Even though Prijedor is a town settlement of modern times, its close environment had been in fact inhabited prehistorically at the Island of Svinjarica separated from the land by a branch of River Sana – Berek. At the vast area of municipality there have been many discoveries of old Roman and Medieval settlements.   

In the surrounding area of Ljubija settlement there have been many discoveries of Roman monuments that evidence old time settlements and production of iron – data exist proving that iron mine from Prijedor excavation sites, transformed and forged, had been used for forging arms of Roman legionnaires. In history books Prijedor had been mentioned for the first time at the end of 17th century, in the letters of Count Adam Becani during so-called Vienna War (1683-1699) – as a land fortress.  

It is believed that the city got its name from the word “pridor” or “prodor” (break through). According to popular traditional belief, River Sana had used to flow more to the South, under the hills and as time had passed the River Sana had changed its course and had “broke through” into the valley, to the North, hence that area had been named Pridor or Prodor. Soon after Prijedor had become a significant commercial-merchandise centre owing to the Roman roads and flow ability of Sana, and to a railway road in Bosnia and Herzegovina that had been built in 1873.

Epidemics of plague and cholera had not evaded Prijedor thus at the beginning of 20th century the city had been burnt in a huge fire, and in 1901  the Austro-Hungarian authorities had made the first urbanism planning project, and Prijedor thereon was started to be built as a contemporary settlement. Many insurgences, conflicts, and wars and bloodsheds - that people of Potkozarje had faced through times - have regrettably become a part of the newest history as well.