at the end of the 18th century, and in any case from the second half of the 19th century. Modrica was a nursery of schools in the rural area. From 1929 to 1939, Modriča was part of the Vrbas Banovina and from 1939 to 1941 of the Banovina of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The conditions improved in the second half of 20th century. because in 1947 railroad Šamac-Sarajevo passed through city, with a branch line Modrića-Gradačac built in 1951. Then some factories in the city were built: oil refinery, factories of paper and plastic boxes Pamo and Plastmo, flour mill, shoe factory "Vjekoslav Bakulić", color dissolver factory "Hemija" and small wood factory "8th September", together with a required town infrastructure (residential buildings, secondary school, sport hall),. The wheat and cattle farm "Dr. Mujbegović" (later Petar Mrkonjič) was also expanded. Volleyball team "Modriča" won the national championship of Yugoslavia in 1979. After the 1992–95 Bosnian War, prewar municipal borders were changed, villages of Jakeš, Pećnik and Modrički Lug were excluded from Modriča and included in the new Vukosavlje municipality, and a few villages from the western part of prewar Gradačac municipality were included, thus the size of the municipality changed substantially. Demographics Population Ethnic composition Economy The Modriča oil refinery, currently owned by Russian investors, is located in Modriča. The following table gives a preview of total number of registered employed people per their core activity (as of 2016): Religion There are 18 churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox church, five mosques and three Catholic churches in the municipality. Sports FK Modriča plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska The local volleyball club is Modriča Optima. Twin towns – sister cities Modriča is twinned with: Notable people Avdo Karabegović - Hasanbegov (1878–1909), poet Kristian Kreković (1901–1985), painter Nada Topčagić (b. 1953), singer Nikola Nikić (b. 1956), footballer Milan Jelić (1956–2007), former President of Republika Srpska Marta Savić (b. 1966), singer Jusuf Dajić (b. 1984), footballer Zdravko Kuzmanović (b. 1987), footballer Aleksandar Okolić (b. 1993), volleyball player Asim Sarvan (b. 1949), musician, S Vremena Na Vreme See also Municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina References External links Populated places in Modriča Municipalities of Republika Srpska Cities and towns in Republika Srpska