Zalužnica
Encyclopedia
Zalužnica is a village in the Gacka
valley in Lika-Senj County
, Croatia. It is located around the main road between the market town of Otočac
and the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Over the last 100 years its population was around 700–1000 people but was de-populated in 1995 during the war that saw the break up of the former Yugoslavia
. A handful of old people remained in the village and a few new people have subsequently settled in the last 10 years.
The village was probably established in the 17th century by peoples migrating from the Ottoman Empire
in a territory then under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The existing village church dates to 1705. During both the late 16th and 17th centuries the Ottomans had major offensives northwards. Many people fled ahead of them who were predominantly of the Christian Orthodox
faith. The ethnicity of these peoples has been debated extensively but clearly from a simple review of family names they were a mix of mainly Serbs
, Vlachs
and various other minorities from Ottoman territories to the south. They settled in Lika
and surrounding counties (such as Krbava
); this was allowed by the Austro-Hungarian authorities to create a bulwark against future Ottoman incursions.
The Austro-Hungarian Army
later maintained a presence in Otočac recruiting from both the Catholic Croat and Orthodox Serb communities in the surrounding area. This included the Otočac Border Regiment Nr.2 in the mid-19 century and the XIII Militärterritorial (Korps) bezirk, Otočac at the start of World War I
.
in 1995 due to war. According to the 2011 census, there were 221 inhabitants living in 157 housing units.
The village family names were in many respects clan orientated, which possibly belies much of the peoples origin as Serbian and Bosnian. Over time, the composition of family names would have also changed but a significant portion of the village had the family name of Hinić (Hinich), which is attested from the earliest time to the end of the village. Other family names included Brakus, Borovac, Uzelac, Vukovojac. Although families of the same name were related, many were not (in living memory) and many households adopted or were given nicknames ('spitznamen' in the local language) to differentiate themselves.
and the influence of the Austro-Hungarian state, the language developed its own character. From an academic perspective the dialect would be grouped under Štokavian and mainly the Ijekavian form (e.g. mljeko rather than Serbian mleko); the latter likely taken up from the surrounding Croat population (together with local Croat words and phrases). While historically classified as a 'Serbo-Croat' language, German words also became inter-mingled into every day use from the past influence of Austro-Hungarian rule. The rural setting naturally stamped its own influences on the accent.
and from there onto the coast to Senj
, while turning south leads to Gospić. By car, it takes about 45 minutes to drive to Plitvice and 15–20 minutes to Otočac. The first village to the southwest towards Čovići is the village of Sinac (both Croat villages). Otočac was a mixed market town of Croats (majority) and Serbs (and on the outskirts of town a settlement of Roma).
North of the main road is a country lane where Zaluznica merges with Doljani and beyond that Škare and Podum (all Serb villages). East towards Plitvice, the first village is Vrhovine
(mixed but mainly a Serb village), which is probably the highest above sea level in the immediate area (700m above sea level compared to Zalužnica's 500 m, only 10–15 minutes drive down the road). Vrhovine has a railway station. While there are a few households off the beaten track like Dugi Dol, there are no other settlements because to the immediate south, south-east and north east are mountain peaks. Zalužnica sits on the eastern slope of the Gacka
valley; in the eastern part of the village by the main road is a limestone
cavern and underground river, which, until the early 1950s, was a main drinking water supply for the village (later a number of common wells were dug around the village that tap into the same underground water supply).
, and potatoes. Plum
s orchards were also a very important resource from which to make the local spirit called Šlivovic
. The winters are typically harsh, and the summers are hot. Until the early 1960s, most work on the farm was manual throughout the year using bullocks/ox (or a few families who could afford to keep horses) as the main power source for heavy farm work. By the 1970s, farming became almost fully mechanised. Typical farm sizes were around 10 to 20 hectares with many small fields scattered around the village resulting from historical inheritance which further limited the scope for larger farmsteads. For those farms away from the main road electricity was only connected in the late 1950-60's and piped water in the 1970-80's.
Gacka
Gacka is a river located in the Lika region in central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates on its length vary. The overground part has undergone substantial human intervention - before it was 32 kilometers long, now it is only 11 km...
valley in Lika-Senj County
Lika-Senj County
Lika-Senj county is a county in Croatia that includes most of the Lika region and some northern coastline of the Adriatic near the town of Senj, including the northern part of the Pag island...
, Croatia. It is located around the main road between the market town of Otočac
Otocac
Otočac is a town in Lika, Croatia. It lies in the northwestern part of Lika, in the Gacka river valley. The population of the town is 4,354 as of 2001, with a total of 10,411 people within the municipality at large, the majority of whom are Croats ....
and the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Over the last 100 years its population was around 700–1000 people but was de-populated in 1995 during the war that saw the break up of the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. A handful of old people remained in the village and a few new people have subsequently settled in the last 10 years.
The village was probably established in the 17th century by peoples migrating from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in a territory then under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The existing village church dates to 1705. During both the late 16th and 17th centuries the Ottomans had major offensives northwards. Many people fled ahead of them who were predominantly of the Christian Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
faith. The ethnicity of these peoples has been debated extensively but clearly from a simple review of family names they were a mix of mainly 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...
, Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
and various other minorities from Ottoman territories to the south. They settled in Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, 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 the Malovan pass...
and surrounding counties (such as Krbava
Krbava
Krbava is a region of mountainous Croatia. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as the eastern part of Lika. The town of Udbina is the central settlement of the Krbava karst field....
); this was allowed by the Austro-Hungarian authorities to create a bulwark against future Ottoman incursions.
The Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
later maintained a presence in Otočac recruiting from both the Catholic Croat and Orthodox Serb communities in the surrounding area. This included the Otočac Border Regiment Nr.2 in the mid-19 century and the XIII Militärterritorial (Korps) bezirk, Otočac at the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Population
A survey from 1895 had the population at 1139 with 178 households. This was made up of the main village plus some smaller settlements, namely Draga Brakusa, Čelina, Gola Brdo and Cvijanovic kuca. This population probably represents the pinnacle in numbers as in the first decade of the 20th century many people left for the USA with millions of others from Europe, then there was the impact of the two World Wars (death and migration), from the early 1960s many younger people migrated to the cities and finally the wholesale migration of the village to SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
in 1995 due to war. According to the 2011 census, there were 221 inhabitants living in 157 housing units.
The village family names were in many respects clan orientated, which possibly belies much of the peoples origin as Serbian and Bosnian. Over time, the composition of family names would have also changed but a significant portion of the village had the family name of Hinić (Hinich), which is attested from the earliest time to the end of the village. Other family names included Brakus, Borovac, Uzelac, Vukovojac. Although families of the same name were related, many were not (in living memory) and many households adopted or were given nicknames ('spitznamen' in the local language) to differentiate themselves.
Language
Given the relative isolation, mixed origins, neighbouring Croats who spoke with a different accent as well as dialectDialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
and the influence of the Austro-Hungarian state, the language developed its own character. From an academic perspective the dialect would be grouped under Štokavian and mainly the Ijekavian form (e.g. mljeko rather than Serbian mleko); the latter likely taken up from the surrounding Croat population (together with local Croat words and phrases). While historically classified as a 'Serbo-Croat' language, German words also became inter-mingled into every day use from the past influence of Austro-Hungarian rule. The rural setting naturally stamped its own influences on the accent.
Surrounding area
The village is located around the main road running from Plitvice Lakes National Park to the east that leads to a crossroads at Čovići; turning northwest the road leads to OtočacOtocac
Otočac is a town in Lika, Croatia. It lies in the northwestern part of Lika, in the Gacka river valley. The population of the town is 4,354 as of 2001, with a total of 10,411 people within the municipality at large, the majority of whom are Croats ....
and from there onto the coast to Senj
Senj
Senj , German Zengg, Hungarian Zeng and Italian Segna) is the oldest town on the upper Adriatic, and it was founded in the time before the Romans some 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk. It was the center of the Illyrian tribe Iapydes. The current settlement is situated at the foot of the slopes Mala...
, while turning south leads to Gospić. By car, it takes about 45 minutes to drive to Plitvice and 15–20 minutes to Otočac. The first village to the southwest towards Čovići is the village of Sinac (both Croat villages). Otočac was a mixed market town of Croats (majority) and Serbs (and on the outskirts of town a settlement of Roma).
North of the main road is a country lane where Zaluznica merges with Doljani and beyond that Škare and Podum (all Serb villages). East towards Plitvice, the first village is Vrhovine
Vrhovine
Vrhovine is a town and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. The municipality is part of Lika.-Population/Demographics:According to 2001 census, Vrhovine had 905 inhabitants of which 55.03% were Serbs and 38.45% were Croats. The majority of the population of the municipality is elderly...
(mixed but mainly a Serb village), which is probably the highest above sea level in the immediate area (700m above sea level compared to Zalužnica's 500 m, only 10–15 minutes drive down the road). Vrhovine has a railway station. While there are a few households off the beaten track like Dugi Dol, there are no other settlements because to the immediate south, south-east and north east are mountain peaks. Zalužnica sits on the eastern slope of the Gacka
Gacka
Gacka is a river located in the Lika region in central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates on its length vary. The overground part has undergone substantial human intervention - before it was 32 kilometers long, now it is only 11 km...
valley; in the eastern part of the village by the main road is a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cavern and underground river, which, until the early 1950s, was a main drinking water supply for the village (later a number of common wells were dug around the village that tap into the same underground water supply).
Farming
Farming in Zalužnica was always a matter of mainly self-subsistence made more difficult by the limestone geology and mountainous terrain. The mainstays of the average farm was sheep, cattle, pigs, wheat, barleyBarley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, and potatoes. Plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s orchards were also a very important resource from which to make the local spirit called Šlivovic
Slivovitz
Slivovitz or Slivovitsais a distilled beverage made from Damson plums. It is frequently called plum brandy, and in the Balkans is part of the category of drinks called rakia...
. The winters are typically harsh, and the summers are hot. Until the early 1960s, most work on the farm was manual throughout the year using bullocks/ox (or a few families who could afford to keep horses) as the main power source for heavy farm work. By the 1970s, farming became almost fully mechanised. Typical farm sizes were around 10 to 20 hectares with many small fields scattered around the village resulting from historical inheritance which further limited the scope for larger farmsteads. For those farms away from the main road electricity was only connected in the late 1950-60's and piped water in the 1970-80's.