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The name of Petrinja has its roots inGreek πέτρα -pétra, meaning "stone" throughLatinpetrus. Another possibility is that Petrinja was named after the church of St. Peter from the time of theDiocese ofSisak.[3] It is said that the town existed inRoman era in the area of Zrinska Gora, which is very rich in stone.
Since records began in 1981, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was 39.1 °C (102.4 °F), on 14 August 2003.[4] The coldest temperature was −27.6 °C (−17.7 °F), on 12 January 1985.[5]
The first written record of Petrinja as an inhabited settlement is the one about the benefits awarded to the inhabitants of Petrinja by theSlavonian dukeKoloman in 1240. This old medieval Petrinja belongs to the time of warring with theOttoman Empire.
The old fortress was abandoned and destroyed in 1543, to prevent it from coming under Ottoman control.[6] In 1592, Petrinja was given a new location with the construction and building of an Ottoman fortress at the confluence of the Petrinjčica and Kupa rivers. The fortress was to serve the Ottomans in their offensives in central Croatia, such as the 1593battle of Sisak.
On August 10, 1594, the fortress was first liberated by the Croatian army. Therefore, August 10 has become the day of gratitude towards God and St. Lawrence, and this saint has been chosen for the patron saint of the parish and the town of Petrinja. Over time, Petrinja attracted craftsmen and merchants whose arrival marks the beginning of the town's development.
Petrinja–town and fortress, as an example of the use of geometry in fortress architecture, A.E.B. von Birckenstein, 1698
In the year 1773, Austrian empress Maria Theresa decided that Petrinja was to be a craft guild center for the entire territory of theMilitary Frontier.[7]
Petrinja was part ofNapoleon'sIllyria from 1809 till 1813 when the town became a significant trade and traffic center. In the same period, theFrench army planted the linden trees that stand to this day.
The influence of Croatian national revival in the 19th century was felt in Petrinja. That was the time of the founding of the Town Orchestra (1808), Music Department (1841), Library and reading-room (1842), Teachers' Training School (1862), Croatian Choir "Slavulj" (1864), Town fire-brigade (1880), First printing-house (1881).
During the Second World War, with the establishment of the so-calledIndependent State of Croatia (a fascist puppet state), Petrinja and the surrounding area were the scene of persecution of the Serbian, Jewish and Roma minorities, but also of harsh repression of many Croatian anti-fascists, in a context of armed struggle betweenpartisans andlocal collaborators of the Axis forces.[8]
Recent history has witnessed the war in Croatia during which many people (Croats first, then the Serbs in 1995) were exiled from their hometown of Petrinja in the period from September 1991 to August 1995.[9] The town itself has gone through severe damage. On November 25, 1991, the Serb mayor of Petrinja Radovan Marković sent a message toŽeljko Ražnatović to have his troops enter the city as part of a "2. motorized battalion" of the 622. Motorized Brigade of the then already Serbian-dominatedYugoslav People's Army.[10]
During the occupation of Petrinja and surrounding areas, from September 1991 until August 1995, Serb forces committed numerousmass killings against Croat and other non-Serb civilians and POWs. More than 250 Croat and other non-Serb civilians and POWs were murdered during this period. After Operation Storm in August 1995, Croatian authorities were able to find and exhume 45 mass graves.[11][12][13]
AfterOperation Storm in 1995, many monuments have been erected in memory of Croatian war heroes and victims of the war.
In reconstructing and rebuilding their town, the inhabitants of Petrinja took great care of the town's urban tradition by keeping the old customs alive, celebrating Catholic holidays, and organizing numerous cultural, social and sports events.[citation needed]
Reconstruction works in Petrinja city centre after the 2020 earthquake
On 29 December 2020, the town was struck by aviolent earthquake of magnitude 6.4Mw, killing seven people, including a seven-year-old girl.[14] Half of the town was destroyed during the quake.[15] At least 20 people were injured. A series of aftershocks continued to jolt the area, with 291 smaller tremors recorded during the subsequent days.[16]
City economy is in a major decline for the last 20 years. High impact of the war from the 1990s is felt through the abandonment and depopulation of many villages and closure of many farms which used to supply local meat packing plantGavrilović [hr] and dairy processors from other cities. Gavrilović still remains the biggest company and employer in the city, currently employing about 800 workers.
