Otočac

Sister cities

• Nova Gorica

History

Otočac was named after the early Croatian parish. The text of the famous Baška Tablet (around 1100) says that the church of St. Nicholas in Otočac was part of the order community with the Church of St. Lucy, Jurandvor on the island of Krk. From 1300 on, it belonged to the estate of the Frankopan family. Sigismund Frankopan (1461–1535) founded a diocese there (see below). The settlement 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 the battle 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 of it remained preserved. To provide a safer defence, a Renaissance-era fortress ("Fortica") was built in 1619, with a triangular layout of cylindrical towers. The Baroque parish church of the Holy Trinity, erected in 1684 (restored in 1774), is a large one-nave building with rounded sanctuary; three side chapels are on each side of the nave. The bell tower rises from the main front. The late baroque and classicist furnishings of the church include seven altars, a pulpit, baptismal font and sepulchral slabs from the 18th century. In the 16th century, Otočac became a part of the Austrian Military Frontier, with its own Otočac Capitanate. Its known captains include: # Franjo Mudrovčić (1540), burgrave # Andrija Tadiolović (1550), burgraveVinko Lacković # Tomo Čadež (1579) # Gašpar Wotschar (1580) # vojvoda Malagrudić (1581) # Jeršan Slavić (1586), burgrave # Warkin (1587) # Premb (1589)…

Geography

Otočac is located in the western part of Gacko Polje, the karst field of centrally located Gacka river, located between Velebit and Mala Kapela, at an elevation of 459m. The town lies to the southeast of Senj, northwest of Gospić and west of Plitvice. There are two town sections, the Upper Town and Lower Town. The following settlements comprise the municipality (population as of 2021): *Brlog, population 256 *Brloška Dubrava, population 38 *Čovići, population 520 *Dabar, population 59 *Doljani, population 75 *Drenov Klanac, population 31 *Glavace, population 18 *Gorići, population 11 *Hrvatsko Polje, population 126 *Kompolje, population 299 *Kuterevo, population 385 *Ličko Lešće, population 571 *Lipovlje, population 158 *Otočac, population 3852 *Podum, population 128 *Ponori, population 42 *Prozor, population 830 *Ramljani, population 69 *Sinac, population 489 *Staro Selo, population 28 *Škare, population 36 *Švica, population 311