Mrkopalj () is a village and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the mountainous part of

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 region of Gorski Kotar, located south-east of Delnice and some 50 km east of

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

and 831 meters above sea level. In 2011 the municipality had 1,214 inhabitants, the majority of whom are

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

Industry

Mrkopalj was once a relatively important trading town in the Gorski Kotar highlands where timber and sheep are the main resources. Mountain snow sports are popular.

Coat of arms

Emperor Joseph II granted the Coat of Arms and the status of a free royal market town in 1785. The grant of arms is similar in style with others granted in the period, including the aquarel picture of the Coat of Arms within a ring containing the inscription (thus making it a seal) and set in a baroque scene with mountains, angel broquate covers, coats of arms of selected Habsburg lands. The shield is party

per fess In heraldry, the field (heraldry), field (background) of a escutcheon (heraldry), shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tincture (heraldry), tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinary (heral ...

chief

per pale In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a ...

: first

chequy In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field. Blazoning of French adjectives Variations of the field pres ...

gules and argent, second or a lamb passant below a fir tree vert trunked proper issuant from a base also vert, and third azure five cliff spikes argent. The modern community adopted (around 1995) the same coat of arms in a modernized artistic rendition as required by regulations. The decision on adoption of the coat of arms for Mrkopalj and the flag was adopted on 12 March 1998 and this was issued in the official gazette in May 1998: ''Odluka o grbu i zastavi Opcine Mrkopalj, 12.03.1998, Službene novine Primorsko-goranske županije, br. 11/98, 29. svibnja 1998.'' The flag is dark blue with the coat of arms bordered yellow in the middle.

Notable residents

Jakov Fak Jakov Fak (born 1 August 1987) is a Croatian biathlete competing for Slovenia since 2010. As a member of the Croatian biathlon team, Fak won bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and at the 2010 Winter Olympics, where he was also the C ...

, Olympic biathlete *

Nada Birko Nada Birko (2 January 1931 – 1 September 2020) was a Croatian cross-country skier who competed for Yugoslavia during the 1950s. She finished 14th in the 10 km event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. She was born in Mrkopalj, and died in ...

, Olympic cross-country skier

In popular culture

American author Jennifer Wilson's 2011 non-fiction book, ''Running Away to Home: Our Family's Journey to Croatia in Search of Who We Are, Where We Came From, and What Really Matters'', takes place in Mrkopalj. She and her husband and two children spent seven months in the village, to reconnect to her immigrant maternal grandparents' relatives and culture.

References

External links

{{authority control Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County