The city is known for Ironworks Zenica and the second heavy industry but also as a significant university center. According to the final results of population census in BiH , the settled place Zenica counts 70, citizens and the Zenica City , The urban part of the today city formed in several phases, including Neolithic, Illyrian, Roman Municipium Bistua Nuova 2nd—4th century; old name of the city with early Christian dual basilica.
Traces of an ancient settlement have been found here; villa rustica , thermae, temple, etc. Earliest findings in the place date from the period 3,—2, B. New, today's name of the city, was mentioned for the first time on 20 March Medieval church has been unearthed in Zenica, as well as Franciscan Monastery of St. During the Ottoman rule — , Zenica became a Muslim kasaba small town ; at the very end of the 17th century, Zenica had 2, citizens, mostly Muslims; Orthodox and Catholic Christians get mentioned again from the end of 18th century, and Jews in the 19th century.
Zenica has been mostly built in the Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslavian periods. Number of citizens has been rising rapidly during the 20th century, and from Bosnian War until city lost a quarter of its population. Municipality of Zenica became City of Zenica in The city is geographically located in the heart of Bosnia. Area of the settled place is The moderate continental climate prevails. The city has 13 urban local settlements and the City consists of total 81 spread rural settlements.
The city has nine national monuments. According to the orally transmitted tradition, city got its name after the pupil of the eye ekavian Serbo-Croatian : zenica — pupil. The legend about the name is connected with the most sad times of the medieval Bosnian state and Croat people on the Balkans ; fall of the Bosnia under Ottomans in Because of its location in the center of Zenica field, city associates to the eye pupil indeed.
Name of the city can also be derived from the word zenit , because the city is in the center zenith of the Bosnia and Herzegovina i. The urban part of the today's Zenica formed through several determined phases which chronologically include the time of Neolithic community, Illyrian 'gradina', Roman Municipium Bistua Nuova , the most important founding 2nd—4th century in which the monumental early Christian basilica is mostly present, besides which only one other is identified in the Europe.
