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Otočac | |
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| Grad Otočac Town of Otočac | |
 Park in Otočac | |
 Flag | |
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  Otočac Location of Otočac within Croatia | |
| Coordinates:44°52′N15°14′E / 44.867°N 15.233°E /44.867; 15.233 | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| Region | Mountainous Croatia (Lika,Gacka) |
| County |  Lika-Senj |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Goran Bukovac (Independent) |
| Area | |
• Town | 565.0 km2 (218.1 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 21.5 km2 (8.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Town | 8,332 |
| • Density | 14.75/km2 (38.19/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3,852 |
| • Urban density | 179/km2 (464/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 53220 |
| Area code | 053 |
| Website | otocac |
Otočac (pronounced[ɔtɔ̌tʃats]) is a town inCroatia, former bishopric and present Latin Catholictitular see. It lies in the northwestern part ofLika region, in theGacka 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 wereCroats (91%).
The town Otočac (meaning "small island", surrounded by Gacka River) is known asOtocsán inHungarian,Ottocio inItalian,[3] andOttocium inLatin.[4] In historical sources, the name has been rendered asOttochaz (German andEnglish),Ottocaz (Italian and German), andOttotschaz,Ottotschan, &Ottocsaz (German).
Otočac was named after the early Croatianparish. The text of the famousBaška Tablet (around 1100) says that the church ofSt. Nicholas in Otočac was part of theorder community with theChurch of St. Lucy, Jurandvor on the island ofKrk. From 1300 on, it belonged to the estate of theFrankopan family. Sigismund Frankopan (1461–1535) founded adiocese there (see below). Thesettlement with a defence tower, at a bend in the river Gacka, was protected by a towered fort. The Otočac area was the scene of many battles with the Ottoman Turks, and the impregnability of the city and its importance for the defense of Croatian territory became increasingly significant. One of the major battles was thebattle of 1543 in which Croatian forces defeated the Ottoman invaders and prevented them from capturing the city and advancing further west.
After the Otočac fort's demolition in 1829, only parts remained preserved. To provide a safer defence, aRenaissance-erafortress ("Fortica") was built in 1619, with a triangular layout of cylindrical towers.[5]
TheBaroque parish church of theHoly Trinity, erected in 1684 (restored in 1774), is a large one-nave building with roundedsanctuary; three sidechapels are on each side of the nave. Thebell tower rises from the main front. The late baroque andclassicist furnishings of the church include sevenaltars, apulpit,baptismal font andsepulchral slabs from the 18th century.[citation needed]
In the 16th century, Otočac became a part of theAustrian Military Frontier, with its own Otočac Capitanate. Known captains include:[6]: 470
From 1746, Otočac was the headquarters of aregiment (Ottotschaner Grenz-Infanterie Regiment N°II) of theCroatian Military Frontier, (CroatianVojna Krajina). A number of harmonious, simple, mostly two-story houses originate from this period. Until 1918, Otočac was part of theAustrian monarchy (part of theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia subordinate to theKingdom of Hungary after thecompromise of 1867).[7] In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Otočac was part of theLika-Krbava County of Croatia-Slavonia.
During theWorld War II Genocide of Serbs by theUstaše, 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.[8]
During theCroatian War of Independence the city was occupied bySerbian forces, but was later liberated by the Croats. It was later defended by theboškarini of the154th 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.[9][10][11]
A bishopric was established in 1460, on territory split from theRoman Catholic Diocese of Senj, which local estate ownerSigismund Frankopan (1461–1535) founded at the church of St. Nicholas and Jelena (néeKeglević), widow of Juraj Mikuličić, who was a member of thecommunity of the Divine Holy Spirit inRome, gave to the church threeparcels of land.[12][13] Initially it wassuffragan of the MetropolitanArchdiocese of Salona, later of theArchdiocese 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 Latintitular bishopric.[citation needed]
In the 2011 census, the Town of Otočac had a total of 9,778 inhabitants. By ethnicity, 91.18% were Croats and 7.25% wereSerbs. Croats in the vicinity of Otočac form two groups, those who speakChakavian dialect andBunjevci, who speakShtokavian dialect with anIkavian accent. Serbs form a majority in the villages of Gorići and Staro Selo. The settlement of Otočac itself had population of 4,240.
Before theCroatian War of Independence, 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%).
| population | 21304 | 21878 | 22144 | 23841 | 27177 | 26826 | 26301 | 25634 | 22899 | 21096 | 19230 | 18310 | 16715 | 16113 | 10411 | 9778 | 8332 |
| 1857 | 1869 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1931 | 1948 | 1953 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
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.[14] At the2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives electionsSerbs of Croatia fulfilled legal requirements to elect 15 members minority council of the Town of Otočac with only 13 members being elected in the end.[15]
Otočac is located in the western part ofGacko Polje, thekarst field of centrally locatedGacka river, located betweenVelebit andMala Kapela, at an elevation of 459m. The town lies to the southeast ofSenj, northwest ofGospić and west ofPlitvice.
There are two town sections, the Upper Town and Lower Town.
The followingsettlements comprise the municipality (population as of 2021):[2][16]
Since records began in 1994, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was 39.0 °C (102.2 °F), on 4 August 2017.[17] The coldest temperature was −30.1 °C (−22.2 °F), on 13 January 2003.[18]
The local chapter of theHPS isHPD "Mali Rajinac", which had 24 members in 1936 under the Fran Častek presidency.[19] Membership fell to 22 in 1937.[20]: 247
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Subdivisions ofLika-Senj County | ||
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