Mila Gojsalić (also traditionally "''Mile Gojsalića''") (died 1530) is a
Croatian folk heroine.
According to tradition, her origins are from the village of in the
Dalmatian hinterland
The Dalmatian Hinterland ( hr, Dalmatinska zagora; it, La Morlacca or ) is the southern inland hinterland in the historical Croatian region of Dalmatia. The name ''zagora'' means "beyond (the) hills", which is a reference to the fact that it is t ...
, and she was a distant descendant of Croatian king
Gojslav.
[ ] She lived in time of
Ottoman wars in Croatia. In 1530, Ottoman Ahmed-pasha gathered an army of 10 000 men with a goal to conquer
Poljica. He made a camp in a place called Podgrac (modern ). Mila Gojsalić volunteered to sacrifice herself and lose her virginity to the Ahmed-pasha in order to be able to infiltrate the Turkish camp and blow up the munitions stockpile, killing Ahmed-pasha and numerous officers and soldiers. That act completely surprised and confused remaining Turkish soldiers who were then overrun by people of Poljica.
Ivan Meštrović
Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...
sculptured the statue of her, installed above the town of
Omiš
Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is w ...
, while
Jakov Gotovac
Jakov Gotovac (11 October 189516 October 1982) was a Croatian composer and conducting, conductor of classical music. His comic opera, ''Ero s onoga svijeta'' (''Ero the Joker''), Croatia's best-known opera, was first performed in Zagreb in 1935.
...
composed the opera to her honour.
August Šenoa
August Ivan Nepomuk Eduard Šenoa (; originally Schönoa; 14 November 1838 – 13 December 1881) was a Croatian novelist. Born to an ethnic German and Slovak family, Šenoa became a key figure in the development of an independent literary tradi ...
also wrote about her.
In her birthplace, every summer there is a cultural manifestation called ''The days of Mila Gojsalić''. Her house is still in the village and is completely renewed.
References
External links
Kulturno ljeto: DANI MILE GOJSALIĆ - Kostanje 2007.
1530 deaths
People from Omiš
Croatian folklore
16th-century Croatian people
Year of birth unknown
16th-century Christian martyrs
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