The area of Vlasenica has been, by all known sources, permanently inhabited since prehistoric times. Among other things, there is also a necropolis of stone tombstones with mounds at the site „Sošari“ (today’s municipality of Milići), as well as numerous necropolises (71), tombs (1595, of which 65 were embossed and one with inscription), remains of the settlement of the old towns and medieval roads etc. Locations named „Crkvina“ are located in the villages of Vukšići and GornjiZalukovik. In Cikot, on the right bank of the Drinjačariver towards Vlasenica, on a small hill called „Rudište“, the traces of the mining settlement are visible, and not far from Varošište and Hanište there are the remains of the old settlements.At the time of Bosnian independence, the territory of today’s Vlasenica was part of the medieval parish „Birač“, about which the first written traces originate from 1244 and today are preserved in the Library of Dubrovnik. At that time, this region was mainly owned by the feudal families of Pavlović, Dinčić, Zlatnosović and Orlović, who had their fortifications and castles nearbyVlasenica. “Birač” came under the Ottoman Empire in the middle of the fifteenth century (1463), when the Vlasenica settlement was already established, but under the name Birač which will be retained until the end of the 18th century. There are several stories and explanations about the origin of the current name Vlasenica and these two are the most accpted ones:
– thesettlementgot its name by the specific blade of grass that grows in this and the other
– the name of Vlasenica was established by the first inhabitants of the area “Vlasima”.
In the period under the Ottoman, then Austro-Hungarian rule, the events of the World War I and the World War II, as well as the last war in BiH, Vlasenica was unfortunately an active participant in all major historical events, which in all the cases resulted in massive human and material destruction.
If we look at the urbanization of Vlasenica in the context of the urban development of the Middle Podrinje, then this process has been continuing since the Roman era all to the present day. According to historical sources and data, Roman road Ragusa – Sirmium passed through the territory of Vlasenica. In the Middle Ages, urbanization was based on the flourishing of the trade and cattle breeding in these areas, where there were two basic types of settlements: squares along the roads and suburbs next to feudal castles. Even under the Ottoman Empire, Vlasenica became the seat of “kadulik” in 1765. On the whole, these areas have a dense network of urban settlements that are not sufficiently developed and hierarchically stratified, which is a consequence of many years of stagnation or even decline, conditioned by strong political, economic and other movements. However, this type of settlement can be a good basis for stronger urban, social and economic activity in the future.