Plaški is a village and a municipality in
Karlovac County
Karlovac County () is a county in central Croatia, with the administrative center in Karlovac. It borders Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.
The city of Karlovac is a fort from the times of the Military Frontier. It was built as a six-side st ...
,
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 part of the region 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 ...
.
Geography
Plaški is situated in the lower part of the
Ogulin-Plaški valley. Together with
Gorski kotar
Gorski Kotar () is the mountainous region in Croatia between Karlovac and Rijeka. Because 63% of its surface is forested it is popularly called ''the green lungs of Croatia'' or ''Croatian Switzerland''. The European route E65, which connects B ...
and Lika, the Ogulin-Plaški valley forms
Mountainous Croatia
In contemporary geography, the terms Central Croatia () and Mountainous Croatia () are used to describe most of the area sometimes historically known as Croatia or Croatia proper (), one of the four regions of Croatia, historical regions of t ...
. The town of Plaški is situated 28 km south from
Ogulin
Ogulin () is a town in central 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 nearby ...
and shares borders with municipalities of Ogulin,
Josipdol 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 ...
.
Climate
Since records began in 1960, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 8 August 2013. The coldest temperature was , on 12 January 1985.
Demographics
In 1895, the ''obćina'' of Plaški (court at Plaški), with an area of (highest in the ''županija''), belonged to the ''kotar'' of Ogulin (Ogulin court but Plaški
electoral district
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
) in the ''županija'' of
Modruš-Rieka (Ogulin high court and financial board). There were 1423 houses, with a population of 9187 (highest in Ogulin kotar). Its 8 villages and 116 hamlets were divided for taxation purposes into 10 ''porezne obćine'', under the Ogulin office.
The municipality consists of several
settlements:
*
Janja Gora — 112 people
*
Jezero — 77 people
*
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 ...
— 32 people
*
Lapat — 215 people
*
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 ...
— 196 people
*
Međeđak — 100 people
* Plaški — 1,281 people
*
Pothum Plaščanski — 77 people
Language
Serbian and Croatian are co-official at the municipal level in Plaški.
As of 2023, none of the legal requirements for the fulfillment of bilingual standards have been carried out. Cyrillic is not used on official building signage, street signs, traffic signs or seals. Cyrillic is not used on any official documents, nor are there public legal and administrative employees proficient in the script. Of the officially bilingual municipalities in Croatia, it shared not having Cyrillic even on official building signage only with
Gračac
Gračac (; ) is a municipality in the southern part of Lika, Croatia. The municipality is administratively part of Zadar County.
Gračac is located south of Udbina, northeast of Obrovac, northwest of Knin and southeast of Gospić.
Climate
Since ...
and the recently officially bilingual
Orehovica.
History
In 33 BC the
Romans, led by the future Emperor
Octavian Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, won a battle against an
Illyrian tribe, the
Japods
The Iapodes (or Iapydes, Japodes; ; ) 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 ''Colapis'' (Kupa ...
, in the area east of Plaški.
Roman coins
Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...
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
Diocese of Split of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. The second mention of the village dates from 1185 and relates to the establishment of the new
Krbava
Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš and present Latin titular see.
It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as ...
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 episcopal see, and current Latin Church
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. T ...
county and came to be owned by the
Frankopan family
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 most ...
. 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 Plaški was raided by the
Turks led by Jakub-Paša and Plaški was abandoned. In a document of
Bernardin Frankopan
Bernardin Frankopan (1453–1529) was a Croatian nobleman and diplomat, a member of the influential Frankopan noble family of Croatia. As one of the wealthiest and most distinguished aristocrats in the kingdom in his day, he had one of the leadi ...
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 (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
of the
Habsburg Empire
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 is ...
.
By decision of the Military Council in
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
,
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 ...
were allowed to resettle the area. The Serbs came in three waves: 1609, 1639 and 1666. Together with
Tounj, Plaški was centre of a military company that was part of
Ogulin
Ogulin () is a town in central 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 nearby ...
's regiment. The
Eparchy of Upper Karlovac of the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
was founded in 1711 and had its first seat in
Gomirje monastery and from 1721 to 1941 the seat was in Plaški. The Orthodox cathedral was built from 1756 to 1763.
WWII
1941
After the
invasion of Yugoslavia
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...
in April 1941 Plaški was initially occupied by the
Royal Italian Army
The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...
, who threw children confections and adults cigars upon arrival. According to eyewitness Simo Šumonja, 2000 Italians were stationed in Plaški.
On 16 April 1941,
Ustaša ordered the Croat corporal Mirko Žepalo of the Plaški
gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
, which at the time consisted of 5 Serbs and himself, to disarm his colleagues and fill their positions with Croats loyal to the
NDH. Žepalo was reluctant, but the next day he told his colleagues, "Gentlemen, what must be, must be" (), upon which they turned in their arms and returned to their homes.
April and the first half of May that year were relatively peaceful. About 150 Serbian villagers from Plaški and its environs surrendered their weapons to the local gendarmerie during this time. There were no mass imprisonments here yet, but in and around Plaški, 12 economically and politically prominent people were placed under house arrest.
