is the first settlement of the Teslić municipality encountered when approaching from Doboj.

Population

The population numbers less than 200, all of Serb ethnicity, and 97% of Orthodox Christian religion.

History

Today, Verla is an individual local community within the municipality. Previously, it was an insignificant part of neighbouring local communities such as Žarkovina and Stenjak within Teslić municipality, or Kalošević within Tešanj municipality. Until 1968 it had a railway station.

Bosnian War

During the war in Bosnia, the village was an important border crossing between the then warring Republic of Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where numerous exchanges of POWs, civilians, and casualties were conducted. The area around the Inter-Entity Boundary Line was heavily seeded with land mines and some parts are still considered dangerous.

Panorama of Vrela