Gračac

Gračac (pronounced [grǎtʃats]; listenⓘ) is a municipality in the southern part of Lika, Croatia. The municipality is administratively part of Zadar County.

Gračac
Грачац (Serbian)[1]
Municipality
Municipality of Gračac
Općina Gračac
Општина Грачац
Entrance into Gračac in 2009
Entrance into Gračac in 2009
Gračac is located in Croatia
Gračac
Gračac
Coordinates: 44.299°N 15.847°E / 44.299; 15.847
CountryCroatia
CountyZadar County
Government
 • Municipal mayorNataša Turbić (HDZ)
Area
[2]
 • Municipality958.3 km2 (370.0 sq mi)
 • Urban
69.9 km2 (27.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Municipality3,136
 • Density3.3/km2 (8.5/sq mi)
 • Urban
2,060
 • Urban density29/km2 (76/sq mi)
Postal code
23 440
Area code+385(0)23
Vehicle registrationZD
Websitegracac.hr

Gračac is located south of Udbina, northeast of Obrovac, northwest of Knin and southeast of Gospić.

Settlements

The total municipality population is 4,690 (census 2011), in the following settlements:[4]

History

Gračac was ruled by Ottoman Empire between 1527 and 1687 (nominally to 1699) as part of the Sanjak of Lika in the Bosnia Eyalet before Austrian conquest. The 1712–14 census of Lika and Krbava registered 1,711 inhabitants, out of whom 1,655 were Vlachs, 53 were Catholic Bunjevci and 3 were Catholic Croats. The term "Vlach" was used at the time to describe a population of Eastern Orthodox religion and rarely as an ethnic group. Those families that moved to Gračac came from area south east of Belgrade.[5][6] In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Gračac was part of the Lika-Krbava County of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

From 1992 to 1992, Gračac was part of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina. In 1995, the town was taken over by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. At least 14 Serb civilians were killed by the Croatian Army in the nearby Kijani village during and in the aftermath of Operation Storm in August 1995.[7][8]

The area of Gračac was not part of the Austro-Hungarian crown land of Dalmatia, but it is often perceived as part of Dalmatia in the modern sense because of its inclusion in Zadar County.

Demographics
Population by ethnicity
Year of censustotalCroatsSerbsOthers
196117,5863,736 (21.24%)13,670 (77.73%)180 (1.02%)
197114,8193,107 (20.97%)11,318 (76.37%)394 (2.66%)
198111,8632,150 (18.12%)8,578 (72.31%)1,135 (9.57%)
199110,4341,697 (16.26%)8,371 (80.22%)366 (3.51%)
20013,9232,260 (57.61%)1,523 (38.82%)140 (3.57%)
20114,6902,528 (53.90%)2,118 (45.16%)44 (0.94%)

Note: in some censa, such as in 1981, parts of the population listed themselves as Yugoslavs instead of Croat or Serb.

Politics

Minority councils and representatives

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.[9] At the 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections Serbs of Croatia fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members minority councils of the Municipality of Gračac.[10]

Attractions

The name Gračac is derived from "gradina" which means an old abandoned castle. Near the town there are Lake Štikada and the karst field of Gračac. The Cerovac caves nearby are open for tourists. The town is on the way into the Lika region of Zadar county, and the surroundings offer good hunting game.

Notable people

References
  1. Government of Croatia (October 2013). "Peto izvješće Republike Hrvatske o primjeni Europske povelje o regionalnim ili manjinskim jezicima" (PDF) (in Croatian). Council of Europe. p. 36. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  2. Register of spatial units of the State Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. Wikidata Q119585703.
  3. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2021 Census". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
  4. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Gračac". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
  5. Šarić, Marko (2009). "Predmoderne etnije u Lici i Krbavi prema popisu iz 1712./14.". In Željko Holjevac (ed.). Identitet Like: Korijeni i razvitak (PDF) (in Croatian). Vol. 1. Zagreb: Institut društvenih znanosti Ivo Pilar. p. 375. ISBN 978-953-6666-65-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  6. http://www.skdprosvjeta.com/pdf/9.pdf Archived 2020-11-11 at the Wayback Machine Karl Kaser, POPIS LIKE I KRBAVE 1712. GODINE, (prijevod s njemačkog: Sanja Lazanin), 2003. #page=19,21
  7. "Press release on non-prosecuted crimes committed during and immediately after the military operation "Storm"". Documenta. Centre for Dealing with the Past. 9 July 2012.
  8. International Court of Justice; Witness statement
  9. "Manjinski izbori prve nedjelje u svibnju, kreću i edukacije". T-portal. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  10. "Informacija o konačnim rezultatima izbora članova vijeća i izbora predstavnika nacionalnih manjina 2023. XIII. ZADARSKA ŽUPANIJA" (PDF) (in Croatian). Državno izborno povjerenstvo Republike Hrvatske. 2023. p. 11. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
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