Otočac () is a town in

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 ...

, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. It lies in the northwestern 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 t ...

region, in the Gacka river valley. The population of the administrative area of the Town of Otočac was 9,778 in 2011, with 4,240 in Otočac itself, the majority of whom were

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

(91%).

Name

The town is known as ''Otocsán'' in Hungarian, ''Ottocio'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and ''Ottocium'' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. In historical sources, the name has been rendered as ''Ottochaz'' (German and English), ''Ottocaz'' (Italian and German), and ''Ottotschaz'', ''Ottotschan'', & ''Ottocsaz'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

History

Otočac was named after the early Croatian

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. The text of the famous

Baška Tablet Baška tablet (, ) is one of the first monuments containing an inscription in the Croatian recension of the Church Slavonic language, dating from . On it Croatian ethnonym and king Demetrius Zvonimir are mentioned for the first time in native Cr ...

(around 1100) says that the church of St. Nicholas in Otočac was part of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

community with the Church of St. Lucy, Jurandvor on the island of

Krk Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...

. From 1300 on, it belonged to the estate of the

Frankopan The House of Frankopan (, , , ) was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croatia in union with Hungary. The Frankopans, along with the Zrinskis, are among the mos ...

family. Sigismund Frankopan (1461–1535) founded a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

there (see below). The settlement with a defence tower, at a bend in the river Gacka, was protected by a towered fort. After the fort's demolition in 1829, only parts remained preserved. To provide a safer defence, a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

-era

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

(" Fortica") was built in 1619, with a triangular layout of cylindrical towers. The

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

parish church of the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, erected in 1684 (restored in 1774), is a large one-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

building with rounded

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

; three side

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s are on each side of the nave. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

rises from the main front. The late baroque and

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

furnishings of the church include seven

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s, a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

and sepulchral slabs from the 18th century. In the 16th century, Otočac became a part of the Austrian Military Frontier, with its own Otočac Capitanate. Known captains include: # Franjo Mudrovčić (1540),

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...

# Andrija Tadiolović (1550), burgrave
Vinko Lacković # Tomo Čadež (1579) # Gašpar Wotschar (1580) # vojvoda Malagrudić (1581) # Jeršan Slavić (1586), burgrave # Warkin (1587) # Premb (1589) # vojvoda Smoljan (1590)
Grga Slavić # Gašpar Radić (1591)
Nikola Tadiolović, burgrave # Marko Šimatović (1592)
Ivan Rupčić, ''upravitelj'' # Antun Mikulanić (1600) # Juraj Aichelburg (1606) # Januš Semenić (1608) # Ernst von Paradeiser (1620) # Andrija Semenić (1629) # Gašpar Starešinić (1630) # Vicko Hreljanović (1632) # Karlo Panizol (1636)
Petar Gračanin, ''in absentia'' # Jakov Portner (1636, †1645) # Hans Ludwig Gall von Gallenstein (1645) # Gašpar Lazarin (1647–1648) # Andrija Gusić (1649) # Jobst Josip Portner (1658, †1661) # Andre Bernardin od Oberburga (1661, †1673) # Georg Sigismund von Paradeiser (1673, †1673) # Bernhard Leo Gall von Gallenstein (1675, †1689) # Ivan Vilim Kušljan (1689) # Tomo Strakhan (1691) # Jakov Strassoldo (1714) # Hans Lorenz von Paradeiser (1717) #

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

Saurau (1723, †1726) # Georg von Herberstein (1726–1735) From 1746, Otočac was the headquarters of a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

(''Ottotschaner Grenz-Infanterie Regiment N°II'') of the

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 16th century out of ...

, (Croatian ''Vojna Krajina''). A number of harmonious, simple, mostly two-story houses originate from this period. Until 1918, Otočac was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ( composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it ...

(part of the

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...

subordinate to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

). In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Otočac was part of the

Lika-Krbava County Lika-Krbava County (; ; ) was a historic administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, the Hungarian part of the dual Austro-Hungarian ...

of Croatia-Slavonia. During the World War II Genocide of Serbs by the

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 ...

, Otočac was the site of the slaughter of some 331 Serbs in late April 1941. The victims were forced to dig their own graves before being hacked to death with axes. Among the victims was the local Orthodox priest and his son. The former was made to recite prayers for the dying as his son was killed. The priest was then tortured, his hair and beard was pulled out, eyes gouged out before he was skinned alive. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

the city was occupied by

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n forces, but was later liberated by the Croats. It was later defended by the '' boškarini'' of the 154th Brigade HV, which in the following years visited the city. An armistice agreement was signed in January 1992, but the surroundings of Otočac were finally liberated only in 1995.

