Karlovac
From Freepedia
Karlovac (-Croat, German: Karlstadt, Hungarian: Károlyváros) is a city in central Croatia with 59,395 inhabitants (2001). Absolute majority of its citizens are Croats with 85.86% (2001 census).
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac county. Karlovac is located on the Zagreb-Rijeka highway and railway line, 56 km south-west of Zagreb and 130 km from Rijeka.
Karlovac was founded by a six-pointed star fort built in the 16th century at the confluence of four rivers: the Kupa, Korana, Mrežnica and Dobra. The unique star shape can still be seen around the town. Its name is Karlstadt (also Carlstadt) in German, after the archduke Charles of Habsburg who had it built starting July 13, 1579 on the Zrinski estate near the old town of Dubovac (the castle of Dubovac still exists). The architect of the city was Matija Gambon.
The first church (of the Holy Trinity) was built in the central square in 1580, but all of the city buildings burned down in the fire of 1594. The forces of the Ottoman Empire laid siege to Karlovac seven times, the last time in 1672, but failed to occupy it. The plague epidemic of 1773 was also a notable threat to the city, decimating almost half the population at the time.
The fort was becoming too crowded for the city's expanding population and the Military Frontier government could not allow for its further growth. On December 6, 1693 the city received some limited self-government. Queen Maria Theresia, after long insistence from the Croatian Parliament, restored the towns of Karlovac and Rijeka to the Croatian crownland on August 9, 1776. King Joseph II reaffirmed it as a free town with an official charter in 1781, allowing the citizens to expand the city and exploit the potential of being at the crossroads of paths from the Pannonian plains to the Adriatic coast. The town blossomed in the 18th and 19th centuries with the development of roads to the seaside and waterways along the Kupa River.
The town's fortunes declined in the 20th century, though it is currently recovering.
Karlovac suffered much damage during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995). Among other buildings, the Cathedral Church of Saint Nicholas of the Serb Orthodox Eparchy of upper Karlovac was destroyed in 1993, as was the Diocesan Residence.
Karlovac's main industry is now its beer "Karlovačko", produced by Karlovačka pivovara.