Other notable industries are saw mills and wood flooring manufacturing. Former Finel furniture factory now mostly lays abandoned while there are current plans to activate part of its capacity for hardwood flooring manufacturing. Former Ciglana brick factory is now converted into a large saw mill called Nil-Ž and employs more than a 100 people.
Small entrepreneurship is still underdeveloped due to lack of a finished small business zone. City owned agency Poslovne Zone Petrinja has been announcing the opening of a small business zone at the suburb of Mošćenica for the last several years, but there are still no visible results.
Small family farming operations called O.P.G. have been registered by many small farmers but just a few are producing in larger quantity and being able to offer fresh or processed meat, fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs to markets. Lack of local and national co-operative organization management is making small farmers not competitive enough to other EU producers. This stems from an inherent belief that co-op are a negative heritage from the socialist era of pre-1990 period and should not be established again, while at the same time people buy products produced by strong Italian, Austrian, French and German co-operatives.
City used to have a local transportation company called Slavijatrans, which operated local and regional bus lines and cargo transport with an extensive fleet of fuel, bulk and general cargo carrier trucks. Due to mismanagement and numerous cases of corruption on one hand, and lack of law enforcement in the field of passenger transport, many private taxi's took over the passenger traffic from the most profitable lines, while cargo traffic was gradually reduced to just a few trucks from a fleet of a few hundred trucks. Now the company is sold to a large national carried Čazmatrans and only operates local passenger lines.
Gavrilović d.o.o. meat packing
Ciglana brick factory
Nil-Ž sawmill
Finel furniture and flooring manufacturing
TSH animal feed factory
Slavijatrans (Čazmatrans) transportation company, public transit
After the liberation from Ottoman rule at the end of the 16th century, Petrinja started attracting craftsmen and merchants who helped developing the town. There is a very lively tradition of the potting and ceramic crafts, which represent the main souvenir production of the items characteristic for this area, all made of high-quality clay. The main souvenir is "stucka", an ornamented multi-use jar made of clay that has become a symbol of the town of Petrinja.
The foundations of thePrva hrvatska tvornica salame, sušena mesa i masti (first Croatian salami, cured meat and lard factory) were set in the year 1792, now developed into the "Gavrilović" factory, the principal factor of the area's economic development, well known for the quality of its gastronomical products.
The firstCatholic parish Church of St. Lawrence was first built in 1603, but due to the time and type of building, a new one was built in 1781, in latebaroque—classicist style.
A statue of Croatian politicianStjepan Radić was made in Petrinja in 1929 by Mila Wood after his assassination the previous year.[17] In 1936, the statue was placed in the city's central square, which was named after him. In 1963 the communist regime moved the statue to a city park.[17] In 1991, the statue was damaged and thrown into an orchard in a nearby village. It was not found until 1998, when it was restored. In 1999, it was restored to Petrinja's central square, and was unveiled by Croatian minister of cultureBožo Biškupić.[17]
Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Spiridon, built in 1785, was demolished in 1941 by order of the Ustaše authorities.[18] A new church dedicated to St. Spiridon was constructed in 1976 near the original site, but it was razed again in 1991.[18] Reconstruction began in 1994 during the existence of the self-proclaimedRepublic of Serbian Krajina (1991-1995), but the walls built by 1995 were demolished by local authorities in 1997.[18] The church was rebuilt for the fourth time between 2018 and 2021.[18]
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.[20] At the2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives electionsBosniaks andSerbs of Croatia fulfilled legal requirements to each elect their own 15 members minority council of the Town of Petrinja.[21]
The local chapter of theHPS isHPD "Zrin", which had 49 members in 1936 under the Matija Filjak presidency. At th time, it had aphotography section[22] Membership fell to 45 in 1937.[23]: 248
^Local dimensions of the Second World War in Southeastern Europe. Xavier Bougarel, Hannes Grandits, Marija Vulesica. Abingdon, Oxon. 2019.ISBN978-0-429-79878-8.OCLC1079400048.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
^Hrvatski helsinški odbor za ljudska prava (2001).Military operation Storm and it's [sic] aftermath : report. Zagreb: HHO.ISBN953-96343-9-3.OCLC268618991.