Gradačac is a small town in the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the Tuzla Canton about 40 km south of the Sava river. Near Gradačac lie the towns Bosanski Šamac and Modriča.

History

The župa of Gradačac was first mentioned in 1302, while the town's first written mention dates from 1465 (also as Gračac). The town became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1512, its nahiya (municipality) was first recorded in the defter of 1533, while its kadiluk (county) was recorded in 1634.

In 1701 the settlement was given the status of a palanka (city), and it became the headquarters of a military captaincy in 1710. The captains of the Gradaščević family led the development of the city, and the most famous of them, Husein-kapetan Gradaščević or Zmaj od Bosne ("Dragon of Bosnia"), led an uprising that raised to arms all of Bosnian captains in 1830.

The town has a fort with 18-meter high walls built between 1765 and 1821, and a 22-meter high watchtower, built in 1824.

It was severely bombed during the Bosnian war 1992-1995. It is located at the narrow northern corridor that connects two major portions of the Bosnian Serb entity Republika Srpska, near Brčko. Gradačac became part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war.