Blinja is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in central

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, in the Town of

Petrinja Petrinja () is a town in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banovina. It is administratively located in Sisak-Moslavina County. On December 29, 2020, the town was hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 , causing ...

Sisak-Moslavina County Sisak-Moslavina County ( hr, Sisačko-moslavačka županija) is a Croatian Counties of Croatia, county in eastern Central Croatia and southwestern Slavonia. It is named after the city of Sisak and the region Moslavina just across the river Sava. ...

. It is connected by the D30 highway.

History

Petar Keglević Petar Keglević II of Bužim (died in 1554 or 1555) was the ban of Croatia and Slavonia from 1537 to 1542. Career Keglević was captain from 1521 to 1522 and later ban of Jajce. In 1526, some months before the Battle of Mohács, he got the '' ...

obtained the medieval fortification in Blinja in the 16th century. In 1559

Ivan Lenković Ivan Lenković (died 22 June 1569) was a Habsburg Croatian army general and the leader of the Uskoks. He carried the title of baron. He is noted for the construction of Nehaj Fortress and as a captain of the Senj area.Bousfield (2003), p. 227. H ...

proposed destruction of the fortress so that it would not fall into Ottoman hands. In a report written by the commissioner of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, the fortress is described as the last one before the Ottoman-controlled lands, and that its walls were damaged and surrounded by water. During the wider Siege of Gvozdansko offensive in 1578, the fortress was under siege and damaged but was not conquered by the Ottomans. The fortress remained unconquered until the Ottoman retreat after the end of the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...

and the signing of the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...

. Since that time the fortification has been unused and has deteriorated over the years. The modern day ruins of the fortification are located in the forest-covered hill south-east of the village.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the village of Blinja had 78 inhabitants. This represents 37.14% of its pre-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

population according to the 1991 census. :

Religion

Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Elijah

The Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Elijah in Blinja was constructed in 1809 on the site of the earlier wooden church from 1780. The local Orthodox parish was established in 1777 while its public records books have been kept since 1770. The architectural style selected for the new church was a combination of

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

and

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. Permission for construction of the church was issued by the Zagreb General Command of the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and l ...

and it is therefore believed that the project itself was designed by some of Zagreb's architects.

Notable people

References

Populated places in Sisak-Moslavina County Serb communities in Croatia {{SisakMoslavina-geo-stub