On 28 May in the afternoon, the first mass arrests were made by the Ustaše in Plaški, including of the priest, the
episcopal vicar
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United States ...
, the innkeeper, the chief of the railway station Plaški, the baker Pero Klipa from Plaški, a merchant from Plaški and a teacher from
Lička Jesenica
Lička Jesenica is a settlement in the Lika region of Croatia, in the municipality of Saborsko, Karlovac County.
History
In 1933, Chetnik formations were organised on the territory of Srpske Moravice, Gomirje and Lička Jesenica. They had a mi ...
. Initially, they were held in the jail in Plaški, then transferred to the
Ogulin castle. There, they were held for about 20 days, forced to sing "Sprem'te se, sprem'te četnici" (a
Chetnik
The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...
anthem) while sweeping the streets by their captors. Around 6 June, late in the evening, they were led out of the Ogulin tower into its courtyard and lined up in a zig-zagging column. They were all forced to sign a document with "I the undersigned with my own hand sign that in the time of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia I acted against the interests of the Croat nation, the Ustaša movement and the Poglavnik" (). The next day, they were transported by train to the
Danica concentration camp
Danica was the first concentration and extermination camp established in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. It was established in Koprivnica (located in modern-day Croatia) on 15 or 20 April 1941 in the deserted building of form ...
. Pero Klipa survived thnks to his Italian father in law, who in while Plaški assisted the Italians there in writing a letter requesting his release, which came on 6 November.
Beginning in the first days of June and throughout the month, the
Serbian Orthodox
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
The majority of the populat ...
priests, monks and members of the ecclesiastical court of Plaški were arrested for questioning at Ogulin, starting with Milan Dokmanović. A total of 19 Orthodox priests were arrested. Only 1 escaped, being on an official trip at the time. Also in early June,
župan
Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrat ...
Jurica Marković confiscated the furniture from the episcopal house in Plaški. In early July, the bishop in Plaški, the ''prota'' and ''činovnik'' of the ecclesiastical court in Plaški and the
catechist
Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...
in Plaški had not yet been sent away. According to a 15 July document from the ''kotarski načelnik'' of Ogulin, all Orthodox priests from the territory of the kotar of Ogulin were sent to concentration camps, with the exception of the
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
in Plaški, who was too old.
Trains carrying concentration camp inmates from Ogulin to
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 ...
over the course of 50 days about twice a day and perhaps more by night, each train with about twenty wagons full of inmates. One of the inmates threw a piece of shoe with a letter tied to it out of the wagon at Plaški, which a child, Simo Šumonja, then carried to the post office. The letter explained that he was travelling from Danica to Gospić. These trains stopped passing through in August.
A 2 July was issued order for all Velike župe, including that of Modruš (with seat in
Ogulin
Ogulin () is a town in central 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 nearby ...
), to make room for 2500
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...
each, who were to occupy the homes of 2500 Serbs, to be deported to the
GMS, prioritising businessmen and merchants. Plaški was to accommodate 800 Slovenes. As of mid-July, there were not enough empty Serb homes to accommodate the exchange.
On 30 July, many Serb villagers of Plaški were arrested at the market in Ogulin, having come there to sell. Beginning with the next market on 6 August, the Serbs stopped coming out of fear that it would happen a third time.
1942
At 2:30 on 20 June 1942, Plaški was attacked from all sides with rifle and machine gun fire by the Partisans. The attack lasted until 3:30, but was repelled without Axis losses and with unknown Partisan losses. The attack was a diversion for an operation that removed of track, blocking railway traffic between Plaški and Vojnovac, but not for long.
On 4 July, Partisans destroyed of track between
Blato and
Lička Jesenica
Lička Jesenica is a settlement in the Lika region of Croatia, in the municipality of Saborsko, Karlovac County.
History
In 1933, Chetnik formations were organised on the territory of Srpske Moravice, Gomirje and Lička Jesenica. They had a mi ...
. Italian soldiers arrived from Plaški on an armoured train and the Partisans retreated.
Demographics
Before 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 ...
, Plaški was a municipality with a majority of
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 ...
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 (; , ) 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 ...
, and 46.1% Serbs. Much of the
Croat
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 ...
population is made up of those
forced to leave Bosnia
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 ...
replacing Serbs who, in 1995, fled during
Operation Storm
Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) 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 f ...
. The Serbs constituted 46% and Croats constituted 51% of the population in the 2011 census.
Governance
On 1 January 1894,
Vajin Vrh and
Trojvrh, until then part of Plaški obćina, were annexed by
Josipdol obćina.
Infrastructure
In 1913, there were 8
gendarmeries in Delnice kotar:
Ogulin
Ogulin () is a town in central 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 nearby ...
,
Drežnica,
Generalski Stol,
Jasenak,
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 ...
,
Josipdol,
Modruš
Modruš is a village, former episcopal see, and current Latin Church
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. T ...
and Plaški.
People
*
Omar Pasha
Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas (, ; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in the Austrian Empire to Serbian Orthodox Christian parents, he initially served as an Austrian soldier. When f ...
(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
References
Bibliography
History
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaski
Municipalities of Croatia
Populated places in Karlovac County
Serb communities in Croatia