Udbina

Udbina

Croatian Church built in Udbina in honour of the people who died in the Battle of Krbava.

The Udbina municipality within Lika-Senj County
Udbina

Location in Croatia

Coordinates: 44°31′50″N 15°45′56″E / 44.5306°N 15.7656°E
Country  Croatia
County Lika-Senj County
Government
 • Mayor Ivan Pešut (HDZ)
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,874
Time zone CET (UTC+1)

Udbina is a village and a municipality in the Lika region of Croatia. It is an administratively part of in the Lika-Senj County.

Geography

The village is located in the large karst field called Krbava. The field has a small airport, the only one in Lika.

History

The Krbava field and Udbina itself was the location of a medieval bishopric and the Battle of Krbava field of September 9, 1493, where the Croats under ban Emerik Derenčin (Hungarian: Imre Derencsényi) and the Frankopans suffered one of the major defeats at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Udbina was managed by Ottomans between 1527-1699 and included to the Sanjak of Lika in the Eyalet of Bosnia.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Udbina was part of the Lika-Krbava County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.

During World War II, Udbina was part of the Independent State of Croatia. In December 1942, the Croatian population was expelled from the town.[1] The Catholic Church of St. Nicholas was subsequently destroyed.[2]

The Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas (filial of the Church of the Holy Transfiguration of Mutilić) was destroyed in World War II.[3]

After the war the population became mostly ethnic Serb. Udbina had a football club named "Krbava".

Udbina was under control of the Serb forces during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995). The local airport was used as airbase for offensive operations against Croatia and Bosnia, in direct defiance of NATO's Operation Deny Flight. The airstrip was eventually disabled by a 39 aircraft-strong strike on 21 November 1994.[4]

The Catholic Church has built the Church of Croatian Martyrs in Udbina, to commemorate the town's role in the distant and recent history of the nation: the Battle of Krbava Field in 1493 and the recent war for independence in the 1990s.

Population/Demographics

According to the 2011 census, there were 1,874 residents in the municipality, of which 51% Serbs and 45% Croats.[5]

The settlements in the municipality are (census 2011):[6]

  • Breštane, population 5
  • Bunić, population 133
  • Čojluk, population 11
  • Debelo Brdo, population 78
  • Donji Mekinjar, population 31
  • Frkašić, population 33
  • Grabušić, population 66
  • Jagodnje, population 32
  • Jošan, population 66
  • Klašnjica, population 3
  • Komić, population 20
  • Krbava, population 37
  • Kurjak, population 28
  • Mutilić, population 38
  • Ondić, population 40
  • Pećane, population 35
  • Podlapača, population 74
  • Poljice, population 9
  • Rebić, population 22
  • Srednja Gora, population 25
  • Svračkovo Selo, population 10
  • Šalamunić, population 38
  • Tolić, population 9
  • Udbina, population 960
  • Vedašić, population 2
  • Visuć, population 69

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Udbina bi mogla postati snažno središte vjerničkih hodočašća" (PDF). Vjesnik (in Croatian). 2003-09-06. p. 05A5.
  2. ↑ Neka ova crkva bude simbol našega zajedništva (Croatian), Glas Koncila
  3. ↑ Филијални храм Св. оца Николаја на Удбини (срушен у Другом свјетском рату) (Serbian), Eparchy of upper Karlovac
  4. ↑ Ripley, Tim (2001). Conflict in the Balkans, 1991-2000. Osprey Publishing, pp. 21-24. ISBN 1841762903
  5. ↑ "Population by Ethnicity, by Towns/Municipalities, 2011 Census: County of Lika-Senj". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Udbina". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.

External links