Plaški ( sr-Cyrl, Плашки) is a village and a municipality in

Karlovac County Karlovac County ( hr, Karlovačka županija) is a county in central Croatia, with the administrative center in Karlovac. The city of Karlovac is a fort from the times of the Military Frontier. It was built as a six-side star fort in the 16th cen ...

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 ...

. It is part of

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

Geography

Plaški is situated in the lower part of the

Ogulin-Plaški valley Ogulin-Plaški valley ( hr, Ogulinsko-plaščanska udolina) is a valley in the mountainous part of central Croatia, named after the towns of Ogulin and Plaški. It is located at an elevation of 300 to 380 meters above sea level, surrounded by the D ...

. Together with Gorski kotar and

, the Ogulin-Plaški valley forms

Mountainous Croatia Croatia proper ( hr, Hrvatska) is one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Croatia, together with Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia. It is located between Slavonia in the east, the Adriatic Sea in the west, and Dalmatia to the south ...

. The town of Plaški is situated 28 km south from

Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in north-western Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the ...

and shares borders with municipalities of Ogulin,

Josipdol Josipdol is a village and municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is part of Lika region. Geography Josipdol is situated in the Ogulin-Plaški valley which together with Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bou ...

and

Saborsko Saborsko is a village and municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. The municipality is part of the Lika region. Geography It is country-side mountain resort, situated in a curved, long and narrow valley. The altitude of the place is 630–900 ...

Municipality

The municipality consists of several settlements: *

Janja Gora Janja Gora is a village in the municipality of Plaški, in the Lika region of Croatia. It is located 9 km northeast of the municipal seat at Plaški. It was historically known as Tuk. Prior to the administrative reorganization of SR Croatia, it ...

, population 112 * Jezero, population 77 *

Kunić Kunić ( sr-Cyrl, Кунић) is a settlement in the municipality of Plaški, in the Lika region of Croatia. It is located 6.5 km northwest of the municipal seat at Plaški. Prior to the administrative reorganization of SR Croatia, it was p ...

, population 32 * Lapat, population 215 *

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, population 196 * Međeđak, population 100 * Plaški, population 1,281 * Pothum Plaščanski, population 77

History

In year 33 B.C. the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, led by the future Emperor Octavian Augustus, won the battle against an

Illyrian tribe This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks ...

, the

Japods The Iapydes (or Iapodes, Japodes; el, Ἰάποδες) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between the ...

, in the area east of Plaški.

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denomi ...

have been found in Plaški which proves that this region was inhabited in Roman times. The name Plaški was first mentioned in 1163 in documents of the

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

diocese of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The second mention dates from 1185 and relates to the establishment of new

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš an present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as th ...

diocese, which the parish of Plaški became a part of. Plaški county (''Comitatus Plazy'') was a separate administrative region until 1193, when it became part of

Modruš Modruš is a village, former bishopric and current Latin Catholic titular see in the mountainous part of Croatia, located south of its municipality's seat Josipdol (Karlovac County), on the easternmost slopes of Velika Kapela mountain, in northe ...

county and came to be owned by the

Frankopan family The House of Frankopan ( hr, Frankopani, Frankapani, it, Frangipani, hu, Frangepán, la, Frangepanus, Francopanus), was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croati ...

. In the name of Frankopans Plaški was governed by the Zebić family of nobles, who were their loyal vassals (even today a part of Plaški is called Zebići). In 1492 just before the

Battle of Krbava The Battle of Krbava Field ( hr, Bitka na Krbavskom polju, Krbavska bitka; hu, Korbávmezei csata; tr, Krbava Muharebesi) was fought between the Ottoman Empire of Bayezid II and an army of the Kingdom of Croatia, at the time in personal un ...

Plaški was raided by the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

led by Jakub-Paša and Plaški was abandoned. In a document of

Bernardin Frankopan Bernardin Frankopan (1453–1529) was a Croatian nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with ma ...

from 1500 Plaški is described as defense fort against the Turks. Another document from 1550 confirms Plaški's status as defense fort and also mentions it as one of four centres in 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 ...

of the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. By decision of the Military Council in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

were allowed to resettle the area. The Serbs came in three waves: 1609, 1639 and 1666. Together with

Tounj Tounj is a village and a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. In the 2011 census, the total population was 1,150, in the following settlements: * Gerovo Tounjsko, population 55 * Kamenica Skradnička, population 266 * Potok Tounjski, popul ...

, Plaški was centre of a military company that was part of

's regiment. The

Eparchy of Upper Karlovac The Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac ( sr-Cyrl, Епархија горњокарловачка, hr, Eparhija gornjokarlovačka; "Eparchy of Upper Karlovac") is an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church seated in the city of Karlovac, Croatia. It cover ...

of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

was founded in 1711 and had its first seat in

Gomirje monastery Gomirje Monastery ( sr, Манастир Гомирје, Manastir Gomirje) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Croatia. It is the westernmost Serb Orthodox monastery, located in the western part of Croatia near the village of Gomirje, near the town ...

and from 1721 to 1941 the seat was in Plaški. The Orthodox Cathedral was built from 1756 to 1763.

Demographics

Before the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

, Plaški was a municipality with a majority of

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

population. In the census of 2001, the town of Plaški had 1,468 with total municipality population of 2,292, of which 48.4% were

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 ...

, and 46.1%

. Much of the Croat population is made up of those forced to leave Bosnia replacing Serbs who, in 1995, fled during the war

Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state R ...

. The Serbs constituted 46% and Croats constituted 51% of the population in the 2011 census.

People

Omar Pasha Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas ( tr, Ömer Lütfi Paşa, sr, Омер-паша Латас, Omer-paša Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in Austrian territory to Serbian Or ...

(born Mihajlo Latas, 1806–1871), Ottoman general and governor * Peter Kokotowitsch (8 October 1890 – 12 July 1968) Wrestler – competed as a middleweight at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Geography

Municipality

History

Demographics

People

References

Further reading