Kreka is a settlement near Tuzla that emerged only at the end of the 19th century with the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the development of mining and industry in this area rich in coal and salt. The first quantities of coal were mined from the Kreka Mine on September 22, 1884, for the needs of the then Saltworks in Simin Han, between the then Upper and Lower Tuzla. Two years later, the narrow-gauge railway Doboj - Simin Han was built, and along the railway and new roads, a settlement with elements of an urban settlement quickly grew up. Kreka soon had its own post office, postmark, railway station, ambulance, water supply, lighting, community center (‘Casino’), sports fields and other features of an urban settlement. In 1897, the first elementary school was built in Kreka. With the development of mining and industry, numerous skilled workers from other parts of Austria-Hungary moved to Kreka. Along with the expansion of the coal mine and the construction of facilities for the needs of the mining administration, Austria-Hungary built the first workers' colony in Kreka in 1894 with about 70 houses. These houses had two, and sometimes three small apartments, and they constituted a mining colony in which mainly immigrant skilled workers lived. The small one-story houses were built in four regular rows, which is why they became known as 'Columns'. Each house had a garden of approximately the same size. 'Columns' was a beautiful and well-maintained settlement for many years. In the center of this mining settlement was the Workers' Home. At that time, members of as many as 27 ethnic groups lived in Kreka, and it was and remains a symbol of solidarity and human tolerance. Today's 'Lower Columns' (Ulica Mitra Trifunovića Uče) and 'Gornje Columns' (Ulica Husinskih rudara), as well as the entire Kreka, have almost completely changed their appearance. Few would say that Kreka is more beautiful now.
In the photograph of the Saltworks in Kreka from the end of the 19th century, the then newly built Workers' (Mining) Colony can be seen in the background.
Translated by Google •
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