Benkovac

Benkovac
Town
Street in Benkovac
Benkovac Location of Benkovac in Croatia
Coordinates: 44°02′04″N 15°36′46″E / 44.03444°N 15.61278°E / 44.03444; 15.61278
Country	Croatia
County	Zadar
Government
• Mayor	Branko Kutija (HDZ)
Area
• Total	514 km2 (198 sq mi)
Population (2001)[1]
• Total	9,786
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	http://www.benkovac-bastina.net

Serb Orthodox church

the Benkovac municipality within the Zadar County

Benkovac is a town and municipality in the interior of Zadar County, Croatia.

Geography

Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30 km from Zadar. The Zagreb-Split motorway and Zadar-Knin railway pass through the town. It borders the municipalities of Novigrad, Posedarje, Obrovac, Lišane Ostrovičke, Kistanje and Stankovci.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, the municipality had 9,786 inhabitants of which 90.4% were Croats and 7.5% Serbs. Before the Croatian War of Independence, Serbs made up about 57%, and Croats about 41%, however Croats only held 18% of the jobs in the local government,^[2] which led to high tensions in the 1990s. During the Operation Storm (Oluja), almost all of the Serbs left the town,^[3] and after the war they were replaced by expelled Bosnian Croat settlers.

According to the Austrian Census in 1900, the town of Benkovac consisted of 356 Catholics and 156 Orthodox, with area surrounding Benkovac it included 8,119 Catholics and 5,981 Orthodox. The 1910 census recorded a total of 810 residents, 388 of which were Catholic and 422 Orthodox. Both censuses were conducted according to religion and language (Serbo-Croatian). The population of Benkovac itself is 2,622 (census 2001), the rest is distributed in 38 villages surrounding it.

History

The first traces of human life in the Benkovac area were found around the village of Smilčić that belonged to the Danilo culture. Before Roman conquest the area was inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of Liburnians. During the Roman Civil war the Liburnians sided with Caesar. The Romans mention the following Liburnian settlements :Nedinum (Nadin), Carinium (Karin), Varvaria (Bribir) and Asseria (Podgrađe). In 7th century the area was settled by Croats. The area of Benkovac was at the crossroads of four Croatian župas - Novljanska, Sidraška, Bribirska and Karinska. Near the village of Šopot, an inscription from the 9th century was found that mentions Branimir as a Croatian Duke.

In 1409 King Ladislaus of Naples sold his rights of Dalmatia to the Republic of Venice and the Benkovac area became a border region. New fortresses around the border were built - Korlat, Kličevica, Polača, and behind them Benković i Perušić. The fortress of Benković was named after the family of nobles that built it and the city of Benkovac was established. In 1527 Benkovac became part of the Ottoman Empire. It was settled by Croats-Bunjevci, Serbs and Vlachs.

In October 1683, the population of Venetian Dalmatia, principally Uskoks of Ravni kotari, took arms and together with the rayah (lower class) of the Ottoman frontier regions rose up, taking Skradin, Karin, Vrana, Benkovac and Obrovac.^[4] It became part of the Republic of Venice following the Morean War.

Until 1918, the town (with bilingual name BENKOVAC - BENCOVAZ) was part of the Austrian monarchy in the district of the same name, one of 13 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Dalmatia.^[5] The name was BENCOVACZ before 1867.^[6]

From 1929 to 1939, Benkovac was part of the Littoral Banovina and from 1939 to 1941 of the Banovina of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The area was bombed by the Allies during World War II.^[7]

During the Croatian War of Independence, Benkovac was a center of unrest and hostilities between Croats and Serbs. On 17 March 1990, tensions erupted when groups of local Serbs rebelled against the decision of the government to disarm local police in which Serbs were most of the employees. During that time the provincial Croatian government continued arming police forces and paramilitaries in villages with ethnic Croat majorities. Tensions continued to boil, and five months later, Benkovac was included in the Republic of Serbian Krajina. Five years later on 5 August 1995, Benkovac was retaken by the Croatian army during Operation Storm.

Towns and villages

The following settlements are part of Benkovac:^[1]

Gallery

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  Promenade in Benkovac

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  Promenade in Benkovac

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  Street in Benkovac

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  Monument Bukovčan i Kotaranka

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benkovac.

• Historical Monuments of Benkovac
• City of Benkovac
• 1991. Census results for Benkovac county

Subdivisions of Zadar County Cities and towns Benkovac Biograd na Moru Nin Obrovac Pag Zadar (seat) Municipalities Bibinje Galovac Gračac Jasenice Kali Kolan Kukljica Lišane Ostrovičke Novigrad Pakoštane Pašman Polača Poličnik Posedarje Povljana Preko Privlaka Ražanac Sali Stankovci Starigrad Sukošan Sveti Filip i Jakov Škabrnja Tkon Vir Vrsi Zemunik Donji

Cities and towns of Croatia by population 100,000+ Osijek Rijeka Split Zagreb 35,000+ Bjelovar Dubrovnik Karlovac Kaštela Pula Samobor Šibenik Sisak Slavonski Brod Varaždin Velika Gorica Vinkovci Zadar 10,000+ Beli Manastir Belišće Benkovac Čakovec Crikvenica Đakovo Daruvar Donji Miholjac Duga Resa Dugo Selo Garešnica Gospić Imotski Ivanec Ivanić-Grad Jastrebarsko Kastav Knin Koprivnica Krapina Križevci Kutina Labin Makarska Metković Našice Nova Gradiška Novi Marof Novska Ogulin Omiš Opatija Petrinja Pleternica Ploče Popovača Poreč Požega Rovinj Sinj Slatina Solin Sveta Nedelja Sveti Ivan Zelina Trogir Umag Valpovo Virovitica Vrbovec Vukovar Zaprešić Županja

Coordinates: 44°02′04″N 15°36′46″E / 44.03444°N 15.61278°E / 44.03444; 15.61278