Voćin is a village and municipality in western

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

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 ...

, located southwest of Slatina and east of

Daruvar Daruvar is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia, with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Daruvarski Vinogradi, Doljani, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar, Lipovac Majur, Ljudevit Selo, Marko ...

. The population of the municipality is 1,911, with 956 people living in Voćin itself (census 2021).

Geography

Voćin, a pilgrimage site, is located in a valley of the Voćinska Rijeka at the foot of Papuk Mountain. The surrounding area is notable for the Lisičine

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

, the special Sekulinačke Planine forest vegetation reserve.

Climate

Since records began in 1981, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 24 August 2012. The coldest temperature was , on 9 February 2012.

History

Voćin was first mentioned as "Achtyna" or "Othyna" in the 12th century. It was part of Verőce County and was known "Atyina". It was conquered by

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1543. During Ottoman rule, it was part of

Sanjak of Pojega The Sanjak of Pojega (; ) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire formed around 1538. It existed until the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), when the region was transferred to the Habsburg monarchy. It was located in present-da ...

. It was conquered by Austrians during

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

in 1687. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Voćin was part of the

Virovitica County Virovitica County (; ) was an administrative subdivision () of the Croatia in personal union with Hungary, Medieval Kingdom of Croatia, the Kingdom of Slavonia and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within bot ...

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 ...

. The church was destroyed 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 ...

and rebuilt in 1973. Colonist settlement of Hum was established on the territory of the municipality during the

land reform in interwar Yugoslavia The land reform in interwar Yugoslavia was a process of redistribution of agricultural land in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929) carried out in the interwar period. The reform's proclaimed social ideal was ...

. During the

, on January 14, 1942, happened the first Voćin massacre - killing of 350 Serb civilians by 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 ...

. The massacre was carried out as retaliation for

partisans Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

' action in

Papuk Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega, Croatia, Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna Gora (Slavonia), Ravna gora and Psunj to the south ...

. 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 village's was the site of a

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

by the Serb

White Eagles White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

, who killed 43 villagers, all but one of whom were ethnic Croats. A Serb civilian who tried to protect his neighbors was the other fatality. Overnight, between 13 and 14 December 1991, the village's 550-year-old late style gothic church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was destroyed by explosive charges. Following the withdrawal of the Serb forces and arrival of Croatian forces, crimes against the Serb civilian population who stayed behind took place, with some 40 villagers killed over the course of several days.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the Voćin municipality had 1,911 inhabitants. The municipality consists of the following settlements: Population of the Voćin municipality by ethnicity: Population of the Voćin village by ethnicity:

Politics

Minority councils

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 10 members minority councils of the Municipality of Voćin.

References

External links

Voćin, commune of Voćin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vocin Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Virovitica-Podravina County Slavonia Serb communities in Croatia