Ličko Petrovo Selo
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Ličko Petrovo Selo is a village in
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 t ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. It is located near the
Plitvice Lakes Plitvice or Plitvička jezera can refer to: * Plitvice Lakes National Park Plitvice Lakes National Park (, colloquially ''Plitvice'', ) is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was inscrib ...
. It is connected by the D1 highway. East of the village, the D217 ends at the Ličko Petrovo Selo border crossing with
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
(continuing to
Izačić Izačić (Serbian Cyrillic: Изачић) is a small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina with an estimated population of 4,089 people, roughly 0.12% of the entire population as of 2024, and an area of 5,8 km2.Official results from the book: Eth ...
and on to
Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...
). Founded in 1792, Ličko Petrovo Selo was historically a majority
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
community and has an
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
church. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, as part of the genocide of ethnic Serbs, in summer 1941 the Croatian
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
regime killed about 890 inhabitants of Ličko Petrovo Selo and the nearby village of
Melinovac Melinovac ( sr-cyr, Мелиновац) is a village in Croatia. History During World War II, as part of their genocide targeting ethnic Serbs, the Croatian fascist Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustas ...
, throwing their bodies into a pit.Đuro Zatezalo, ''"Radio sam svoj seljački i kovački posao": svjedočanstva genocida'', Zagreb: SKD Prosvijeta, 2005, , p. 304. The village was largely destroyed.Debbie Rolls
"In Croatia, a hotel trying to heal war wounds"
''BBC Travel'', 21 October 2022.
Ličko Petrovo Selo was rebuilt in the 1970s. Factories and
Željava Air Base Željava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the mountain, near the city of Bihać, was the largest underground hangar and military air base in the SFR Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugosl ...
were nearby, as well as the Plitvice Lakes national park, which opened in 1949. During the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
of the 1990s, it was within the breakaway
Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск ...
and again was extensively destroyed. Most residents fled, and in the 2020s the village has a population of a few hundred, mostly elderly, with some houses being second homes and many yet to be repaired. There is a post office and a 58-room hotel, opened in 2019 on the site of the school.


History

On 4–5 July 1942, the
Domobrani Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
carried out a clearing operation in Arapov Dol, Smoljanac and Ličko Petrovo Selo. About 150 Partisans were killed and 80 wounded according to Domobran sources, which admitted 3 wounded on their own side, but according to the local Partisans of the , there were no losses.


Notable people

*
Josef Philipp Vukassovich Baron Josef Philipp Vukassovich (; 1755 – 9 August 1809) was a Croatian soldier who joined the army of Habsburg monarchy and fought against both Ottoman Empire and the First French Republic. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he comma ...


References


Bibliography

* Populated places in Lika-Senj County {{LikaSenj-geo-stub