Srb | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Monument ofSrb uprising | |
 | |
  Srb | |
| Coordinates:44°22′11″N16°07′30″E / 44.36972°N 16.12500°E /44.36972; 16.12500 | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| County | Zadar County |
| Municipality | Gračac |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.7 km2 (6.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 434 m (1,424 ft) |
| Population (2021)[3] | |
• Total | 301 |
| • Density | 17/km2 (44/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 23445 Srb |
| Area code | +385 (23) |
Srb (Serbian Cyrillic:Срб[1]) is a village located in the southeastern part ofLika, inCroatia, till 2011 administratively divided intoDonji Srb (population 255, census 2001) andGornji Srb (population 79, census 2001).[4] Srb lies in theUna River valley, on the road fromDonji Lapac toKnin, and is east ofGračac. It is currently part of the Gračac municipality and theZadar County.
According to Croatian linguist and academicPetar Šimunović, etymologically it is ahydronym that derives from the old Croatian verb "serbati" denoting the "spring" of the river Una.[5] Because Serbs (Sorabos) are mentioned in theRoyal Frankish Annals in the context ofLjudevit Posavski fleeing to them, there is a theory that a Serbian tribe could have existed in the area of Srb at some point in the 9th century, and that Srb was named after them, but the scarcity of historical records made various historians differ in the interpretations of this mention.[6] That account most probably refers to somewhere in central or eastern Bosnia.[7]
In the medieval period, the settlement was the centre of smallžupa of Srb which was part of a largeržupa of Pset of theDuchy andKingdom of Croatia.[8] In the 13th and 14th century the župa was ruled byPaul I Šubić of Bribir andNelipić family.[9] In the 14th century is mentioned as a town because a document from the year 1345 mentions it belonging to theHungary-Croatian king as a royal fortress-citadel,Latin:castra nostra regalia, videlicet Tininium ... castrum Szereb ... castrum Unach vocata cum Corum supatibus et pertinensiis.[8] This town was built on a hill high above the stream Sredice, where its remains still stand today. The župa had a noble court table of at least three judges, and althoughžupans possibly were from the old Croatian noble tribe ofGusić, the Croatian nobles (plemenitimi H'rvati) from the presumed tribe of Srbljani mentioned in 1451 were Marko and Martin Dijanišević, Juraj Henčić, Vojin Matijašević, Vlatko Anić and Jandrij Kovač.[8][10]
Due to the Ottoman conquest in 1520, most of the old population fled to Northern Croatia and was replaced by pastoralVlachs. Some of the descendants of the new population also emigrated toŽumberak, while others moved to Northern Dalmatia or converted to Islam.[8] From the settlement's name derives surname of family Srbljanin.[8] As in the 17th century it was on a crossroad betweenLapac,Bihać andUdbina, in the fort was allocated a military unit, beneath which emerged a Muslim settlement with around 100 houses.[8] After theTreaty of Sistova (1791), the area of Srb became part ofCroatian Military Frontier which resulted in the emigration of the Muslim population over the Una river toBosnia Eyalet and repopulation of the desolated land by Orthodox Serbs.[8]
After theWorld War IIinvasion of Yugoslavia, Srb became part of the fascistIndependent State of Croatia. On July 27, 1941, an uprising started in Srb organized by the local Serb population, theSrb uprising. The organizers, including the Lapac squad commander Stojan Matić, were not all communistPartisans, and their immediate reprisals against theUstaše also ended with random Croat and Muslim victims, whichMarko Orešković later regretted. The date was nevertheless commemorated inSR Croatia (1945–1990) as the Day of the Uprising of the Peoples of Croatia (Croatian:Dan ustanka naroda Hrvatske).[11]
On July 25, 1990 an assembly of approximately 100,000 Croatian Serbs was held in Srb.[12] A declaration was released which established a Serbian Assembly, with its seat in Srb, as the political representative of the Serbian nation in Croatia, and the Serbian National Councilas the executive body of the Assembly.[12] Croatian Serb politicianJovan Rašković announced that a referendum would be held within the Serb community on August 18.[13] During theCroatian War for Independence it was occupied by forces of self-proclaimedRepublic of Serbian Krajina until 1995, when most of the Serb population fled in the face ofOperation Storm in 1995.[9]
According to the 2011 census, Srb had 472 inhabitants.[14] For detailed population data for the lastYugoslav 1991 census and lastAustro-Hungarian 1910 census see former settlements ofDonji Srb andGornji Srb.
| population | 861 | 1043 | 1058 | 1121 | 1240 | 1257 | 1302 | 1395 | 971 | 930 | 956 | 1156 | 1227 | 1454 | 334 | 472 | 301 |
| 1857 | 1869 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1931 | 1948 | 1953 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
Croatian academician Petar Simunovic explained that the name of Srb originates from an old Croatian verb serbati, srebati meaning "to sip", from which the noun "srb" has been derived. Thus "srb" denotes the spring of river Una, where the village lies. Compare this with the villages of Srbani (near Pula), and Srbinjak, both in Istria, which clearly have nothing to do with the Serbian name. The Istarski razvod from 13th century mentions the name of Srbar, meaning a water spring. More precisely, there is a dozen of occasions in the text where we encounter "lokva Srbar", meaning "Srbar pool" (lokva = pool). U Istarskom razvodu spominje se nekoliko hidronima s korijenom SRB: luka Srber (Kirac, str. 320), lokva Srbar (2x na str. 320, opet na str. 321), Srbar i srbarski (str. 336), Srbar (str. 337). I današnje mjesto SRB u Lici je hidronim, a ne etnonim. Informacija ljubaznošću dr. Vladimira Sokola, te akademika Petra Šimunovića.
In response to the fear of becoming a discriminated against minority in Croatia, on 25 July 1990, Milan BABIC and other SDS Krajina leaders participated in a Serbian assembly in Srb, attended by approximately one hundred thousand Croatian Serbs. The Assembly passed a Declaration "on the Sovereignty and Autonomy of the Serbian Nation" in Croatia.
