Obrovac (; it, Obrovazzo) is a town located in northern

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, in the

Zadar County Zadar County ( hr, Zadarska županija ) is a county in Croatia, it encompasses northern Dalmatia and southeastern Lika. Its seat is the city of Zadar. Geography Among the largest towns in the county of Zadar are: Zadar, Benkovac, Bibinje, Bi ...

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 ...

. The Obrovac municipality has a total population of 4,323 people. The town is located in the canyon of the river

Zrmanja Zrmanja (, it, Zermagna) is a river in southern Lika and northern Dalmatia, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of . It was known to the ancient Romans as ''Tedanius''. The spring of Zrmanja is located in southern part of Lika unde ...

Geography

Obrovac is a town on the Zrmanja River some 11 km from the mouth of the river of the Novigrad sea. Above the town are the

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of a fortified city. Its tributary Krupa attracts numerous day-trippers, and in recent times, rafting, canoe, and kayak lovers. Not far from the town of Krupa is a monastery with a valuable icon collection. About north-west of the town, along the road heading up to the mountains, lies a huge deserted industrial complex, an alumina plant built in the 1970s. South of the town there is extraordinary Bijela River

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

with a lot of

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s and small

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

s and pools.

History

Obrovac first got its name in 1337. In 1527 Obrovac was taken over by the Ottoman Turks. In October 1683, the population of

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia ( la, Dalmatia Veneta) refers to parts of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated f ...

, principally Uskoks of Ravni kotari, took arms and together with the

rayah A raiyah or reaya (from , a plural of "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing, subjects, nationals, flock", also spelled ''raiya'', ''raja'', ''raiah'', ''re'aya''; Ottoman Turkish رعايا ; Modern Turkish râiya or reaya; related to the Arabi ...

(lower class) of the Ottoman frontier regions rose up, taking

Skradin Skradin ( it, Scardona; grc, Σκάρδων) is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, with a population of 3,825 (2011 census). It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and ...

, Karin, Vrana,

Benkovac Benkovac () is a town in the interior of Zadar County, Croatia. Geography Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30 km from Zadar. The ...

and Obrovac. In 1687, Stojan Janković, a Morlach leader, forced the Ottomans out of Obrovac. In 2008, Obrovac unveiled a restored riviera, which was the biggest financial investment in the city since Croatian independence. In 2009, a mass grave from World War II was found in the area.

Demographics

The total population is 4,323, distributed in the following settlements: * Bilišane, population 176 * Bogatnik, population 131 * Golubić, population 132 * Gornji Karin, population 1,125 * Kaštel Žegarski, population 135 * Komazeci, population 42 * Krupa, population 127 *

Kruševo Kruševo ( mk, Крушево ; rup, Crushuva "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an alti ...

, population 1,112 * Muškovci, population 100 * Nadvoda, population 170 * Obrovac, population 996 * Zelengrad, population 77 The municipality's population peaked at 13,498 in the 1971 census. In the 1970s and 1980s, due to a low living standard in the area, Obrovac was significantly affected by emigration. According to the 1991 census, shortly before the start of 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 ...

, 65.5% of population declared as ethnic

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 ...

. During Operation Storm, a large portion of the town population evacuated the area before the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...

entered the town on 5 August 1995, the second day of the operation. The current majority 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 ...

with 65.7%, while 31.4% are Serbs.

People from Obrovac

Janko Mitrović Janko Mitrović ( sr-cyr, Јанко Митровић; 1613–1659) was a ''harambaša'' (Ottoman for "bandit leader"), and the commander of the '' Morlach army'', in the service of the Republic of Venice, from 1648 until his death in 1659. He par ...

(1613–1659), Morlach army leader * Stojan Janković (1636–1687), Morlach army leader * Simeon Končarević (1690–1769), Serbian Orthodox bishop of Dalmatia and Albania *

Gerasim Zelić Gerasim Zelić ( sr, Герасим Зелић; 1752–1828) was a Serbian Orthodox Church archimandrite, traveller and writer. His chief work is ''Žitije'' (Lives), in three volumes. They are memoirs of his travels throughout western Europe, ...

(1752–1828), Serbian Orthodox archimandrite and writer *

Dado Pršo Miladin "Dado" Pršo (born 5 November 1974) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Pršo played for seven different teams and made over 300 league appearances as a professional. He was included in the Monaco team t ...

's family * Milan Pršo *

Arijan Komazec Arijan Komazec (born January 23, 1970) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player. Professional career Komazec started his professional career as a basketball player at the age of 16, in the historical club of Zadar, in the 1986–87 s ...

* Obrad Zelić

References

Sources

External links

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Croatia Populated places in Zadar County