Ecclesiastical History

A bishopric was established in 1460, on territory split from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Senj, which local estate owner Sigismund Frankopan (1461–1535) founded at the church of St. Nicholas and Jelena (née Keglević), widow of Juraj Mikuličić, who was a member of the community of the Divine Holy Spirit in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, gave to the church three parcels of land. Initially it was

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Salona, later of the Archdiocese of Split. In 1534 it was suppressed and its territory returned to its mother diocese of Senj. It was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the Town of Otočac had a total of 9,778 inhabitants. By ethnicity, 91.18% were Croats and 7.25% were

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

. Croats in the vicinity of Otočac form two groups, those who speak

Chakavian dialect Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmatia, Istria, Croatian L ...

and

Bunjevci Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavs, South Slavic sub-ethnic ...

, who speak Shtokavian dialect with an Ikavian accent. Serbs form a majority in the villages of Gorići and Staro Selo. The settlement of Otočac itself had population of 4,240. Before the

, the 1991 census lists the greater municipality of Otočac as having 24,992 inhabitants, with 16,355 Croats (65.44%) and 7,781 Serbs (31.13%).

Politics

Minority councils and representatives

Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs. At the

2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections The 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections () were held on 7 May in certain regional (counties) and local administrative units (municipalities and towns & cities). Background Elections were announced in Nar ...

Serbs of Croatia The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Хрватски Срби, Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in C ...

fulfilled legal requirements to elect 15 members minority council of the Town of Otočac with only 13 members being elected in the end.

Geography

Otočac is located in the western part of Gacko Polje, the karst field of centrally located Gacka river, located between

Velebit Velebit (; ; ) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the northwest near ...

and Mala Kapela, at an elevation of 459m. The town lies to the southeast of

Senj Senj is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...

, northwest of

Gospić Gospić () is a town in Lika, Croatia. It is the seat of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Gospić is located in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika. It is the administrative center of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located n ...

and west of Plitvice. There are two town sections, the Upper Town and Lower Town.

Settlements

The following settlements comprise the municipality (population as of 2011): * Brlog, population 279 * Brloška Dubrava, population 63 * Čovići, population 560 * Dabar, population 118 * Doljani, population 95 * Drenov Klanac, population 40 * Glavace, population 30 * Gorići, population 22 * Hrvatsko Polje, population 187 * Kompolje, population 346 * Kuterevo, population 522 * Ličko Lešće, population 709 * Lipovlje, population 214 * Otočac, population 4,240 * Podum, population 108 * Ponori, population 89 * Prozor, population 893 * Ramljani, population 167 * Sinac, population 563 * Staro Selo, population 33 * Škare, population 36 * Švica, population 464

Climate

Since records began in 1994, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 4 August 2017. The coldest temperature was , on 13 January 2003.

Sports

The local chapter of the HPS is ''HPD "Mali Rajinac"'', which had 24 members in 1936 under the Fran Častek presidency. Membership fell to 22 in 1937.

Gallery

File:Otočki graničari (Croatia).2.JPG, Guards wearing a traditional Lika uniform of the Military Frontier File:Medvjed u Kuterevu 040910 4.jpg, Brown bear at the Kuterevo bear sanctuary File:Spomenik braniteljima, Otočac - park.jpg, Memorial to fallen Croatian defenders of the Croatian War of Independence File:Žikmund Frankopan (Croatia).JPG, Monument of Žikmund (Sigismund) Frankopan, Lord of the town in the 15th century File:Otočac (Croatia) - Ulica kralja Zvonimira.jpg, King Zvonimir Street File:Zracna luka Otocac 0608 3.jpg, Otočac airfield File:Crkva Svetog Trojstva, Otočac 0708 2.jpg, Holy Trinity Church

Notable natives and residents

Jure Francetić Jure Francetić (3 July 1912 – 27/28 December 1942) was a Independent State of Croatia, Croatian Ustaša Commissioner for the Bosnia (region), Bosnia and Herzegovina regions of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II, and co ...

* Stjepan Sarkotić * Juraj Rukavina Vidovgradski (Austrian general) *

Stjepan Jovanović Stjepan Jovanović (Stephan ''Freiherr'' (Baron) von Jovanovich; 5 January 1828 – 8 December 1885) was a military commander of the Austrian Empire from the Croatian Military Frontier. Biography Jovanović was born in the village of Pazariš ...

* Božidar Maljković * Julius Rajkovic * Zoran Levnaić * Slobodan Ljubotina * Vladimir Varićak * Ivan Rukavina

References

Sources and external links

*
GCatholic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otocac Cities and towns in Croatia Populated places in Lika-Senj County