| Native Name: | Bosnian: Кључ |
| Official Name: | Ključ |
| Settlement Type: | Town and municipality |
| Etymology: | Ključ is the Bosnian word for "key" |
| Pushpin Map: | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Entity |
| Subdivision Name1: | Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Subdivision Type2: | Canton |
| Subdivision Type3: | Geographical region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Bosanska Krajina |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Leader Title: | Municipality president |
| Leader Name: | Nedžad Zukanović (SDP BiH) |
| Area Total Km2: | 358 |
| Population Total: | 18714 |
| Population As Of: | 2013 census |
| Population Density Km2: | 52 |
| Coordinates: | 44.5333°N 62°W |
| Area Code: | +3873766XXXX |
Ključ (Serbian: Кључ, pronounced as /kʎûːtʃ/) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name of the town and the municipality translates to "Key" in English.
It is located a short distance south from Sanski Most. The Sana River runs through the municipality. The terrain is heavily forested.
Human settlements have existed in the area long before the Roman Era. The town itself is first mentioned in 1322 in the documents of ban Stjepan II Kotromanić. It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1463 as the last Royal Bosnian fortress.
Ključ fortress was first mentioned in 1322. In 1463, during the Ottoman invasion of Bosnia, the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević, took refuge in the city. His surrender and execution marked the downfall of the medieval Bosnian state.
The Charter from 1323 states that Vukoslav is the son of duke Hrvatin, and from this we conclude that the main stronghold of the lords of the Donji Kraji was in the town of Ključ, the center of the parish Banica. In one of his writings, the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi mentions Ključ as being located in Donji Kraji and on the Sana river.[1]
From 1929 to 1941, Ključ was part of the Vrbas Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
As an area with a slight Serb majority, at the start of the war in Bosnia (1992–1995), the Ključ area was held by Bosnian Serb forces. In the summer of 1995, the Bosnian governmental forces took control over it. Most of the pre-war Serb population fled after the Dayton Peace Agreement, the town belongs to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, it is estimated that about 97% of the population of Ključ are Bosniaks.
In 1991, the municipality of Ključ contained 61 settlements:
As a result of the war, the villages of Busije, Crkveno, Čađavica, Donja Previja, Donja Slatina, Donji Ribnik, Donji Vrbljani, Dragoraj, Gornja Previja, Gornja Slatina, Gornje Sokolovo, Gornji Ribnik, Gornji Vrbljani, Rastoka, Sitnica, Sredice, Stražice, Treskavac, Velijašnica, Velije et Zableće, as well as parts of Donje Ratkovo, Donje Sokolovo, Dubočani, Gornje Ratkovo, Jarice, Ljubine et Velečevo became a part of Ribnik municipality, Republika Srpska.
Today the municipality of Ključ has 40 settlements:
| Population of settlements – Ključ municipality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement | 1971. | 1981. | 1991. | 2013. | ||
| Total | 39,966 | 40,008 | 37,391 | 16,744 | ||
| 1 | Biljani Donji | 1,552 | 1,171 | |||
| 2 | Crljeni | 553 | 307 | |||
| 3 | Donji Vojići | 314 | 233 | |||
| 4 | Dubočani | 306 | 226 | |||
| 5 | Gornji Ramići | 647 | 382 | |||
| 6 | Hadžići | 1,553 | 1,129 | |||
| 7 | Hasići | 431 | 234 | |||
| 8 | Hripavci | 712 | 531 | |||
| 9 | Humići | 1,005 | 742 | |||
| 10 | Kamičak | 1,005 | 902 | |||
| 11 | Ključ | 3,426 | 4,948 | 7,869 | 5,409 | |
| 12 | Krasulje | 1,821 | 1,731 | |||
| 13 | Sanica | 2,241 | 1,337 | |||
| 14 | Sanica Donja | 716 | 627 | |||
| 15 | Velagići | 676 | 465 | |||
| 16 | Velečevo | 525 | 409 | |||
| 17 | Zgon | 690 | 635 | |||
| Ethnic composition – Ključ town | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013. | 1991. | 1981. | 1971. | ||||
| Total | 5,409 (100,0%) | 7,869 (100,0%) | 4,948 (100,0%) | 3,426 (100,0%) | |||
| Serbs | 4,107 (52,19%) | 2,097 (42,38%) | 1,387 (40,48%) | ||||
| Bosniaks | 3,036 (38,58%) | 1,629 (32,92%) | 1,709 (49,88%) | ||||
| Yugoslavs | 419 (5,325%) | 980 (19,81%) | 69 (2,014%) | ||||
| Croats | 181 (2,300%) | 169 (3,416%) | 214 (6,246%) | ||||
| Others | 126 (1,601%) | 15 (0,303%) | 21 (0,613%) | ||||
| Montenegrins | 30 (0,606%) | 14 (0,409%) | |||||
| Albanians | 22 (0,445%) | 7 (0,204%) | |||||
| Slovenes | 3 (0,061%) | 4 (0,117%) | |||||
| Hungarians | 2 (0,040%) | ||||||
| Macedonians | 1 (0,020%) | 1 (0,029%) | |||||
| Ethnic composition – Ključ municipality | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013. | 1991. | 1981. | 1971. | ||||
| Total | 16,744 (100,0%) | 37,391 (100,0%) | 40,008 (100,0%) | 39,966 (100,0%) | |||
| Bosniaks | 16,130 (96,33%) | 17,696 (47,33%) | 16,596 (41,48%) | 15,226 (38,10%) | |||
| Others | 311 (1,857%) | 280 (0,749%) | 167 (0,417%) | 123 (0,308%) | |||
| Serbs | 273 (1,630%) | 18,506 (49,49%) | 20,771 (51,92%) | 23,892 (59,78%) | |||
| Croats | 30 (0,179%) | 330 (0,883%) | 380 (0,950%) | 534 (1,336%) | |||
| Yugoslavs | 579 (1,549%) | 2,016 (5,039%) | 131 (0,328%) | ||||
| Montenegrins | 40 (0,100%) | 29 (0,073%) | |||||
| Albanians | 26 (0,065%) | 18 (0,045%) | |||||
| Slovenes | 6 (0,015%) | 5 (0,013%) | |||||
| Macedonians | 4 (0,010%) | 6 (0,015%) | |||||
| Hungarians | 2 (0,005%) | 2 (0,005%) | |||||
The area is connected to other parts of Bosnia by the M-5 highway. Forestry, light industry and tourism are major components of the economy.