Jasenovac
Encyclopedia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
, in the southern part of the Sisak-Moslavina county
Sisak-Moslavina County
Sisak-Moslavina County is a Croatian county in eastern Central Croatia and southwestern Slavonia. It is named after the city of Sisak and the region Moslavina just across the river Sava. According to 2001 census it is inhabited by 185 thousand people....
at the confluence of the river Una into Sava.
The name means "ash tree" or "ash forest" in Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, the area being ringed by such a forest.
During the Second World War, it was the site of the Holocaust in the Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
.
Demographics
The municipality's population was 2,391 in 2001, 91% (2179) which are CroatsCroats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and 5.90% (141) which are Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. In 1991 situation was different. Total population was 3.599, Croats made up 2.419 (67,21%), while Serbs were noticeable population with 911 (25,31%).
The municipality of Jasenovac consists of 10 villages:
- Drenov Bok - 143
- Jasenovac - 780
- KošutaricaKošutaricaKošutarica is a village in Croatia....
- 282 - KrapjeKrapjeKrapje is a settlement on the right bank of the river Mura in the Ljutomer Municipality in northeastern Slovenia. It is divided into two distinct villages, Zgornje Krapje and Spodnje Krapje...
- 179 - Mlaka - 30
- PuskaPuskaPuska is a village in Croatia.Puskas are two pumpkins completely in love....
- 321 - TanacTanac, CroatiaTanac, Croatia is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D47 highway....
- 167 - Trebež - 77
- UšticaUšticaUštica is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D47 highway....
- 214 - Višnjica Uštička - 198
History
Jasenovac attained tragic notoriety during the Holocaust through the Jasenovac concentration campJasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
giving its name to the Ustaša complex of WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
concentration camps.
In 1991, Serb forces destroyed the local bridge over the Sava linking the town to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. The area was subsequently mined
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
. The town was liberated as part of Operation Flash
Operation Flash
The Serbs in western Slavonia took part in the organized rebellion against the government of the Republic of Croatia that had just proclaimed independence in June 1991, by proclaiming the Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia in August 1991...
on May 1, 1995. In 2005, a new bridge was opened with financing from Croatia and the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. Demining operations in the area are ongoing.
Politics
Since 2008, there has been a branch of the Youth of the Croatian Democratic UnionCroatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
.
Culture
Jasenovac is home to a library with over 10,000 items. Jasenovac celebrates May 1, the day of its liberation as part of Operation FlashOperation Flash
The Serbs in western Slavonia took part in the organized rebellion against the government of the Republic of Croatia that had just proclaimed independence in June 1991, by proclaiming the Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia in August 1991...
, as its municipal holiday.
Jasenovac houses the headquarters of the Lonjsko Polje
Lonjsko Polje
Lonjsko Polje is the largest protected wetland in both Croatia and the entire Danube basin. It covers an area of , extending along the river Sava from the areas east of Sisak, the lower course of the river Lonja for which it is named, to the areas west of Nova Gradiška, along the course of the...
Nature Park, a the largest protected wetland in Croatia.